Three Sisters Gardening - What is it?

A friend of mine introduced me to Three Sisters Gardening a couple of years ago. It is a growing technique used by Native Americans where each food is supported and benefits from the other to produce a better harvest.

Traditionally, Three Sisters involves corn, beans and squash.  The corn grows straight and tall.  The beans grow up the corn as a trellis and provide nitrogen to the other two plants, and the squash receives shade from the beans to help retain water.

We don't eat squash and very few beans, so I adapted the technique to utilize foods we do eat.  To make an adaptation, you need plants that are companions.  This means the plants benefit each other.

We used sunflowers, cucumber and radishes.  All three plants are companions and provide the same principles as the usual Three Sisters combination.  The sunflowers grow tall and provide a trellis for the cucumber, and the cucumber provide shade and nutrients to the radishes.  It is an experiment.  So far, we have good results.

No one technique provides everything you need for your soil or your plants.  Try a couple and see what works best for you.

Thanks for reading.  Happy Homesteading!