3 sisters

**JennieAtkinson** · 12-03-2008, 11:22 PM

Hi King Carrot - a numer of us grew the three sisters last year but had a "few" problems with regard to timing of growth. You might want to search on "three sisters" and the threads might give you some ideas and describe our experiences.

I grew the squash in between the corn, but due to weather conditions here only got one fruit!

**pigletwillie** · 13-03-2008, 08:39 AM

We never grow my beans in with corn as the beans grow taller and quicker than the corn. I do however plant pumpkins between them, so I suppose I do a two sisters version. It works very well indeed.

**zazen999** · 13-03-2008, 08:51 AM

Hi
I do this with my late beans and peas; my early beans and peas are grown separately and staked. Just sow the beans at the bottom of the sweetcorn, once the sweetcorn are at least a foot high. The various squashes can be just put in between the sweetcorn, and left to ramble. As long as the sweetcorn are planted close enough to pollenate, but far enough away to actually grow [I think mine last year were about 8 inches apart from each other in a block]; and we have a decent summer; then you should be ok.

The thing I liked about the 3 sisters, is that even though the courgettes last year were a rum old crop; I got loads of beans and peas and most of the sweetcorn; If I hadn't grown the courgettes in this bed I would have wasted the bed for several months. With this set-up. I just pretty much leave them to their own devices and just make sure the corn pollenates; without feeling as if I have wasted any space.

**spud57** · 13-03-2008, 09:07 AM

Hi
I have never heard of this! So I am going to ask a silly question... do the peas just climb up the sweetcorn or do you have to stake them??

**si'sraisedbed** · 13-03-2008, 09:31 AM

I have a couple of seeds for a climbing courgette, would this work if planted between say 4 sweetcorn plants?? and then peas around the outside??

**lainey lou** · 13-03-2008, 09:41 AM

I,m planning on trying thi method this year but heard it's only any good if you're leaving the beans and corn to dry, is that true?

**hypnophil** · 13-03-2008, 09:47 AM

Hi spud,
the peas should cling onto the sweetcorn as long as the corn is tall enough for the peas.
I am trying this year for the first time to do this, i am growing kelvedon wonder and maybe meteor, as i know they wont grow taller than the corn.
trial and error i suppose, i will keep plants elsewhere just incase for this year.
I actually had one pea germinate in january from about 24 and its on my windowsill and i have a pod growing!!! god knows why, i thought insects needed to pollinate, and the flowers hardly opened!
mother nature ( or my stupid ignorance ).
its all fun and learning.
good luck

**zazen999** · 13-03-2008, 12:00 PM

Hi
Laney - I suppose it makes sense but i don't leave mine to dry and it was fine...It only works if the sweetcorn is established a bit before the peas go in. I do put a few stakes in first if I want the patch to have a few early beans/peas in; and they come out when the corn has established. If you leave the sweetcorn stalks in the ground until the beans/peas have finished then all will be well. I don't grow runners at all, perhaps I am growing all shorter beans and that's why it works for me?

I grew cukes in one patch last year, and the cuke grew up the corn with no problem; I only got 2 hanging cukes from it as it was a miserable year but all the same; at least I didn't waste the ground!

si's - yes it would; the only problem I foresee in yours is that you will have to pollenate the corn yourself by brushing the pollen down onto the ends of the corn - but I see no reason why not. Depends on how many peas you plant; you might have to pop a stake in if needed, but it depend on how established the corn is when the peas want to climb up it!

**Shortie** · 13-03-2008, 01:10 PM

Originally posted by pigletwillie View Post

We never grow my beans in with corn as the beans grow taller and quicker than the corn. I do however plant pumpkins between them, so I suppose I do a two sisters version. It works very well indeed.

I was thinking of doing this this year too on my new plot. I'm naff with growing beans (I know, know one of the easilest crops to grow) so figured I'd cut them out of the equation and leave them to grow in abundance under the care of 8LGM on the plot I share with him instead

**si'sraisedbed** · 13-03-2008, 01:35 PM

Ace, didn't think I'd have room for all of that but if it will all go in the same space then that's great.

**JennieAtkinson** · 13-03-2008, 01:43 PM

I grew dwarf beans, but they did get rather swamped by the squash!

**lainey lou** · 13-03-2008, 02:26 PM

So what variety of beans would anyone recommend for growing this way?

**King Carrot** · 13-03-2008, 09:48 PM

Originally posted by lainey lou View Post

So what variety of beans would anyone recommend for growing this way?

I was thinking Blue Lake - but any climbing F bean should work I would think.

I'm actually going to try this with a patch inside a greenhouse and a sheltered patch outside between two greenhouses as we usually get a gale or two in summer.

I was planning to start the sweetcorn in toiletrolls with the beans & squash in pots and transplant when size & conditions allow - From the input I got here, I'll prob attempt to time the beans so the sweetcorn is big enough to begin supporting them.

thanks for replies and ideas,

KC

**Paul Wagland** · 13-03-2008, 09:58 PM

Originally posted by lainey lou View Post

So what variety of beans would anyone recommend for growing this way?

Anything that doesn't grow too fast or too tall I guess.

I have a feeling (feel free to shoot this down, anyone who knows better) that the three sisters technique came from the natives Americans....? That being the case, how about growing something like climbing bean 'Cherokee Trail of Tears' for a bit of historical accuracy?! They are very drought tolerant in my experience, which might be useful with squash growing so close to their roots.

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