It is called "Three Sisters" gardening and yes, you'll find several discussions here about it.

One of the problematic issues are the type of corn and the type of squash used today are very different from that used by the Amerindians. They grew field corn and left it on the stalk to dry and the squash used was winter squash. So it didn't have the harvesting and planting issues that might happen in the modern garden.

Honestly it is something that intrigues new gardeners but very few report any success with the method.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Recent 3 sisters discussion

Two years ago I planted my entire community garden plot in 3 sisters fashion. I researched as thoroughly as possible, used authentic varieties of corn, beans and squash and planted in a pattern as much like the Indians did as I could. I even buried fish under the hills of corn. It was an interesting project and I learned the following:

1) Most of the information on the Internet is posted by wannabes who think 3 sisters is a neat idea which just makes all kinds of sense but who never have done it. The book "Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden" is the most accurate source of information as far as it goes, but is not comprehensive.

2) My flint corn produced a good yield but shaded out the squash and, to some extent, the beans. I got no squash and only enough beans for seed and a couple of meals. Hills were on 4 foot centers. A historic garden I saw in Concord, MA used 6 foot spacing and appeared to be more successful.

3) Indians often planted squash in separate patch from the corn and beans. Call that 3 sisters if you want but...

4) The neat theory that beans provide meaningful amounts of nitrogen to the corn is questionable. The combination of corn and beans is most relevant in that the corn provides support for the beans. In ancient times all beans were pole beans.

5) The main objective of all 3 crops was to provide dried food for winter. That is not likely to fit well with today's cuisine. Do you grind your own corn meal? Eat rehydrated dried squash?

5) To work as a system, which is the concept of 3 sisters, many variables must be delicately balanced. The system of the Indians was highly evolved. It used the same varieties year after year, cultivated in a specific way, suited to a specific region.

Would I do it again? Yep. I would like to get it right.

Jim

I have some extra squash butternut squash seed and I'm going to intermix it into my corn to try to keep the racoons out. I've read they don't like stepping through the stiff, prickly squash leaves to get to the corn. If I get squash out of it, so much the better. However, if the squash leafs out well, it should help out with the weeds too.

Good Luck!

Mark

I tried this once, whereby I offer this to consider: will you be able to get at your corn once the squash has grown up all around it?