To the Iroquois people, corn, beans, and squash are the Three Sisters, the physical and spiritual sustainers of life. These life-supporting plants were given to the people when all three miraculously sprouted from the body of Sky Woman's daughter, granting the gift of agriculture to the Iroquois nations. Show The Iroquois agricultural system was based on the hill-planting method. Iroquois women, who were responsible for farming, placed several kernels of corn in a hole. As the small seedlings began to grow, the farmers returned periodically to mound the soil around the young plants, ultimately creating a hill one foot high and two feet wide. The hills were arranged in rows about one step apart. Iroquois women mixed their crops, using a system called "interplanting." Two or three weeks after the corn was planted, the women returned to plant bean seeds in the same hills. The beans contributed nitrogen to the soil, and the cornstalks served as bean poles. Between the rows, the farmers cultivated a low-growing crop such as squash or pumpkins, the leaves of which shaded the ground, preserving moisture and inhibiting weed growth.  Three Sisters Iroquois sculptors frequently carve the Three Sisters (corn, beans, and squash), a favorite theme, in stone or antler. Sister Corn For centuries, corn was the staple grain of the Americas, and it has sustained generations of Iroquois people. Iroquois women raised several colors and varieties of corn, including flint, flour, pod, pop and sweet. Every part of the ear of corn was used. Women braided the husks for rope and twine and coiled them into mats and containers. Shredded husks made good kindling and filling for pillows and mattresses. The corncobs served as bottle stoppers, scrubbing brushes, and fuel for smoking meat. Corn silks made hair for cornhusk dolls. Many women still make cornhusk products. We know that the Native Americans were excellent hunter-gatherers, probably from our middle school textbooks. But most of us were not informed of their laissez-faire system of symbiotic agriculture. I’m speaking of the the Three Sisters, one of the farming techniques the Native Americans practiced. Did you know?Native Americans had their own distinct tribes, each with their own horticultural traditions. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) coined the term The Three Sisters, although they weren’t the only tribe to use the method. How it WorksThis style of planting utilizes three different crops to their full potential in one space to create a circle of interdependence based on giving and receiving. The Three Sisters is a combination of three plants working together: Sister bean fixes, or makes available in plant form, nitrogen from the air. Sister corn provides the support for Sister Bean’s trailing vine. Sister squash provides ground cover to hold moisture and maintain healthy soil environment while deterring animal invaders with its spiny stems. The fourth sister can be Sister Sunflower or Sister Bee Balm (aka Bergamot, Horsemint and Oswego Tea). This sister supports the beans, lures birds from the corn with her seeds, and attracts insect pollinators. I experimented with growing the Three Sisters using the Wampanoag method, where the sisters are grown in blocks more typical of today’s linear agriculture. Here’s what I discovered:
I had a lot of fun seeing these plants all work together. I hope you do, too, and remember to keep on growing! These days, companion planting and intercropping (or polycultures) are buzz words for organic gardeners. Intercropping refers to the practice of growing two or more crops close to one another in order to produce a greater yield on a given piece of land by using resources that would otherwise not be utilized by a single crop. So, for example, gardeners might plant deep-rooted crops alongside crops with shallow roots so that plants do not compete for water and can access nutrients at different soil depths. Alternatively, gardeners might plant a tall crop alongside light-sensitive crops that require partial shade or alongside climbing crops that require structural support. Companion planting is in many ways another word for intercropping and refers to the practice of grouping plants together to enhance each plant’s growth and protect crops from pests. Examples of companion planting include placing marigolds alongside vegetable crops in order to attract beneficial insects and planting borage near tomato plants to repel tomato worms. Both of these cultivation practices appeal to organic gardeners, for when done properly, they increase garden yields, build the soil, repress weeds, and provide habitat for pollinators as well as beneficial insects that keep pest populations under control, all without the addition of artificial fertilizer or pesticides and without additional labor. Indeed, companion planting and intercropping often reduce labor by decreasing the amount of time spent on weeding and pest control. Given the growing popularity of these cultivation techniques, it would be easy to think that they are relatively new developments. In fact, they are ancient practices used by indigenous people all over the world. One such practice, called the Three Sisters, has been used for generations by Native Americans throughout North America. This planting method involves intercropping corn, beans and squash. First, corn is planted in well-fertilized mounds. Once the corn is four inches tall, beans are planted at the base of each stalk and squash is planted nearby. The corn provides a structure for the beans to climb, eliminating the need for poles or trellises. The beans add nitrogen to the soil, making this important nutrient available to the corn and squash. Meanwhile, the squash shades the soil, reducing evaporation and repressing weeds. After harvest, the large amount of crop residue from this planting combination is incorporated back into the soil, building up organic matter and improving soil structure. In addition to maximizing crop yields, the Three Sisters provide a nutritious harvest. Corn is a source of carbohydrates, dried beans are rich in protein, and squash yields vitamins from the fruit as well as healthy oil from the seeds. Native Americans lived and continue to live off these three staple crops, and they adapted their planting techniques to their specific regions. The Iroquois lived in wet, cold climates and planted in mounds to improve drainage and soil warmth, whereas the Anasazi who lived in the Southwest adopted their gardens for a drier environment by planting in beds with soil raised around the edges, so that water would collect in the beds. They and other Southwestern tribes also include a “fourth sister,” known as the "Rocky Mountain bee plant," which attracts bees, helping pollinate the beans and squash. The Three Sisters planting technique is ideal for Central Texas, where soils benefit from nitrogen and mulch. March and April are the best time to plant the Three Sisters, but if you missed the spring planting season, you can sow a modified version of the Three Sisters now. From mid-July through early August, Central Texas gardeners can plant corn. In late August, we can plant lima beans or snap beans. Instead of winter squash, which much be sown by late July in order to ripen by fall, we can intersperse our corn and beans with cucumbers. While timely, this planting window is small, so if you would like try your hand at growing this modified Three Sisters, prepare your beds and get planting now! Below is a basic guide to this companion planting technique. What 3 plants make up the 3 sisters?The Iroquois and the Cherokee called corn, bean, and squash “the three sisters” because they nurture each other like family when planted together. These agriculturalists placed corn in small hills planting beans around them and interspersing squash throughout of the field.
What are the Three Sisters in a garden?The Three Sisters Garden is a kind of companion planting; the corn, beans and squash are grown at the same time in the same growing area. History: According to Native American legend, these 3 crops are inseparable sisters who can only grow and thrive together.
What were the three sister and how did they work?The Three Sisters are represented by corn, beans, and squash and they're an important facet of Indigenous culture and foodways. They're planted in a symbiotic triad where beans are planted at the base of the corn stalks. The stalks offer climbing bean vines support as they reach for sunlight from the earth.
|
