This is part of a new series of blog posts for beginner gardeners. These posts may be a little shorter and more specific in nature.

Before I explain more, however, I want to stress that this system was invented by Native Americans.

It is said that the Iroquois and Cherokee named it “The Three Sisters”, because when planted together in the right way, the plants nurture each other like family. The Iroquois tell that Sky Woman buried her daughter in the earth, and the three sacred plants, corn, beans, and squash, grew from her daughter’s grave. These plants provided food for the people and ensured the survival of the Iroquois. 

Like many indigenous techniques, this system is now used by permaculture gardeners. Some have claimed that permaculturists are guilty of cultural appropriation, not giving enough credit to the people who invented these systems. I wanted to give credit where it’s due.

The plants used in a three sisters garden are corn, beans, and squash.

The corn, a heavy feeder (that means it requires a lot of nutrients, including nitrogen), provides support for the climbing beans. The beans, meanwhile, absorb nitrogen from the air and convert it to nitrates, which the other plants need. The beans need some sort of trellis, which the corn provides, and in return, the beans feed the corn. The squash has large leaves which shade the ground. This helps keep weeds from germinating, and it also slows down evaporation.

How to plant a three sisters garden

Before you start, orient your bed to maximize sunlight. This will increase your overall yield, as you’ll want to get the most possible sun hitting both of the longer sides of the garden bed. I have my three sisters bed oriented with the long sides going north-south, so each long side of the bed gets at least half a day of full direct sun. The side facing east gets full sun until later afternoon, and the west facing side gets a lot of afternoon sun. (We have long summer days.) You may do it differently, depending not only on which hemisphere you’re in, but also how far north-south you live in that hemisphere. You may have other restrictions, such as the placement of your house, which make it impossible to get the orientation just right, but don’t fret. It will still work well.

The first thing you should plant is the corn.

When the danger of frost has passed, make little hills in your garden bed and put about 3 seeds in each hill, an inch or two apart. These little mounds improve drainage. I usually plant rows of these little hills, making a rectangular bed. I water in the seeds and let them grow for at least two weeks. The corn plants should be about three inches high before you plant anything else. I usually grow some sort of dent corn, usually blue corn and occasionally a red or green dent corn. For some reason, sweet corn never does well right where I live. And the dent corns are so easy to store! I grind them and make bread with them; you can also make masa for tortillas.

Now that your corn is up, it’s time to plant your beans and squash.

The reason I delay the planting of beans is that they grow quickly, and if the corn doesn’t get a head start, the beans will overwhelm it and topple it over. I plant beans all around the hills, especially on the outside. I’ve tried putting some in the center of the bed, but they don’t get a lot of sun in there, so there are fewer ripe beans to pick on the inside. Still, you might want to plant some beans in the center area anyway, as those beans will still feed the corn, even if they don’t yield a lot of beans to eat. The beans on the inside are also harder to reach. 

My favorite varieties of beans are the purple ones, mainly because they’re easier to find when they’re ripe – they contrast with the rest of the green plants. I like the slender beans, not the big, tough, flat ones. Yellow beans, also slender, are delicious and easy to find, but they’re usually bush beans, so they won’t climb very high. 

You should also now plant your squash.

I plant them here and there, but not too densely. Don’t forget how big squash plants can get! I recommend you choose smaller varieties of squash, such as delicata or acorn. If you plant large pumpkins or hubbards, the fruits will take up a lot of space in the bed and possibly knock over your corn. If you really do want those big squash, make sure to train them as they grow, so that the fruits are in open areas or outside the bed. And don’t plant zucchini in your three sisters garden! Zucchini plants get bulky, almost like a bush, and they take up a lot of space, unlike the winding thinner vines of butternut or spaghetti squash.

Some people add a fourth and even a fifth sister: amaranth, sunflowers or other pollinator plants, and marigolds. Amaranth is another plant that’s native to the Americas. All parts are edible and very nutritious. It grows large, so I would plant it next to your three sisters’ bed. Technically it’s thus not really a sister. But you can plant a few sunflowers or zinnias on the edge of your three sisters bed to increase pollination. You can also add marigolds or a few chives to deter pests. Plant them around the outside, especially the marigolds. If you like, try putting a chive plant or two on the inside.

This starts to look like a tree guild without the tree.

I’ve added a graphic showing the placement of the plants, and I hope it is clear.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

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