Produced by
Patti Moreno
Contributor to:
Harvesting My Three Sisters Garden
This video is part two of my Native American Three Sisters Garden video series.
The Iroquois Native Americans were really on to something! In their tradition, every single year, I plant a Three Sisters Garden and watch in awe as it thrives. This easy-to-plant garden is the epitome of “nature taking its course.” Amazingly, like three siblings, the plants interact with each other in a complementary nurturing fashion; protecting each other from the elements. The three sisters are corn, beans, and squash and they fit beautifully in a raised bed. After only four weeks, this video shows me harvesting beans from the garden with my daughter, Alejandra. She's always a big help at harvest time.
As the Native Americans did, I plant the corn in the middle and the beans around it. The beans grow up the corn stalk which makes the stalk more rigid so it is more able to withstand strong winds. The beans give nitrogen to the soil while the corn feeds on the nitrogen in order to grow. Lastly, the squash is a vine, as is grows on top of the soil, it keeps moisture in and weeds and harsh sunlight out.
This is a great garden for beginners and to share with your kids. They will marvel at how these three plants work together and will enjoy feasting on the fresh veggies. When my daughter observed that there were no weeds in this raised bed – she wondered how I did it. I told her, I didn’t do it, it was the three sisters. Watch the video and share with your kids too.
