This mixed cropping is actually being grown as a profitable culture on a couple of farms in Europe. But it's mostly the combination of corn and beans. You can harvest them quite easy with a combine. I just came back from a EU focus group about these kinds of mixed cropping and how to get farmers to do it. It has a lot of possitive points for soil health, pest control, water usage and getting more yield because you are growing two crops on the same spot.

@pjihae

25 күн бұрын

Almost like Indigenous cultures know how to care for the land.

Thank you for sharing that beautiful story. I remember one year planting cucumbers too close to the corn. The cucumber vines climbed to the top of the corn stalks. It was a bumper crop of cucumbers that year. How nice to see your little nephews enjoying the garden. Kids always like to harvest. Jordan, you seem to have strength in your voice. I hope you are feeling well. Sunshine and happiness to you and miss Sylvan.

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Thank you so much! And yes, I'm definitely feeling like I'm getting back to normal after the surgery so I appreciate the kind words.

Your videos, especially in collaboration with Ethan, are such works of art that I get emotional watching them. You’re doing amazing work and I wish you a very fruitful season!

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Thank you so much, we’re so glad you’re enjoying them! I just texted him a screenshot of your comment 😊

@walkerbadon962

Ай бұрын

@@HomegrownHandgathered I love y’all’s videos. What do y’all do about fertilizer since corn needs a lot of nitrogen but beans do not

@stravaganza7616

Ай бұрын

​@@walkerbadon962 if I'm correct, the beans make the nitrogen for the corn 🌽 🌱😊

@lyndonnelly

23 күн бұрын

Just found your channel wow awesome. I am growing food but love to soak up lived experience and spy to my garden here in Australia

@juliealvarez3302

10 күн бұрын

What month of the year do you start planting the corn??

Fantastic video; a truly great example of how Permaculture is the way to grow food.

Over here in Tasmania we are much less exposed to the many varieties of corn apart from sweetcorn, and we don't eat a lot of cornmeal products. But last season I grew Glass Gem corn for the first time, which struggled with my early frosts, but I have just harvested an exciting load of magically coloured cobs! I'm thrilled at the prospect of nixtamalising them, building my own wooden tortilla press, and learning some new recipes to cheer me on the bleak winter days. Fortunately I have a jersey cow, so sour cream will definitely be an ingredient! The purple king beans I grew were eaten fresh, but I grew Kilham Goose dried beans elsewhere for the first time. Not enough to eat, but to provide seed for a bumper crop next year. The squash I grew in the 3 sisters bed was pepitas, which didn't manage to turn gold before the frost, so I don't know how successful they will be. But like all gardeners, I keep hoping for better results next season! Meanwhile I will enjoy watching your progress through your summer. Your videos are some of the most enjoyable, educational and encouraging to anyone gardening to feed themselves through the year.

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Sounds like you're well on your way to a successful Three Sister's garden and homegrown tortillas. I bet this year will be the year :)

@experimentalgardener4457

13 күн бұрын

If you have a short summer, I'd recommend Painted Mountain Milling Corn. It's bred for short summers and can tolerate cold better than others. I've grown it and it does great.

The piano playing was exceptional on this video! You guys are always awesome and informative. Thanks to all three of you!

Thank you for having pleasant music in your video:)

I would love to see some information on how much you plant and your yields, especially for your staple crops like the 3 sisters.

Thank you! I've always loved reading Indian legends. The music titled "Cotyledon" by Ethan Lennox is beautiful and partners appropriately with the topic.

So glad to hear you and see your face! A wonderful story for sure. And P.S. I love your videos!

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Thank you so much! Glad to be back on my feet… mostly 🙂

@bushpushersdaughter

Ай бұрын

Please take your time and heal well. @@HomegrownHandgathered

i recommend when baking squash, adding a bit of Olive Oil. don't need a ton. but a little goes a long way. (or whatever kinda oil you want. peanut, olive, soya, canola, cottonseed, etc)

love your videos, our national dish in Argentina is called locro (there are different versions on all andean countries) and its a hearty stew based on these three foods, dried white corn, white or butter beans and winter squash, and lots of pork and beef cuts with lots of bones, fat and connective tissue, like pigs ears, trottlers and skin, ox tail, etc i always wanted to grow a locro patch, but my garden is to small to make it worth it, until recently i had no idea that growing this combination of vegetables was a thing, in basically all the continent

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Ohh that dish sounds amazing. We might have to try something similar with our deer meat this hunting season

I planted the 3 sisters today and I am in such awe about the story ❤ can’t wait for them to grow and support one another

I can never wait long enough to get the dried beans. We have rattlesnake poke beans and we keep eating them raw as a garden snack :) 😂

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Hey I mean, if you prefer to eat them fresh go for it haha

👏applause 👏 🥳 . . fine job H H . Set the example ; BE the EXAMPLE 👍🎯

As I always say I love your videos. I was thinking about how my mom always likes to say that I'm a gatherer more so than a planter and it's true. Few things feel more satisfying than gathering tomatoes, cucumbers,okra ,corn and potatoes to me. My family grows a small summer garden every year and some of my fondest memories are canning green beans or tomatoes with my family members many that have passed on now.The imagery that you all manage to get looks the way those memories feel and I think that's one of the reasons I am so fond of your channel. Thank you for sharing all the information that you do.I can't wait for the next one.

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Those are lovely memories and I'm glad our videos bring them up for you. Hope you have a great garden this year :)

@anasazirose

Ай бұрын

I'm definitely a planter, more so than a gatherer. Well, except when it comes to my paw paw patch. I gather every one of those!!!

I also work my garden barefoot sometimes! I know its probably not the best idea, so most of the time i wear sandals, but when I'm barefoot, i feel closer to the earth that i am working. Its spiritual!

@RaechelleJ

Ай бұрын

Ya I've stepped on a bubble be last year it hurt but I still go bare foot

Beautiful crops! And so satisfying to see that pumpkin fit perfectly into the dutch oven at the end.😅

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

That was actually the magic of editing. I had to smash it into the dutch oven with a closed fist to get it to fit 😂😂

@marisam9763

Ай бұрын

​@@HomegrownHandgathered well great editing! 😂

‘Mel gets the gelato’ gets me in the feels every time ❤ thank you

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Same!

Have you ever tried a fresh produce version to eat during summer? Sweetcorn, Summer Squash and 'Green' Beans? I do a frozen veggies from the grocery store stir fry version. Then I add some beef or chicken bone broth (going to try for turkey if I can find the time to make it more authentic), onions, garlic, seasoning, some powdered goat milk to thicken and a bit of honey. Sometimes I add salmon or my turkey bacon too, maybe even cubed potatoesand tomatoes. Ends up as more of a stew so I call it my 3 Sister's Stew Fry!

@FireNTheSky

Ай бұрын

The most common way this garden type fails is by doing what you suggest. Sweet corn is more fragile and summer squash doesn't vine out enough.

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

We don't do that too much ourselves, but Silvan's dad cooks those up together and calls is succotash

@UnironicallyToast

Ай бұрын

@LaineyBug2020 The kind of comments we see and tolerate only because the algorithm overlord like interration. Braindead, thoughtless, absolutely annoying to look at. You're the kind of who cant shut up for one moment, are you?

@misstweetypie1

Ай бұрын

I believe part of the reason, other than what others have said, that this doesn’t work as well, is because what you describe needs more frequent harvesting. The risk of ripping bean vines, or stepping on squash plants is higher if you have to go in there all the time. The traditional three sisters garden is harvested from, at most, three times (I believe the intention is that everything dries up so you can harvest everything at the same time) It’s all so squished together that it also would just be more of a pain, especially if you do it in a larger plot :) you meal sounds delicious!

Maybe a dumb question but is crop rotation still necessary if you plant in this method?

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Not a dumb question at all! It’s definitely less necessary to rotate when you’re growing companion plants. We don’t really rotate these at all, we just make sure to replenish the soil with compost and organic fertilizer each year

@ragnkja

Ай бұрын

From what I’ve heard, it matters less whether you alternate the crops in time or in space than it does *that* you alternate them in some way.

@kathleenredick275

14 күн бұрын

Not really, because beans are a nitroogen fixer.

Cotyledon, how appropriate song name playing while planting.

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

He wrote that one after we were chatting about our Spring gardens actually 🙂

@Inana_Beth

Ай бұрын

​@@HomegrownHandgathered I always enjoy both the music and video

such a lovely reminder

So glad to see you two well!

Love your videos. Hope they never stop ❤

I really enjoyed this! Thanks for sharing

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

You’re welcome! Glad to hear that 🙂

Y'all make the most wonderful vidoes, so inspiring!!

It is so delightful and relaxing watching your videos! I'm so glad you are doing well 👍🏻.

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Thank you! So glad you’re enjoying them

Such a beautiful video! Glad to see you back on video! Speedy recovery and God bless you guys. Much love to Ethans musicianship. You guys seem like you have a beautiful group of friends

Thank you so much for sharing this video! I learned a lot. My grandpa always grew sweet corn, green beans, and zucchini, but did the traditional rows (from what you say it sounds like sweet corn stalks aren’t strong enough for Three Sisters planting). I have very fond memories of harvesting and preparing these foods. You are right that they taste so much better fresh! I saw on one of your short videos that you use the corn detritus to grow oyster mushrooms. Are you going to make a video about that process? I would love to find out how to do that! My only success with mushrooms have been finding edible ones in our yard or growing them from a kit. Do you buy the spores? I really appreciate your videos. You have brought so much joy to so many people, and have inspired us to slow down and connect with our food. Even those of us who grew up in farming families are learning about healthier ways to grow food, in ways that don’t deplete the earth and make use of natural methods like companion planting. Question: do you use your chickens for pest control in your Three Sisters space? I was wondering if the root systems could handle it. It seems like a great way to get rid of squash bugs. We let our chickens in the herb garden, they don’t do much damage to our tall herbs like parsley, dill, and cilantro!

@HomegrownHandgathered

20 күн бұрын

We don’t currently use chickens in the patch since we grow in community gardens and some people wouldn’t be cool with that, but that would be a great idea to bring them in at the end of the season so they can eat the pest bugs, pick through any leftover kernels and fertilize the ground. We plan to start doing that with turkeys and sheep in the future when we have some land of our own

It's great to see you transplanting corn :) I did that last year with sweet corn and it works so well!

Very nice musical choice. Thanks!

@HomegrownHandgathered

13 күн бұрын

Thanks! That’s our friend Ethan. You can find the rest of his songs on SoundCloud

This was such a beautifully made story of a video

A very nice job. I once tried to grow a small margin garden. That summer set record highs above 110f. 😠 The birds pecked holes in every thing. I planted some odd on-sale carrots that stayed in the ground for 1.5 yrs b4 peaking! Turned out they were canning carrots & incredibly sweet but shaped like a turnip😅. I will live vicariously thru you two. Nice job!

Loved your videos, super informative, relaxing, and always puts a smile on my face. Thank you for sharing.😊🙏🏻

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Well you just put a smile on my face because those are three of our goals with these videos!

Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom! Based

Gorgeous video. الحمد لله على سلامتك

I haven't watched YT in a while, the last time was when Jordan said he'd be undergoing a procedure. Glad to see it went well, and it's good to see you both again! Now it's time for me to binge what I've missed on, thank you for sharing your much-needed calming presence 🌿

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Welcome back! And thanks, I’m glad to be back on my feet again (mostly 😅)

loved this

Absolutely lovely video.

@HomegrownHandgathered

19 күн бұрын

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂

Amazing 👏

Great video. Thanks

Great video! I'm going to try this again this year. Last year, my first year gardening, I only managed 1 pumpkin about the size of an apple...

@injesusnamewepray46

Ай бұрын

It was opposite for me... My first garden had the most beautiful and tasty tomatoes and my zucchini was amazing! When i started watching all the videos i got busy in the garden and had hardly no vegetables for two years. Im gonna try again next year, so im spending this year getting back to what i did in the beginning -composting and fertilizing with natural things!

beautiful

Great video! Thank you 😊

I enjoyed this video so much I watched it four times in a row. So glad to see you making videos again Jordan. I want you to know that you both have inspired me to rent a community garden plot this year. I had already decided I would try a Three Sisters Garden so this video was perfect timing bc I had so many questions. I’m growing in Northern Colorado so I’ve got a shorter season to work with but my hopes are high. Wishing you both well and looking forward to seeing your gardens grow! PS -loved the short & sweet song at the beginning 🩵

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

First of all, I’m glad you enjoyed this video so much, but most importantly congrats on your new garden space! In Northern Colorado make sure you’re growing a shorter season corn variety so it has time to ripen before the frost. I think Painted Mountain flour, Wapsie Valley dent, Hopi Blue flour and any flint corn should work well there

@SwervinErvins

Ай бұрын

@@HomegrownHandgathered thank you so much for these corn variety recommendations! That’s super helpful 🙏💜

This is such a relaxing video to watch, thanks so much for putting it together and sharing it! My wife and I are leaning hard into the Dry Corn, Dry Beans and Squash, testing different varieties out. What Corn, Bean, and Squash varieties do you guys grow?

Someone must be really jealous that Mel got the gelato! I loved that I could “sing” a long with it!

Hope alls well m8.

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Thanks!

Love the Outro haha❤

I’d love a list of what you’re growing this year and the varieties you’ve chosen…

So civilized ❤️❤️❤️

Can you make a video about how you prepare your garden soil and what you use to fertilize?

Hi! Could you explain a bit about the drying and curing of all three sisters? I am a bit confused about what you are doing to make them last.

@HomegrownHandgathered

20 күн бұрын

We usually let the corn and beans dry on the stalk and the winter squash is ready to store once the stem gets hard. After that we don’t really do anything and they store all Winter

Interesting video. I'm wondering how you protect the squash from squash bugs and potential fungus? I struggle with that early on in my planting season.

Question: I have learnt that you need a sturdy flint corn for this to work well, does that mean that sweet corn and beans are less of a good idea or does one simply need to plant bush beans or have something of an additional trellis to distribute the load?

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Yea, flint corn, dent corn, flour corn or popcorn all work well, but sweet corn stalks tend to be a little too flimsy. Adding a trellis or stakes to the mix would definitely help if that’s what you like to grow though

Thank you for the link tò the original legend 💚 Do you have other companion planting suggestions? P.S. you can plant any plant from the cucurbitacea family with the corn and beans 😉

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

We do a lot of companion planting. Some of our other favorites are tomatoes and basil, tomatoes and scallions, carrots and radishes, pole beans and sunflowers/okra/amaranth.

@arcobalenonellorto8994

Ай бұрын

@@HomegrownHandgathered I do tomato and basil and tomato with mariegold, carrot with radishes. I also added sunflowers to the common three sisters.

Can you also use this method with sweet corn to eat fresh? Or only with corn for drying?

Sorry if someone already asked this.. what do you recommend for grinding your own corn? I found a kitchenaid mixer attachment for grinding flour but read the corn is too greasy and will break it.

@HomegrownHandgathered

20 күн бұрын

Any flour mill should work well if the corn is fully dry. We use a Wondermill Junior and it works great, but if you already have a kitchenaid one it’ll probably work

The Three sisters is an awesome crop idea. I have many questions. 1) how often do you have to rotate your crops to another field? 2) what type of soil remediation do you use? 3) what do you do about squash Vine bores? 4) do you ears get fully pollinated? 5) what is the area in feet 25x10ft? 6) do you use any organic pesticides? I live in south Texas and we deal with heat, insects and drought

@Demopans5990

18 күн бұрын

I suspect crop rotation to be less of a priority, as if I remember correctly, soybean plants are nitrogen fixing

We are trying the 3 sisters this year! What variety of beans is your black bean?

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

These are a Cherokee (Tsalagi) variety, but any vining/pole black bean will work great

Can you grow crops this way in north Florida? When should I start planting and harvesting (considering the different climate)

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Yes, the Three Sisters have been grown in that area for a long time. We recommend planting after the average last frost in Spring, but in Florida that might not even be a consideration so you can probably plant them now and they’ll have time to ripen

@wynterroseetheredge9485

Ай бұрын

@@HomegrownHandgathered thanks so much!!! I have been struggling with figuring out the timing for my garden as most of the time we hardly get winter. Lots of love from Florida 🍊🍊

Greetings, Are there any pests: ie, vine borer? Cheers, Upstate NY

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

We get vine borers in our summer squash, but they’re not really a problem for us in our pumpkins and winter squash which have thicker vines

Do you have the corn tortillas recipe? Thanks

Mel doesn't sound very enthused about that gelato, perhaps he should change flavors?

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

It’s complicated

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Ayy, you got here fast Dre! 😊 I saw Annie at the greenhouse today. Let’s hang out soon

@oldwaysdre

Ай бұрын

@@HomegrownHandgathered Yes please!!! ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

What kind of beans are best to grow up the corn? Are we talking green beans or black beans.

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Well green beans are just the beans that are picked young when they’re still green. Any climbing/pole bean will work well 🙂

Any suggestions on keeping the raccoons from eating the oldest sitter before you can harvest ?

@HomegrownHandgathered

20 күн бұрын

If you have pressure from raccoons you might want to pick it a little early. We usually let it dry on the stalk, but it’s fully mature when the ears feel hard and sturdy so you might try picking it as soon as it gets mature and then hanging it to dry inside

Have you tried Nixtamalization on the corn yet?

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Yea, we nixtamalize it most of the time we eat it. The tortillas and chips towards the end of the video were from nixtamal.

I tried this and failed. My corn did t make it. I started it inside even. How much sun do they need? I think mine got too much. Thank you

love your stuff, been watching your shorts for a long time, but I have a small piece of constructive criticism! you might want to turn the music down when adding in the clips of you talking. it can be a little harder to make out what youre saying for people who dont have the hest hearing, and it still sounds better for the people who do. still a really awesome, informative video though!

@HomegrownHandgathered

29 күн бұрын

Thanks for the feedback, I did start turning down a little bit during the talking, but I’ll try lowering it even more next time. Also, there should be subtitles available if you’d like to use those for any of the videos where the music is too loud

Andbyou can make tamales with the corn leafes.

How much do you plant?

3-sister-planting is not so common here in the Philippines, maybe because we can grow them all year round?

What kind of squash is that?

Why do you peel the corn. So it won't go moldy and dries out.

@some.artist5435

Ай бұрын

Correct me if im wrong but im pretty sure they peel it so it dries out, and they hang it in bunches so it doesn’t mold Edit: i just realized you were giving a explanation oops

@discoverFigureitout

Ай бұрын

Because the corn husk is not edible.

I heard its all meant to die together, and be harvested dry

Dumb question, but why can’t you eat this corn off the cob?

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

These are flour corns which are starchier and grown for things like tortillas, tamales, cornmeal, etc. You can eat them off the cob when they're fresh, but they're not as sweet as sweet corn.

I came back to find the know-it-all person who commented about profits lol

@HomegrownHandgathered

13 күн бұрын

I think that was on our Three Sisters short. The people in the long video comments are always chill and down-to-earth 😊

Wait, the video ended! What are you doing with that pumpkin in a Dutch oven on top of a pizza stone???? What’s going on there? Lol

@HomegrownHandgathered

Ай бұрын

Haha nothing special, just baking it and then scooping out the flesh. I think we used most of that to make cornmeal pumpkin muffins. The pizza stone was just in the oven because we didn't feel like moving it

May i buy seeds from you?

@HomegrownHandgathered

22 күн бұрын

We don't sell seeds, but most of the varieties we grow are available from The Alliance of Native Seedkeepers