On Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:41:25 -0500, Derald wrote:

Gordon wrote:

A friend told me about the Three Sisters growing method. Apearently It
comes from the Native Americans who would grow Corn, Beans and Squash
together. The corn stalks would provide a trellis for the beans to grow
on, and the squash would grow on the ground and provide cover to control
the weeds. Sounds intresting.

Anyone else heard of it? Anyone tried it?
Yeah, I heard it all for all of my life. Never believed it for a
minute.
You've omitted the most essential ingredient that fuels the whole
engine: The dead fish. I've always regarded the story as apocryphal but
it might work for the indigenous maize, squash and beans. I don't know
what purpose within the trio the corn serves save as trellis and it
seems to me the legumes would be putting nitrogen into the soil to late
in the life cycle to be of any short-term benefit to their companions.

The explanation that the Wampanoags at Plymouth Plantation gave was that
the squash keeps the weeds down and the beans add nitrogen to the soil.
Squash has very large leaves so I can see how they would act as a kind of
mulch. The nitrogen fixing properties are a long term effect, it's not
necessary for the peas and beans to provide nitrogen for this years crop,
it's value is that they add it to the soil for future crops. Crop rotation
has the same effect, you plant a nitrogen using crop like grains one year,
and nitrogen producing crops like legumes the next year. Three sisters
just does it all at once.