Let鈥檚 make a cup of tea and pretend that we鈥檙e sitting around a fire pit, sharing stories as watch the flames flicker and dance.聽 Get comfy in your chair, sit back, and let me tell you about the legend of the three sisters.
Long, long ago, there were three sisters: one was tall, with silky yellow hair, and always towered over her other sisters, offering them support.聽 The second sister liked to run off by herself and be a free spirit, but she was very giving. The third sister was very shy and stayed close by, protecting the others. The Spirit saw how the three girls loved and needed each other, and transformed them into the magical vegetable trio, the 鈥渢hree sisters鈥� of corn, beans and squash.
The corn offers strength and support for the other plants; the beans are the giving plant through the whole season, wrapping the corn, holding the sisters together, and fixing nitrogen in the soil; and the squash is the shy, protective plant that grows over the roots of the others, holding moisture and protecting them from weeds.
This beautiful story is a simplistic version of the legend of the three sisters, which the Iroquois and North American tribes had been growing for hundreds of years by the time Europeans arrived. This trinity of vegetables was seen as sacred and life-giving, providing a balanced diet when eaten together.
Three sisters planting is a very effective use of space in our gardens. To begin, mound soil about twelve inches high and three to four feet wide.聽 Plant six corn seeds in the middle of the mound, an inch deep and about ten inches apart, to make a circle about two feet wide. When the corn is up and is about five inches tall, plant four bean seeds around each stalk or corn. (Note: in reading about this method planting I have also read that the corn seeds should be thinned to the most robust three or four plants. You can decide if you want to leave them all or not.) Now, wait a week and plant six squash seeds evenly around the circle of the mound.
This is a perfect example of companion planting, where each plant helps the others to grow better.
And guess what? I even read an article where the gardener was doing the three sisters method in a large container! While she was not sure if the corn would actually bear any ears or not, she felt that the planting method would enhance the productivity of the beans and squash.聽 It would be an interesting experiment!
That鈥檚 the fascinating thing about gardening: there is always something new to grow and something new to try!
Only 26 more sleeps till the May long weekend, the traditional 鈥減lanting鈥� weekend!聽 Who knows, maybe we鈥檒l be out there earlier this year. I read a quote somewhere: 鈥淚f you want to be happy for a lifetime, be a gardener.鈥� Isn鈥檛 that true, especially at this time of year?
The next meeting of the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society is on May 17, when Frank Woloschuk will be teaching us about the how-tos of 鈥淧lants, Roots, Rhizome Divisions and Cuttings.鈥� Everyone is welcome!
Oh, yes, if you鈥檇 like a recipe for Three Sisters Soup, visit our website at www.yorktonhort.ca
Have a great week!聽聽聽聽 .
