roots.rock.garden.: respect to the three-sisters, De-o-ha-ko

i’ve always seen the ‘three-sisters’ in recipes for stews and soups, always a big hit around the harvest moon feasts. i love it best stewed for a few hours with fresh cornbread. my good friend in NY made the Moosewood Restaurant's recipe for my baby shower, which is one of my favorites! a rich stew that mixed corn, beans, squash, and any other veggies ready in the garden...she even rocked the vegan cornbread!!

so what are the ‘three sisters’?!

native americans such as the Mohawk and Iroquois introduced the three sisters ...corn,beans, and squash.... and grew them in harmony on 5’ mounds. the mounds are then ready for feast around the harvest moon festivals. you feast, then preserve the rest for the winter months. E has wanted to try these the past few years, so this year, we set up the 10‘x20’ bed along the back of the garden for the mounds. we were able to get in 8 mounds, 5’ each in diameter.

grass cleared, mounts starting to take form

the story of the three sister mounds varies according to different tribes all across north america, here is a good write up i found on homestead.org about the Iroquois:

“Even further back in history, while domesticating corn, beans, and squash, Native Americans discovered that these three crops grow better when planted together. According to Iroquois legend, corn, beans, and squash are three inseparable sisters. The Iroquois believe each of these three crops are precious gifts from the Great Spirit and are watched over by one of three sisters' spirits, called the De-o-ha-ko. Iroquois ceremonies to honor the De-o-ha-ko mark the planting season and the first harvest.

Even without the scientific awareness to understand why these companions thrived, the tribes passed on the knowledge—through stories and annual rituals—that corn, beans, and squash should always be planted together. And this makes sound environmental sense: The beans and corn have a symbiotic relationship in which the corn provides a support for the beans to grow up. In return, the beans provide extra support for the corn in strong winds. The squash adds to this partnership by providing ground cover to both conserve water and repress weeds. In addition, although corn is a hungry feeder, beans (as all legumes do) take nitrogen from the air rather than the soil during the growing season, and so don’t compete for nutrients. “

i found these beautiful statues at http://www.iroquoismuseum.org/three_sisters.htm

"corn spirit", by Stanley Hill, Mohawk

"bean spirit", by Stanley Hill, Mohawk

"squash spirit", by Stanley Hill, Mohawk

so we planted the corn in the middle of each mound in early May. E has done a ton of research on the way the Iroquois planted their mounds, & found this great study done by Cornell University (NY represent :)

http://blogs.cornell.edu/garden/get-activities/signature-projects/the-three-sisters-exploring-an-iroquois-garden/

so according to this plan, i planted 6-8 corn on each mound. we used 2 different types of corn, always organic!

envelopes of goodness

this is super important, especially with corn, tomatoes, edamame...well, all of them. stay away from the gmo & treated seeds... taking the time to find a good seed stock is worth it. want to learn how to preserve my own this year (any tips?!). had some heirloom ornamental corn, too...so put a little of that in also.

so we planted the corn...and sure enough...the corn grew!!!

martian jewel sweet corn

Z is loving having a little corn field in the backyard! so when the corn in 4” high (which it is now)....you plant a ring of pole beans around the corn. the around that, a ring of squash seeds. i know it seems a little late to be planting bean by seed (at least i thought so), but again the plan is to have it ready when the corn & squash ready. i have bush beans in another bed so we’ll have some soon to hold us over! we’ve read people also used pumpkins, but i think that is a little too big for the space i have. i found this great seed pack variety from burpeesorganics so i’m going with this for most of them.

as far as the beans, i'm going to use the Scarlett Run Runners... and I have a mix of squashes i found from burbeesorganics. this website also has a great Three Sisters seed pack, all in one! http://www.reneesgarden.com/articles/3sisters.html

this bed needed a good fence...so i rolled out some left over fence from a few years ago... bent it in half & walked along it to bend it and make a nice 2' high fence. me & a friend threw in a few stakes and we had a fence!