Review ('08) The Three Sisters

Corn, Beans, and Squash, the Three Sisters, was a project we knew we wanted to take on from the moment we thought, “garden!” I don’t think we could have sustained a group of people larger than the two of us and cat but with little mistakes can come great successes and we hope that next year’s trio will take care of more than just our little tribe.

Corn (25 plants) - the corn went in first right after the final frost date. We made ten mounds of soil and manure about 2' wide and 8" tall. In this lovely brown went 5 seeds per mound in a star pattern. After a couple of weeks of steady rain and sun, the corn said “hi.” It was so tiny but took off really quickly. Once the hatchlings were a foot high it was time for the beans. Gradually, as the stalks got taller, their roots tangled and hanging down like thick, heavy teeth, began to become exposed. I had to pile on more manure and soil around each mound. The mounds began to expand! I realized then that I had made the mounds too small to begin with and actually too close together. The plants to the south were growing much faster than the plants in the back which were becoming dwarfed. We had a lot of rain in late June with high winds that really beat the hell out of the proud stalks.

Altogether, we harvested about a bushel of corn. It was a sweet heirloom, Country Gentleman, and it was delicious. It was the only vegetable that was bug-friendly. An ugly, green worm managed to find a place to hang out in each plant, munch munching away on our crop. Next year we’ll know to put olive oil on the silks to keep out the pesky varmit.

Beans (3 plants) - yeah, but we planted 40! These heirloom beans were not sprouted ahead of time. They were stuck in the soil right around each stalk of 12" high corn. But for some reason the climbing bean did not sprout, sing, or climb. We managed to only have 3 plants that barely produced. I don’t even remember tasting one. I don’t know what lesson we may have learned from the bean fiasco but like our peas, they were a bummer in the summer.

Squash (?) - The yellow squash, another heirloom, went in 2 weeks after the beans, about the end of June. We put about 4 seeds in each mound surrounding the corn and “beans.” They started poking their heads out in mid July. The heat was starting to come on strong but with ample water and fish emulsion they seemed to tolerate anything that came their way. We had to leave for a family gathering in Colorado at the end of July and during our time away no one was around to water the plants. The heat was intense and stalled the growth of the little squash. We managed to bring some of it back and the little yellow squash was beginning to show up by the end of September but it was too late. The weather turned and the one or two squash we had, out of the 30+ we planted, never grew longer than 3". Next year, more water, a steady diet of attention and love, and better soil and compost will bring a better crop.