Some groups of Native Americans believe that corn, beans and squash are three sisters in a garden. They each have a special job and complement each other. The corn, with the tall sturdy stem, can support the beans who need to vine and climb. The squash lies in between, keeping the weed growth to a minimum. All these are planted in a small area so that space can be utilized to the fullest extent.
These three plants can be very aggressive growers and like lots of sun. Make sure you plant them in a very sunny place. Kids like corn because it's tall. Beans and squash are rather quick growers for the most part, and once they start their growth kids catch on that beans and squash are fun to watch.
Traditional Three Sisters Garden
The Native Americans who used the Three Sisters Garden had a certain way they would arrange the three different plants. Build a mound a foot and a half long a foot high. The mound should be approximately three feet around. Flatten the top so that water runs off the mound.
Native Americans honored the four directions and planted four corn seeds in the center of the mound (in the flattened part), each seed facing its respective direction. When the corn is at least four inches high, plant three or four pole bean seeds around the corn. The beans will eventually use the corn stalks to climb up.
Plant the squash at the same time. Kids may want to plant pumpkins instead of squash. Alternatively, you can plant the squash or pumpkins in separate mounds in between each of the main mounds. The main mounds should be at least three feet apart, so you'd have a main mound with a squash or pumpkin mound centered about a foot and a half from each main mound.
Kids will have fun when they can plant their own mounds and have their own little plots to take care of. The spacing depends on the varieties grown and the space you have for gardening. If you want to plant the Three Sisters Garden for fun and learning, you can plant only a few in a container garden, but for maximum effect, you should plant at least four or five rows of mounds.
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