Three Sisters

Today we finally got our Three Sisters garden planted. We're all very excited to try this ancient and proven system of planting corn, beans, and squash out for ourselves.

The legend of the Three Sisters is an Iroquois legend associated with creation. It is said that these three sisters support and help each other. In the garden it works like this:

CC BY-NC-ND: Sarah Braun via Flickr

• Corn provides stalks for the beans to climb
• Beans provide nitrogen to help the corn and squash
• Squash provides a natural mulch keeping weeds down and moisture in the soil for all the plants.

In our garden (which is not pictured here) we updated the planting with heirloom varieties of Strawberry Popcorn, White Runner Beans, and three different varieties of pumpkins (Cinderella, Fairytale, and Connecticut Field Pumpkins).

The idea of planting in mounds was new to us since we have success in rows of plantings but we managed to get the mounds built, plant all the seeds, and not crush our new plantings as we moved through the garden.

We're doing more planting this year than past years to help with the food budget, learn a little more about eating in season, and have supplies for canning that will last the Winter and not focus on pickles or salsa. Our main garden goes in, hopefully, Sunday and it will feature peas, two types of bush beans, more popcorn (we love popcorn), and whatever else we can fit in the 12'x12' box.

Gardening is something that Olivia and I enjoy together. She likes to hear the stories and help with the planting. Last Summer she enjoyed pulling out the carrots early and enjoying the fresh sweetness of a crisp homegrown carrot.

In terms of learning, well, we focus on the enjoyment but if there are lessons they amount to patience, nature, nurture, science, and economics. By no stretch of the imagination do we openly incorporate these discussions. We just talk about what is happening and enjoy the fruits of our labor.

CC BY-NC-ND: Canton Public Library via Flickr

Olivia is promising to make some fairy houses for the pumpkins. We've certainly got the sticks for it. The promise of fairytale pumpkins and Cinderella pumpkins has her all aflutter with possibilities. Add to that our decision to plant wildflowers instead of grass in our bare spots and the backyard has become a little girl's fantasy realm. I can't wait to see what she does with it.