|
Post by macmex on Apr 8, 2018 5:39:58 GMT -6
"Three sisters gardening" refers to planting corn, beans (or another legume) and a vining crop (usually squash of some kind) all together because of the benefits derived from the combination. If I just want beans, I believe I'll get way more beans by planting a dedicated crop of beans, without any company. If I just want corn, the same is true. I'll just plant corn, and I'll get more corn than from a three sisters arrangement. I'm not sure that squash production is really diminished in the three sisters method, at least not the squash I use!
Still, many years I find myself planting this way in part of my garden. For one thing, I find it truly beautiful, throughout the entire gardening season. I love to observe the wild, exuberant growth this method produces. I love to see these crops interact. The other reason I like this method, is that I am chronically behind on weeding. I have to deal with Bermuda grass and Johnson Grass. The three sisters method is the only low input method I know which actually helps control these pests. When done correctly, the area which was under the three sisters arrangement, will have significantly less of these pests, in the coming year.
Anyway, here's an image of the article which the Tahlequah Daily Press published, announcing today's meeting. The theme of the article is "Three Sisters Gardening." I am very pleased with how they published it.
|
|
|
Post by hmoosek on Apr 10, 2018 8:41:28 GMT -6
George,
I've heard of, but never tried 3 sisters gardening. I hardly ever grow corn cause it's grown all around me by every farmer in the County. I talked to one of the local farmers a few days ago and he said this year would be a good year for me to grow corn cause most around here are going back to Cotton this year due to prices being so low on Corn. I had some Glass Gemmed corn, but I gave it away cause I don't usually grow any. Back when I did, I grew G90 and Hickory King.
|
|
|
Post by glen on Apr 13, 2018 10:51:59 GMT -6
George, that variety of bean called Georgia Long is probably a great candidate for the 3 sisters garden. Have you tried using it? Cowpea's are the most durable and easy type of bean I have ever tried to grow. I don't especially care for the snap beans that much since I prefer a fatter pod. But, the pea's taste great and those pods produce a whole bunch of dried beans.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Apr 14, 2018 6:10:33 GMT -6
Hickory King is a great corn. I haven't grown it. But I have friends who swear by it. Glen, Georgia Long would require some special management to work with 3 Sisters Gardening. It's one of those super exuberant plants, which might tear down the corn. I have other cowpeas, which are not so great for snaps, which are easier to use that way. Zeedman might now of a snap type which would be really good for this style of gardening.
|
|
|
Post by glen on Apr 14, 2018 12:14:59 GMT -6
If Georgia long bean is anything like my long bean, they grow more than 10 feet in length. You might need some stout corn plants to hold them up.
|
|
|
Post by amyinowasso on Jan 5, 2024 14:56:45 GMT -6
My husband wants to do a 3 sisters garden this year. I'm researching what seeds to get. Is "old timey cornfield pumpkin" the same as the " "cornfield" pumpkin sold by Sandhill Preservation? I'm looking at the corn varieties mentioned in another thread. George, have you ever looked at the corn at Southern exposure seed exchange? Cool stuff. Thinking about the Cherokee trail of tears bean. Suggestions and pointers welcome.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Jan 6, 2024 7:11:15 GMT -6
Ami, there are quite a few versions of "cornfield pumpkin." Most are c. moschata. I've never heard of one that wasn't quite good. The Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin, listed by Sandhill Preservation is the same as what I and several others, here, have grown. I sent them the seed. I can send out some of this seed to anyone wanting to pay the postage, but now, if one is already putting in an order, it's probably cheaper to order it along with the other seeds.
I'd also mention that Seminole would probably work alright in a Three Sisters Garden.
I looked at Southern Exposure's Flint, Dent and Flour Corns. They have a great line up. Sandhill has a lot of those corns but not the great images to accompany them. Any of the "Claridge" corns should have very sturdy stalks. For Three Sisters Gardening I'd recommend a corn that is noted for its sturdy stalks. The Hickory King types are also good. There are lots of good corns. Just try to be sure they have sturdy stalks. Apart from that... look for whatever catches your fancy!
Also, Cherokee Trail of Tears would almost certainly be a good bean for this arrangement. It's a good all purpose bean, too.
|
|
|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 6, 2024 21:20:40 GMT -6
One very important thing we learned here from Three Sisters field trials with NSU students over the years is that Three Sisters gardening doesn't work very well, 'gorilla style', where you just jump around in circles throwing seeds over your back. It takes some planning in advance, namely, planting the taller things like corn to the North end of your plot, so they don't block all the sunlight from reaching the shorter things like beans and squash. Keep the large leafed squash on the South end of the plot, so it can block sunlight from the weeds, but far enough away that it doesn't smother out the beans before they get a chance to climb up the corn stalks.
It's also a good idea to give the corn a little headstart on the beens, so that it can grow sturdy enough to withstand the bean vines before they take the place over. Planting corn into a soil temperature ranging from 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit may take 18 to 21 days to emerge, while planting between 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit, it can emerge in 8 to 10 days. Knowing the soil temperature at the planting depth being used is important in understanding when emergence can be expected to occur. Corn can usually be planted as soon as the buds on the oak trees are as big as squirrel's ears, though if the soil is still too cold and damp at that time, the corn will rot in the ground without germinating.
Beans like it a little warmer than corn, and will usually emerge in 7-10 days when planted in soil that has warmed to 65-85ºF.
Squash can be started indoors and then transplanted to the garden after the beans and corn are well established, so you can plant them inside the house while it's still too cool to plant them outside.
There was a lot of trial and error involved when we tried Three Sisters Gardening here. It's possible though, that someone else has it all figured out. If so, please add your experiences to the post, so the rest of us can learn from your trials, mistakes, and successes.
|
|
|
Post by amyinowasso on Jan 7, 2024 10:44:37 GMT -6
The first time I tried to plant corn and beans together, I grew Kentucky Wonder pole beans on a 4' tall popcorn. This was in a fabric bed. We spent a fortune on different composts to fill it, so it was pretty rich. I planted the corn and beans at the same time. It was after the spinach bolted. Those poor corn plants!I think maybe 6 came up.We put a welded wire fence around the bed, (it was 5' in diameter and about a foot deep of soil). The beans climbed the fence. They went down the other side.I did get 4 ears of pop corn by rubbing the pollen on the silks by hand. Those beans! There was a Basil plant in the bed they shaded all summer. It didn't bolt. The beans produced like crazy. I haven't grown corn since. My plan was a space about 4x16. We usually put kiddie pools and pots there. I've read you plant the beans on the outside edges of the corn. If anyone is looking,Sandhill has Old Timey cornfield pumpkin as a winter squash and not a pumpkin (categories they group seeds by).
|
|
|
Post by FrostyTurnip on Jan 9, 2024 20:49:01 GMT -6
Moving to a more favorable climate should do the trick.
|
|
|
Post by amyinowasso on Jan 10, 2024 11:17:32 GMT -6
I had decided on Cherokee Squaw corn. Sandhill preservation updated the corn and its not available in 2024. So I will order George's corn (it starts with an M and I can't spell it yet.) Also getting Cherokee Little Cornfield bean from SHP and Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin. I've ordered rattlesnake beans, too. I've grown them before, they make long vines. I have a question. I went to Bill Best's site looking at beans (too many, I was overwhelmed). He has rattlesnake and a separate Preacher bean. Victory seeds description of rattlesnake says in some parts of the country it's called Preacher. Bill's site didn't give long descriptions. Curious if anyone knows the story.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Jan 10, 2024 12:29:24 GMT -6
I am not sure about specific "Preacher Beans." Some may be identical and some different from others. The tradition on the name, as I understand it is that in rural and frontier areas there was often a shortage of ministers for the churches which sprang up. Hence there came to be a good many circuit riding preachers, who would travel, often on horse or mule, for many miles. preaching in these little outpost churches, doing funerals and weddings, etc. The custom was that wherever a circuit riding preacher went to serve, the congregation would both feed and house him during his stay. Most of the time host families would serve food they had grown or hunted, and often, if the preacher really liked the beans a particular family had, they'd give him some seed. In those days and circumstances a bag of such seed was highly prized. Additionally, some of these preachers rode for MANY miles. Some treasured such seed, grew it out in their own garden plots and then... shared with parishioners wherever they went. They probably recounted where they got their seed but many folk, adopting the seed as their own, would simply call it "Preacher beans." Many years ago I recall reading about a Preacher bean. If I recall, it didn't produce real tall vines and was a true tender podded (Full) bean. This would be very different from Rattlesnake, but Rattlesnake could well have been a "preacher bean," at some time.
Comment: Victory Seeds is particularly good on historical info.
I still have Cooper's Running Snap, from Georgia. I obtained it from a fellow in Morven, Georgia who got the seed from a woman living in or near the Okefenokee Swamp area. She didn't remember where she got the seed, having grown it for decades. She just called it "running snap bean." So, when I received the seed I figured I better come up with a more precise name. I asked for her name and he said that her name was Mrs. Lula Bell Cooper. Hence, it's called Cooper's Running Snap. I haven't grown Rattlesnake, per se, but I strongly suspect that this bean is nearly identical to it. You can see how names get lost and morph.
|
|