The three sisters

[Lady Jana Muck]

Has anyone had any luck using the "three sisters" method by using sweetcorn as supports for runner beans and squash grown in the space underneath ? Would like to try this as a project with my Granddaughter.

[Kleftiwallah]

I've been considering it, last year I thought I had planted the sweetcorn too close together so didn't follow it up. But I'll try this year. Cheers, Tony.

[Jelliebabe]

I did sweetcorn and squash together - but failed miserably with my sweetcorn. I think most people here however do this combination of two, as the beans tend to smother the corn. I think that the failure of my corn was my fault (late starting it!) so give it a try!

[veggiechicken]

I tried beans climbing up sweetcorn - neither were successful! I'm not very lucky with corn anyway so can't actually say that the method wouldn't work for someone else.

[zazen999]

It's supposed to be:
Corn for drying
Beans for drying
Squash for curing

All for winter food. And you need a good summer which we regularly don't have!

You just plant and leave until harvest time.

If you want to pick beans and corn, it doesn't really work.

[di]

I tried it one year. Didn't really suit me either, but that could have been due to my lack of planning. I did a large patch, then found I couldn't get to my beans without tiptoeing around my squash.
I guess if you either did it in a more compact space so you could reach the beans from the edge or just groe beans for drying, it could work better.

[Sanjo]

Used the sweetcorn as supports for cucumbers. Worked up to a point. I had the sweetcorn too close together and had to be careful like Di when harvesting the cucs.

[MojoJojo]

I did look at this a bit awhile ago - there are a lot of threads on it if you search.
A lot of people say the runner beans smother the corn, and make it very hard to harvest either. So it's either for drying, or it works better in the US because their corn is a lot taller.
Some people have had good results with growing the squash around the corn (two sisters), and I might try that this year.
I've also wondered about substituting a smaller legume for the runner beans - peas maybe? But I'm new at growing and will probably wait a while before trying this.

[Lady Jana Muck]

Thanks for your info. Much appreciated.

[Alison]

If you do a search (and cross your fingers it will work ) you should find a load of previous threads on this. I've tried it and haven't found it worked too well for me but some of that is down to my inability to grow tall corn, they always seem a bit stunted on my plot - think this is partially due to the fact I can't stand the stuff (devil's food!) so don't really look after it.

[alex-adam]

I gave it a go last year with Corn,planted around some Climbing French beans on a cane wigwam) and Ornamental gourds beneath. - Beans and gourds - fine - Corn, rubbish!! - too far north I think. - but you might get away with it in sunny Warwickshire.

a-a

[piskieinboots]

Oooh look - it's my big Sis ...but there's only two of us

[di]

Thought it was! x

[BarleySugar]

I tried last year, despite starting the corn a good bit before the beans, I still had to put up wigwams for the beans because the corn didn't grow quickly or tall enough. The squash did well. I was browing cranberry pole beans for drying, so no issues getting to pick beans.

[mudpies]

I was going to try this year, but might just go for sweet corn and squash now having read this. My corn was rubbish last year and would really like to crack it this year. Loving the squash idea though, anything to keep the weeds down!