Patti Moreno Gardens With The Native American Three-Sisters Method (VIDEO)

Garden Girl Patti Moreno takes on an old, Native American way of gardening known as the three-sisters method, a combination that will leave you with a colorful, and delicious, vegetable medley.

"The Iroquois used to plant their corn and their beans and their squash together, because they thought that those plants were the sustainers of life," Moreno said.

The three sisters complement each others' natural processes, Moreno explained. While the corn takes nitrogen out of the soil, the beans put it back into the soil, and the squash helps everything along by shading the soil.

If you're going through a harsh winter, not to worry. Moreno can give you tips on how to keep your garden running through the four seasons.

WATCH the Garden Girl plant her three-sisters garden:

Get HuffPost Green On Facebook and Twitter!

Comments

[davidbooth65]

04:33 PM on 01/10/2010

If I am not mistake, each approximately 4' x 8' raised bed will include 32 corn plants, 32 bean plants, and 8 squash plants. This is likely to necessitate a significant addition of nitrogen, some of which is already tied up trying to break down the leaves, manure and bedding that was mixed in. Patty did not specify whether these were pole beans, or bush beans. If they were pole beans, which are typically used for three sisters plantings, the corn must have a head start of a couple of weeks or so, or it may be overrun by the beans. With the corn and beans using up almost all of the available solar energy, there is little left for the squash except perhaps on the south side of the bed. The corn and beans themselves may be reduced in yield from the competition, particularly if they do not receive a lot of water and additional nutrients. Raised beds warm up (and cool down) faster, but they also dry out faster. For some areas, sunken beds may be more appropriate.

[spilkus]

01:50 PM on 01/10/2010

Her raised bed was not raised at all. The soil is at surface level and she has a wood box around it that she has to reach down into. WTF Garden Girl? I've seen better gardening from Rita Moreno.

[neorad]

10:57 AM on 01/10/2010

I've been doing this forever. I start with seeds - much cheaper. Renee's Garden sells a seed collection that has all you need.

[mp3sevdam]

10:25 AM on 01/10/2010

Most gardeners do not compost in place. They clean up their dead plant material, and discard it. There goes the nitrogen.
http://belsoguklugutedavisi.blogcu.com/

[KIVPossum]

04:30 AM on 01/08/2010

Interesting that people are fascinated about what our ancestors took as common knowledge.

[SolarPowerGuy]

04:06 PM on 01/09/2010

Well, there are people who simply don't know anything about where their food comes from. They've never heard of crop rotation, or complementary polycultures.

As for myself, I'm fascinated by this subject because I believe that, while rules of thumb are a great beginning, they aren't always that reliable. I like to dig down into the hows and whys, with modern science to help me. I think we will do a better job of feeding ourselves, and living sustainably, if we learn from our gardens.

[anthonytaurus]

04:03 PM on 01/10/2010

back then, farming was the only other job available after hunting and prostitution. not like the local kids had an option to attend an out of state university and a get a job in nyc back in 1305 AD unless you count wallet making with the shawnee in PA.

[charlene pryor]

02:32 AM on 01/08/2010

This is a beautiful idea especially for someone in a wheel chair. I am an ex farmer and gardener who is going to try this this summer..love Pokie

[Freedom Rush]

07:19 PM on 01/07/2010

Thanks for the informative video Patti. Makes me wish we were neighbors so I could tips from you all the time. Keep those vids coming.

[Angie Cordeiro]

06:40 PM on 01/07/2010

Is it Meatless Monday yet?

Made Sunflower Seed "cheese" today...

3 cups raw organic sunflower seeds soaked overnight in vapor distilled water, drain, rinse, drain.

4 cloves organic garlic

1/2 cup soyu

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Blend, refrigerate, use often and blissfully ;-)a

[vagabond78666]

06:16 PM on 01/07/2010

hmmm well,I hate to be a negative man towards such a hottie ..but too much brown in that bed, it will probably hold all of the nitrogen. Her bed looks more like a compost. I do like the rabbit poop addition...and the three sisters approach is great. I think its the most popular companion planting because the story is cute and it involves American indians. Other than that i think corn is a waste of time and effort! great to eat though...shame that we waste so much on ethanol...oh and our tax money too. stop the subsidized corn!
man...I AM a downer.
Does anyone in Austin tx want mustard greens? I have more than my neighbors and I can eat...

[KIVPossum]

04:31 AM on 01/08/2010

Ship 'em to me. Can't find greens or okra in Moldova.

[mlaiuppa]

02:15 PM on 01/07/2010

But I don't like squash. Can I use something else?

[SolarPowerGuy]

02:53 PM on 01/07/2010

How about cantaloupes?

[govtmule]

06:35 PM on 01/07/2010

Cucumbers

[RealFood4]

02:02 PM on 01/07/2010

What a great idea! Thank you, Patty!
realfoodchronicles.blogspot.com

[SolarPowerGuy]

02:02 PM on 01/07/2010

I always wondered about this "Three Sisters" approach to gardening, or for that matter any method of gardening which uses legumes to "return nitrogen" to the soil.

It doesn't actually do that right away, does it? The bacteria that fix nitrogen by cooperating with the bean plant end up giving the nitrogen TO THAT PLANT.

When you are done for the season, you pick the beans, let the vines die, and turn the vines back into the soil as compost. Only then have you actually restored nitrogen to your garden. In other words, it's really a season-to-season process.

Anyone know for sure?

[Vickster]

10:42 PM on 01/07/2010

It involves a symbiotic relationship between a bacteria that's stored in the root nodules of legumes and the microorganisms that fix nitrogen in the soil.

[SolarPowerGuy]

01:15 PM on 01/08/2010

Right, I know that.

My point is, the legume plant ITSELF gets the nitrogen from the symbiotic bacterium. The plant itself provides some critical nutrients to the bacterium, in trade. That's why it's called symbiosis.

Now, why would a legume plant obtain nitrogen in this way, at a cost to itself, and then IMMEDIATELY give that nitrogen away to neighboring plants? I don't think that is what happens at all. I think that the legume plant itself absorbs all of the nitrogen it "paid for," and makes use of it.

To my way of thinking: that nitrogen can only be shared with OTHER plants, via the soil, when the legume DIES. And, this will only happen, in the closed-loop fashion that we think about in a Three Sisters garden, if the dead plant is composted back into the same soil where it grew. In other words: bean plants from year ONE can provide nitrogen to your corn crop -- but only in year TWO.

Most gardeners do not compost in place. They clean up their dead plant material, and discard it. There goes the nitrogen.

[vampbella09]

09:49 AM on 01/07/2010

Patty you have a great show! Thanks for the three sisters idea.