the matrix

[cwipnip]

i was reading somewhere about the sweetcorn, bean and squash matrix where you interplant them because the sweetcorn produces support for the beans, the beans fix the nitrogen in the soil and the squash produces ground cover against weeds, plus also you use 1/3 the space, aparently the aztecs came up with the idea,

can anyone tell me if its a good idea or totally useless

[tootles]

I believe it is called the three sisters - someone on here did it recently, and will no doubt be along shortly to tell you all about it!

[Snadger]

I have tried it and it does work but a lot is dependant on the summer we have and getting your planting times just right!

The Aztecs had a sunnier climate than my allotment!

[Finedon.Dandy]

I grew my butternut squash around the base of my sweetcorn last year - worked pretty well!

[zazen999]

I also tried this and my one tip would be...don't grow too many climbers early on as they grow faster than the corn. Grow the dwarf varieties with this method...and don't grow too deep into the grid or you can't get in to harvest the beans. Also, the squash leaves are quite spiky so wear long sleeves and gloves when you do harvest the beans.

I'm not doing this again, mainly because I want the corn nearer home, as even in the 10 mins cycling home they lost their sweetness...and I've discovered a top way with beans that I'm trying out...and the squashes are being grown on a piece of fallow ground that is being covered with cardboard & weed fabric to kill off the evil horseradish on my plot.

[Two_Sheds]

Here comes two_sheds with her Search button again http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ery_14490.html

[cwipnip]

instead of sweetcorn, could you use jerusalum artichokes?

[womble]

instead of sweetcorn, could you use jerusalum artichokes?

Can't see why not.

My outcome last year was similar to others, I tried the two sisters, sweetcorn and winter squash and in a corner, some french beans to see if it worked.
The beans didn't do very well and I couldn't notice any difference in the sweetcorn that the beans grew up, it was also very hard to harvest the beans as zazen says.

However the squash did absolutely brilliantly and covered the soil so well I hardly had to weed the bed.

My conclusion, is that I will definitely do the two sisters again and leave out the beans.

[Eyren]

I'm going to try a variation this year, growing a block of sweetcorn next to a frame of climbing beans, with squash on the ground underneath both. I don't reckon our climate is up to producing sweetcorn plants that grow fast enough to act as bean supports, especially the summers we've had lately!

[Snadger]

My two sisters will be JA's and Runner Beans................ with just a posssibility of some form of cucurbits stuck in for daftness!

[womble]

I'm thinking of planting JA's with an underplanting of sweetcorn, courgettes and squash to keep out the weeds, with french and runner beans grown up the sides.
I won't actually be able to get in to harvest anything, but by god, it will certainly be green.