Topic: Three Sisters Planting, final verdict

[carosanto]

Hi Y'all

Is there anyone out there who had a success with their 3 sisters? At the beginning of the season I got all over-excited about making a Three Sisters Planting.  Looking at the tangled mess now, I wish I hadn't bothered.  Firstly my beans never grew, not one bean.  Secondly my cucurbits got mosaic, or failed to take off entirely.  And lastly, to my great disappointment my sweetcorn only grew as high as a dog's eye - as high as an elephant's eye would have been nice but there you go.

Question:  the summer has, nice again, been dismally damp here in Cornwall although spring was wonderful.  Is this the reason my sweetcorn and beans  failed?

So, given that I'm going to get rained off every year (this is the third damp summer in a row) let's forget 3 Sisters...what do you experts out there suggest I plant for a DAMP growing season?

I know the answer is out there!

Regards Caro

[Chrispy]

When do you sow your sweetcorn?

My sweetcorn was fine not very tall but a few cobs on each plant.
I started early in pots, but was 1 short for my block, so did an extra a little later.

The spare that I started later was only as tall as yours.

I did stick a couple of butternuts in the block, just to see how they got on. After eating all the sweet corn, removing the plants, the squashes were still there, same size as they went in.

[lottie lou]

Didn't bother this year but the two previous years - sweetcorn okay/great, pumpkin good (best approx 7/8 lb), courgettes brilliant.  However the beans were a total waste of time.  The first time I saw this method of planting was abroad and they planted sweetcorn/pumpkins & sunflowers.  However it was quite hot/humid/monsoony so I don't know if this had an effect.

[hippydave]

i have made a 3 sisters bed for the last 4 yrs now and had success every year. I plant 2 beans at the bottom of the outer sweetcorn when they are around 2ft high as in the first year i planted them when the corn first went in and they over took the corn and i couldnt get to the beans in the middle of the corn as the beans made it hard to get into.. i now plant squash on one side of the corn and let it grow through the corn and out the other side ,dont get many fruits in the corn from the squash but when they come out the other side i get some good fruits and have had good corn all the time.

[Digeroo]

Did very well indeed.  Used a squash rather than a courgette so did not need constant cutting.  Planted the squash round the edge so they did not take so much nutrient/water from the corn.   But they soon wander into the corn grid.  Only grew the beans on the outer rows. 

Good crops from all three sisters, particularly good butternut squash/turks turban pumpkin.  Corn eight foot tall.  Certainly planning a repeat next year.  May put a shelling bean in the centre next year.  Actually the corn with peas rather than beans did the best.

[mrestofus]

how close did  you plant the squash, corn and beans.

the way I planted my three sister turned out very well this summer.

From what have I read about doing the three sisters the secret to doing it correctly is.
1. understanding the specs of squash,corn and beans varieties makes all the difference.
2. You need to adjust the spacing of each plant in the scheme so they do not overwhelm the others.
3. last key understanding what each of plants contribute to scheme and why.
 

[Digeroo]

I planted my corn about 15 inches apart/18 inches between rows.  12 plants to a batch grown on windowsill until about three inches tall. and then under a bottle cloche until the leaf comes out the top of the bottle.  Each corn had a companion bean planted about a week after the corn.  Couple of spares in pots.  Two weeks later next batch but this time just prechitted, bean after two weeks.  Went on holiday so second batch died so ended up with three batches. 
 
At each end of the rows were two extremely vigourous type rambling squash and one courgette.  One end were butternut and the other end were Tropetto d'albenga.  Whole bed had huge amounts of manure especially the squash ends.  Third batch had peas instead of beans.  Two weeks later next batch. 
Whole bed was also mulched with comfrey and manure (some of which was contaminated and so a couple of the bean plants failed grrrrr).

Since the rows were only four deep it was easy to pick the corn/beans/peas from the edges. 

[asbean]

We did two lots of two-sisters (corn and squash and beans and squash) with excellent results. Not sure about beans growing up corn plants, must have to keep them to the outer plants, but we have plenty of space so can do them separately.  Will definitely do it again.

[simmo116]

i did two sisters for the first time this year and although the corn done well i only got two pumpkins off two plants.

[djbrenton]

One thing to bear in mind is that the 3 sisters method was originally used for beans and corn that would be stored, so would all be picked late in the season. The corn would then be ground and the now dried beans shelled and kept. Hence, large areas could be planted and only harvested once the squash were ready in the autumn/late summer.

[Sparkly]

One thing to bear in mind is that the 3 sisters method was originally used for beans and corn that would be stored, so would all be picked late in the season. The corn would then be ground and the now dried beans shelled and kept. Hence, large areas could be planted and only harvested once the squash were ready in the autumn/late summer.

This is a good point. I tried a "2 sisters" method with squash and corn this year. Looked great from the start, but it once the squash plants had grown it was near impossible to get in to get any corn except the outer rows.

Maybe I could try this with some of that strawberry popcorn corn as that can be left to dry out on the plant?

[carosanto]

Hi Y'All

Thanks for 3 isters responses.  Didn't do anything subsantially different from other peeps.  Stuck in a shed load of manure, planted 6 sweetcorn, already 4 ins tall in pots, in a block, planted 2 beans for 4 of the outside s/corn, put in about 4 squash/curcubits.  Result as stated - Rubbish!!

However mrestofus to whom thanks did say:

'From what have I read about doing the three sisters the secret to doing it correctly is.
1. understanding the specs of squash,corn and beans varieties makes all the difference.
2. You need to adjust the spacing of each plant in the scheme so they do not overwhelm the others.
3. last key understanding what each of plants contribute to scheme and why.'

My understanding of this planting is that the beans provide nitrogen which s/corn love; the s/corn provide support which the beans need, and the squashes provide ground cover which suppresses weeds.  Perhaps it was a dire shortage of Buffalo Poo which caused my failure, but at least you have all inspired me to try just one more time again.  Thanks once again
 

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

I've had a couple of years of accidental Two Sister plantings - where the squashes have invaded some rows of beans. Last year about a third of a row of the fully grown french beans died all of a sudden. It was so dramatic I dug up the roots to see if they were still there. This year wasn't so bad, but the beans didn't look happy.
 I did wonder whether the squashes were restricting the circulation of air at the base of the beans, and encouraging some fungal ( i suppose) infection.......

[Bean_Queen]

I find that beans don't like climbing up corn or up sunflowers.  I tried both this year, and they really don't work.

However, I underplant my sweetcorn with a few pumpkins, and they make a good living mulch.  I haven't noticed any competition for water, and get a good crop off both.

I had a really good year for squash ... it's been warm and dry for about 6 weeks now, and they've produced lots of fruits.
Beans: so-so.  The dwarf beans have out-performed the climbers this year, and are easier to grow (not needing any poles).

[Jayb]

I got good results with two sisters in a 8'x4' bed. I think the sweetcorn was swift, anyway a good crop, bed was shared with blue kuri, which I've left to ripen. Summer was wet here so no extra watering was given. Due to the size of bed it was easy to pick the cobs when they were ready. I haven't had much success with 3 sisters in previous years but would grow squash and corn again.

[lewic]

Mine was a bit of a disaster. The beans climbed up the sweetcorn and pulled them down, so I had to cut the beanstalks to save the sweetcorn.. which died anyhow. The squash headed in the opposite direction, but are doing quite well!

[chriscross1966]

I've had a couple of years of accidental Two Sister plantings - where the squashes have invaded some rows of beans. Last year about a third of a row of the fully grown french beans died all of a sudden. It was so dramatic I dug up the roots to see if they were still there. This year wasn't so bad, but the beans didn't look happy.
 I did wonder whether the squashes were restricting the circulation of air at the base of the beans, and encouraging some fungal ( i suppose) infection.......

possibly shading the ground and allowing it to stay moist enough for slugs to chew right through the stems.....