Join us to start a Three Sisters Garden Saturday morning!
The three sister crops are corn, squash, and beans. These plants are grown together as part of a crop management system used by Iroquois and other indigenous peoples for hundreds of years.
Corn, Squash, and Bean Plants Help Each Other Grow
Like close sisters or siblings, the plants support and help each other. These companion plants complement each other in the garden as well as on the plate (nutritionally)
- Corn provides tall stalks for the beans to climb so that they are not out-competed by sprawling squash vines.
- Climbing pole beans provide nitrogen to fertilize the soil while also stabilizing the tall corn and hugging everything together. (Beans are nitrogen-fixers that host rhizobia on their roots that can take nitrogen, a much needed plant nutrient, from the air and convert it into forms that can be absorbed by plant roots.)
- The leaves of squash plants shade the ground which helps retain soil moisture and prevent weeds.
This method of planting, companion planting, is considered sustainable, as it gives back to the earth the nutrients that it removes from the soil.
Join the Family Fun Saturday!
We will plant this raised bed in phases, starting with the corn on Saturday April 10th at 1030am. (RSVP to cvearthlab@gmail.com — These are much appreciated, to allow for social distance planning. And thanks to those who have already sent a msg!).
For more details on upcoming planting and activities, check the calendar of events .
Three Sisters Garden Resources
Look through these links to learn more about the Three Sisters
—Cornell Garden-Based Learning: Three Sisters and Planting a Three Sisters Garden PDF
— The Three Sisters: Corn, Beans, and Squash: How to Plant a Three Sisters Garden (from The Farmer’s Almanac)
–In Benji’s elementary school, third graders planted this as part of science class.
—The Three Sisters Garden Guide
—Three Sisters Companion Planting
Concord Village EarthLab 
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