Three Sisters Method - The Miracle Trifecta!

[punk-a-doodle]

Oh yeah, sorry, didn't mean to mislead. Corn is not insect pollinated as you say Gjen, we're just planning on hand pollinating that as well as I'm nervous about our corn being properly pollinated due to its location (fenced back yard, and lots of urban wind blocks in the area).

My name, 5 is the absolute max I've heard of, and we may find we need to thin it out further. 3 is typically the number I hear being grown per mound, so I think you'll be just fine.

 

[1MrsMagoo]

Just a suggestion on the snap beans. If you use a purple pod variety like Royalty or La purple pod, it makes the beans much easier to see. In my experience growing them, they are some of the toughest most prolific ones I grow and I grow quite a few varieties.

Besides that, they are a nice change and fun if their are any kids around. My little niece calls them magic beans because they are deep amethyst purple when they go in the pot to cook and green when they come out.

 

[itsren]

Just a suggestion on the snap beans. If you use a purple pod variety like Royalty or La purple pod, it makes the beans much easier to see. In my experience growing them, they are some of the toughest most prolific ones I grow and I grow quite a few varieties.

Besides that, they are a nice change and fun if their are any kids around. My little niece calls them magic beans because they are deep amethyst purple when they go in the pot to cook and green when they come out.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Just a suggestion on the snap beans. If you use a purple pod variety like Royalty or La purple pod, it makes the beans much easier to see. In my experience growing them, they are some of the toughest most prolific ones I grow and I grow quite a few varieties.

Besides that, they are a nice change and fun if their are any kids around. My little niece calls them magic beans because they are deep amethyst purple when they go in the pot to cook and green when they come out.

I will have to give those beans a try. Sounds like fun!
Are they a bush bean, or do they need a trellis to climb on?

 

[1MrsMagoo]

I will have to give those beans a try. Sounds like fun!
Are they a bush bean, or do they need a trellis to climb on?

Let's see....Royal Burgundy and Royalty are bush beans and LA Purple Pod are pole beans. I think those are the only ones I've tried. There are a couple other heritage varieties I've seen on websites or seed catalogs, but these were available at the local feed & seed.

Also, I have read that the Royal purples will germinate in cooler, wetter soil than other varieties, so can be planted earlier in the spring. I planted early, the 3rd week of February this year due to the unseasonably warm winter, and they did come up when a couple other varieties did not.

Good luck and happy gardening!

 

[mynamesjenelle]

Hi everyone! I thought I would share some pictures of my three sisters garden patch



The front row of crops is lettuce, then a foot behind that is carrots (and only about seven of those even came up) then the mounds for three sisters method behind that, and then the on the back is a row of sunflowers. The corn is a yellow/white sweet variety, the beans are rattlesnake beans, and MOST of the squash is pattypan. We were short on squash seeds so we only had one seed for each mound, and about three of them didn't sprout. However, somehow we had squash plants sprouting in our raised beds and even in the lawn! They might be zucchini seeds from last year, or maybe pumpkin seeds from the neighborhood squirrels, but we sure as heck didn't plant anything there. So we dug up a couple of these 'mystery squash' and transplanted them to the empty mounds. Who knows what will grow?!

There is also something strange going on. Nothing in the top-right corner of the garden bed is growing. You can see that the sunflower plants stop right by that last mound, and nothing has sprouted out of the mound itself. That mound had three corn seeds and three bean seeds and nothing came up. Last weekend I dug into it and found all of the seeds still there, looking just fine, but not sprouted at all. What could cause plants to not sprout in one area?

 

[itsren]

Last weekend I dug into it and found all of the seeds still there, looking just fine, but not sprouted at all. What could cause plants to not sprout in one area?

Your patch looks beautiful!

I don't know... I think seeds can be fickle. I have had a bunch of seeds that didn't sprout this year (peas were one). I'm not sure why. A few are suddenly sprouting late - even though many of the others sprouted when I expected them to. I have quite a few nasturtiums that did this, too. Strange. So, now I have a lot of big plants, and a lot of baby plants - and they were planted at the same time.

 

[mynamesjenelle]

Your patch looks beautiful!

I don't know... I think seeds can be fickle.  I have had a bunch of seeds that didn't sprout this year (peas were one).  I'm not sure why.  A few are suddenly sprouting late - even though many of the others sprouted when I expected them to.  I have quite a few nasturtiums that did this, too.  Strange.  So, now I have a lot of big plants, and a lot of baby plants - and they were planted at the same time.

Thank you That's so strange how that happens. I wonder if any studies have been done to find out why some of them don't "wake up" at the same time as the others. As of yesterday morning, we have squash flowers! The mystery squash flowers look the same as the pattypan (which look the same as the zucchini did last year), so no hints there. I can't wait for them to show fruit so we can figure out what the heck they are.

 

[mynamesjenelle]

Update - we have squash!



The rest of the garden is looking good too. I can't believe it was only a week + a few days since I took that last picture

 

[animalsRawesome]

Well, how did everyone's gardens turn out?