Three Sisters Crops
The "sisters" planting technique.
The "sisters" planting technique.
For millennia, Indigenous Americans mastered a farming method called "Three Sisters," planting corn, beans, and squash close together. Fostering mutual support and the corn provides structure for beans, while squash leaves shield soil and suppress weeds.
For millennia, Indigenous Americans mastered a farming method called "Three Sisters," planting corn, beans, and squash close together. Fostering mutual support and the corn provides structure for beans, while squash leaves shield soil and suppress weeds.
Traditionally, Indigenous women make mounds in the ground and plant the three seeds in carefully arranged proximity, setting off a series of reciprocal relationships between humans, plants, bacteria, other microorganisms, and the soil.
Traditionally, Indigenous women make mounds in the ground and plant the three seeds in carefully arranged proximity, setting off a series of reciprocal relationships between humans, plants, bacteria, other microorganisms, and the soil.
The corn supports the bean plant, which needs something to wrap around, and the wide squash leaves protect the earth from the sun, preserving moisture and preventing the growth of weeds. The bean plant may look as though it's free-riding on the corn and the squash, however, a different story presents itself if you look below the ground.
The corn supports the bean plant, which needs something to wrap around, and the wide squash leaves protect the earth from the sun, preserving moisture and preventing the growth of weeds. The bean plant may look as though it's free-riding on the corn and the squash, however, a different story presents itself if you look below the ground.
The corn’s roots are shallow and capture moisture from rain or irrigation first, but the bean plant captures water that sinks below the reach of the corn.
The corn’s roots are shallow and capture moisture from rain or irrigation first, but the bean plant captures water that sinks below the reach of the corn.
Meanwhile, the squash plant can extend roots opportunistically from its stem as it rests on the earth’s surface, feeding on moisture from the corn and the bean roots.
Meanwhile, the squash plant can extend roots opportunistically from its stem as it rests on the earth’s surface, feeding on moisture from the corn and the bean roots.
The bean plant provides an additional service with its roots: the roots accommodate a bacterium needed to produce the nitrogen fertilizer essential for all three of the plant’s growth.
The bean plant provides an additional service with its roots: the roots accommodate a bacterium needed to produce the nitrogen fertilizer essential for all three of the plant’s growth.
Seen from one angle, the gift of the corn appears more significant than those of the beanstalk, but this bias is corrected when we look beneath the soil and find that the bean plant is working quietly out of sight to provide an essential nutrient without which none of the plants can grow.
Seen from one angle, the gift of the corn appears more significant than those of the beanstalk, but this bias is corrected when we look beneath the soil and find that the bean plant is working quietly out of sight to provide an essential nutrient without which none of the plants can grow.
When the corn, beans, and squash are ultimately harvested, they together provide a nutritionally well-rounded and tasty meal for the harvester
When the corn, beans, and squash are ultimately harvested, they together provide a nutritionally well-rounded and tasty meal for the harvester
From an agricultural standpoint, the companion planting technique is a stark contrast to the industrial monoculture methods of farming typified by corn farming where corn is grown in uniform rows, fed with synthetic fertilizer, made poisonous with pesticides, and presumably wasting any irrigation that falls below its shallow roots.
From an agricultural standpoint, the companion planting technique is a stark contrast to the industrial monoculture methods of farming typified by corn farming where corn is grown in uniform rows, fed with synthetic fertilizer, made poisonous with pesticides, and presumably wasting any irrigation that falls below its shallow roots.