Michele in Ohio asked, "This is a little off topic, but has anyone seen
recent research on the three sisters technique for squash, corn and beans?"
I have grown squash in the corn patch, planting them both (from seed) on
the same day. It works, however the squash harvest suffers a bit as
compared to growing squash in full sun. A few squash vines brought down
corn stalks but the corn loss wasn't significant. The biggest problem came
in the form of stepping on (unseen) squash vines during the corn harvest,
ruining their potential productivity.
My experience with beans in corn wasn't intentional. I once planted
pole beans a bit too close to the corn and some vines ignored their trellis,
opting to climb on the corn instead. That would have been just fine, if the
beans would have stayed on one stalk of corn. No, they were more errant
than that jumping from one stalk to another, even spanning rows making the
corn harvest almost impossible without cutting bean vines.
Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Fruit Farm
4002 Davis Street
Pequot Lakes, MN 56472
1-218-831-7018 (My Cell)
[NAFEX] squash, corn and beans,
Jim Fruth, 01/21/2011