Three sisters planting.

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Three sisters planting.
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gardening-girl

Joined: 25 Feb 2009
Posts: 6024
Location: Somerset.

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 11 9:30 am Post subject: Three sisters planting.
I thought I would give this a go.Has anyone done it sucessfully? I am not sure re the timings of seed sowing as the corn would need to be fairly tall to allow the beans to climb,also the squash may take over if planted too soon.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 11 9:38 am Post subject:
It kind of works. If you plan to harvest the corn to dry, and to take in dry beans, its great. If you want juicy corn on the cob and green beans, its not so good. Its simply very hard to get in and pick without trampling things down, and its a pig to even find the beans. But squashes trailing among either beans or sweetcorm work very nicely indeed.

gardening-girl

Joined: 25 Feb 2009
Posts: 6024
Location: Somerset.

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 11 10:15 am Post subject:
So, perhaps two sisters,just do corn and squash.

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9717
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 11 10:17 am Post subject:
i do 2 sisters planting we have squash amongst the sweetcorn or squash (gherkins usually) between the bean canes. i think in this climate, the sweetcorn does not grow fast enough for the beans to climb them

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 11 10:18 am Post subject:

gardening-girl wrote:

So, perhaps two sisters,just do corn and squash.

Thats what I do. Corn with squash trailing through, and beans with squash trailing through. For how most of us use those vegetables that works really well, with the big squash leaves keeping the weeds down and shading the roots of the taller plants.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 11 10:28 am Post subject:
I've tried it twice, with massively reduced yields. I just couldn't get enough food or water in. I'm a lazy gardener, and it was a dry year, though.

TimNeo

Joined: 06 Jul 2006
Posts: 636
Location: Ashingdon, UK

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 11 12:12 pm Post subject:
I try every year, beans never do well, so gave up and do two sisters too! loads of results, except when badgers eat everything

astra

Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 1243
Location: Somerset

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 11 12:27 pm Post subject:
I did it last year. The corn was eaten by the sparrows before I got to it. Barlotti beans cropped well. Squash were on the small side. It was very hard to give them all enough water and didn't seem like a good idea environmentally. Might try again with a very thick mulch of something.

astra

Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 1243
Location: Somerset

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 11 12:28 pm Post subject:

TimNeo wrote:

I try every year, beans never do well, so gave up and do two sisters too! loads of results, except when badgers eat everything

They seem to love corn and strwberries. Our veg garden is fenced all round with galvanised sheets. Not very pretty but it works against the rabbits too.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6542
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 11 12:45 pm Post subject:
My problem is always that I forget to give everything enough room. I inevitably try to get as much into the garden space as possible, reducing yields overall I think. When your corn is sharing land with another crop, space it further apart then you would if it were by itself!

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9717
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 11 12:45 pm Post subject:
badgers dug up my carrot crop year before last. bless.....

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 11 12:47 pm Post subject:

Slim wrote:

When your corn is sharing land with another crop, space it further apart then you would if it were by itself!

But how does this affect pollination (which is my biggest problem with corn)?

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6542
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 11 12:58 pm Post subject:

judith wrote:

Slim wrote:

When your corn is sharing land with another crop, space it further apart then you would if it were by itself!

But how does this affect pollination (which is my biggest problem with corn)?

Shouldn't do a thing to pollination and may even improve it. Just to give you an idea of how far corn pollen goes on the wind, when breeding open-pollinated varieties, they plant them at least 2 miles away to ensure they don't cross-pollinate.

The bigger issue with corn pollination in small gardens is typically the overall number of plants. Best strategies are to plant in squares, or if in rectangles have the long side run the direction of the prevailing wind so that pollen can be blown across the whole planting. When silks have emerged, you can also walk through a small planting and shake the plants to get them to drop some pollen on sunny mornings.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 11 1:20 pm Post subject:

Slim wrote:

[if in rectangles have the long side run the direction of the prevailing wind so that pollen can be blown across the whole planting.

That's pretty much how mine are planted - usually a rectangle 3 or 4 wide by 8-10 deep. They are in raised beds so I can't get any more in across the width. But the pollination is always very patchy. Shaking the plants is probably going to be the answer.

If it's not a daft question, is it possible for it to be too windy?

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42207
Location: North Devon

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 11 1:22 pm Post subject:
On a hill in Wales? Surely not.

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