Here is the article I followed to setup the "Three Sisters Field" style planting. Many people have commented to say they had much better success with the mound method which is also include in the same link! www.nativeseeds.org/blogs/blog-news/how-to-grow-a-three-sisters-garden

@bethb8276

8 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@MyFocusVaries

8 ай бұрын

Interesting. Just FYI the pronunciation of Iroquois is ear-a-kwah

@adammartin9747

8 ай бұрын

Tried this with white eagle corn, trail of tears beans, and Lakota pumpkins. The corn made enough to grow more next year, but not enough to eat too. Same for beans. Squash vine borers got the squash.

@pastihijau5043

8 ай бұрын

Thank you

@kaylahall1219

8 ай бұрын

Ecological food conservatories are amazing!

I am indigenous (Hopi) and it’s so inspiring to see people continue to learn from my ancestors. These are ancient practices. Most don’t understand that we not only grew plants but we had a relationship with them, even in present tense. We are still living, breathing and growing on indigenous land. Food sovereignty is so powerful. It has reminded me who I am

@kelliott7864

4 ай бұрын

I watched some videos with Hopi people demonstrating how they grow the 3 sisters. Very interesting, much different from Jacque.

@JackOfAllTrades0404

3 ай бұрын

Much respect to the natives of turtle island. If we all listened to Mother Earth and learned to work with her instead of against we wouldn’t be dealing with climate change like we are now.

@dekumutant

3 ай бұрын

Lmao what

@BaronOBeefDip

Ай бұрын

What are you having trouble understanding? ​@@dekumutant

@thinking7667

Ай бұрын

I loved learning how ancient native Americans pretty much developed the corn we have today. Through selective breeding and agriculture they turned something that was very small and barely edible to something large, calorie dense and nourishing that has supported the sustenance of millions of people.

I've heard of doing this with African crops. Okra, black eyed peas, and watermelon. As well as doing it in circles if you have the space.

@jacquesinthegarden

8 ай бұрын

That would be a great combination as well! And very drought tolerant

@ninjalemurdude

8 ай бұрын

I'm literally doing this and didn't know it was a thing. I just know these are some of the few plants that can survive the summer heat where I live.

@andrewhammill6148

8 ай бұрын

I did this with marginal success this year, but only 2 sisters. (The other sister didn't want to participate - LOL). I did okra and beans.

@adammartin9747

8 ай бұрын

I used sweet potatoes instead of watermelon and got lots of okra and black eyed peas, despite the stink bugs and leaf-footed bugs. Got a 5 gallon bucket of sweet potatoes out of the patch, but some kind of grub got 2/3s of the yield.

@ninjalemurdude

8 ай бұрын

@@adammartin9747 Oh yeah, I also have sweet potatoes. They work great with okra and black eyed peas! The only pests I get are fire ants on my black eyed peas and okra. The don't hurt the black eyed peas, but they chew on the okra and leave make the fruit rot before they're ready to pick, so I've been at war with them for the past few months. 😭 I haven't pulled up any sweet potatoes yet, it's still pretty warm here. Hopefully, nothing has gotten to them.

I used to plant mammoth sunflowers in a large circle, then my beans at the base. Once the sunflowers were finished I tied the tops together to make a teepee for my small children, and the dogs liked it for the shade inside. Had I known I could do it, I would have put mushrooms inside.

@jacquesinthegarden

8 ай бұрын

Dang that sounds really cool, might have to try it next year!

@FrozEnbyWolf150

8 ай бұрын

I've done this with wine caps, and I've found elegant stinkhorns (also edible) growing in there as well. Mushrooms break down my woodchip mulch super fast, so it's a win-win.

@domesti-city

8 ай бұрын

@@FrozEnbyWolf150 Are you in Southern California? Just wondering where you sourced your wine caps?

@FrozEnbyWolf150

8 ай бұрын

@@domesti-city No, North Jersey, zone 7b. I've gotten them from Field and Forest Products, though there are other brands as well.

@domesti-city

8 ай бұрын

@@FrozEnbyWolf150 Thank you!

I plant beans everywhere something is growing tall. Amaranth, check. Sunflowers, check. Tomato cages, check. They're living plant ties and a passive crop I harvest at the end of the season. Useful thing I've learned; sunflowers and amaranth don't turn yellow as fast as corn, so it's easier to see your dry beans!

@jacquesinthegarden

8 ай бұрын

That is a cool insight! I did not consider at all that the beans would look like dead corn at the end of the season haha.

@robertcotrell9810

5 ай бұрын

This never occurred to me, so definitely my plan for the future!

As a Mexican this is the classic way we do it. In Mexico the staple of everyone in the town. Some grow mre than others to sell the public, and of course for the farm animals as well.

@williammaxwell1919

8 ай бұрын

I have also heard from various sources that the people living in desert areas traditionally would dig a hole, put a fish he'd in it, partially backfill, and then plant a corn seed. As the fishhead decomposes, it releases nutrients for the corn and all the organisms in the soil.

Really cool that you had the patience to record throughout the growing season. Was nice to see the full process from planting to harvest, thanks!

If you plant your 3 sisters in raised mounds in the same area, I think your beans and squash will do much better. You might get less corn, but you'll have sun for your squash if you plant it on the sun side. Beans won't mind the shade at all. Check out info on growing the traditional mound style.

@zacherybutter7349

5 ай бұрын

You can do a square-ish shaped mound and grow four corn plants. It might be a good idea if you have the shape to try.

I tried the Three Sisters this year but made the mistake of using Tahitian butternut as the squash. If you're not familiar with this variety, Tahitian butternut is notorious for taking over the entire garden, with vines that grow extremely fast and crawl all over everything. This dragged down my cornstalks, smothered my beans, and spread all over the walking paths. I ended up having to stake the corn, ironically. The good news is that I know now that corn can grow in my environment, and the types of beans that grow best here are scarlet runner, mayocoba, and soybean.

@thinking7667

Ай бұрын

I'm growing Tahitian butternut squash but it's still small. I hope I can manage it. What growing zone are you in? I'm in the Northeast US in zone 7. Maybe mine won't go crazy

@FrozEnbyWolf150

Ай бұрын

@@thinking7667 Same, coastal zone 7b, which is the continental climate zone. This year I'm planning to trellis the Tahitian butternut so that it grows up to the garage roof, and doesn't smother my other plants.

I started doing this with tomatoes and peas. I have a ton of tomato plants still winding up and they make great trellises for peas and beans. And then I tuck some cool season flowers around them. I am so inspired by interplanting. Maybe I will try corn next year!?

@Seraph318

8 ай бұрын

Do you have any issues with powdery mildew when pairing tomatoes and beans? I have held off trying that since they are both fairly affected by it, but may give it a shot now! I thought with tomatoes, it was best to make sure they have plenty of airflow

@williammaxwell1919

8 ай бұрын

​@Seraph318 some varieties are more susceptible than others. If you have enough space, try a "small patch" to experiment with. Some people recommend selective pruning of tomatoes, others not. To me, a lot of my gardening was based on "try it and see [what happens]" as it wasn't vital to my family and my survival that I succeeded every time as there was numerous supermarkets and grocer's within easy walking distance (yeah, I know... not very resilient)

@jacquesinthegarden

8 ай бұрын

Very cool and unique interplanting!

@paulineferrill4348

Ай бұрын

Hey no one said your garden had to be for self-sufficiency! Personally I like to grow weird varieties that you can't find at the store, like charentais melons.

Have you read "Farmer Boy" by Laura Ingalls Wilder? She tells about the 2 sisters method used by the Ingalls family in NY state. Interestingly, they used the squash as winter feed for their cattle. I think of that every time I see farms discing in the unsold /unpicked pumpkins in their fields. It would be a good "free" nutrition boost for their chickens, pigs, and cattle.

Jacques, Didn't realize it was the corn husks that were used to make dye. I'd love to see a video on how it's done. 😊

It's Labour weekend here in New Zealand and generally people will start to plant their summer garden. This vid is perfect timing for us. Thanks Jacques!

@tashmartin8869

8 ай бұрын

Fellow kiwi here! I absolutely agree! I don't have heaps of space, I've got corn ready to plant, I just haven't because I can't work out where I'm going to put it all! And I've got pumpkin and bean seeds ready to plant, I'm absolutely going to do this too! So helpful! Good luck with your 3 sisters! 🌽🌽

This is great timing for me in Australia, Jacques! I already have my corn at about 10" high & never thought of 3 Sisters. Thank you so much, I'm planting beans as we speak 🌱🌱🌱

I was taught as a child to make mounds with a fish in them then later plant 5 corn then when a few inches beans who use the corn stalk as a lattice then squash on the outer edges of the mounds to protect from bugs

Nice video. There is a type of fungus that sometimes grows on corn called "corn smut" or Huitlacoche, which is a delicacy south of the border. You can cook it like mushrooms. Thanks for letting us watch the progress of your three sisters garden.

@jacquesinthegarden

8 ай бұрын

I wish I had that instead of straight mold haha, I have always wanted to try it fresh.

@themusenextdoor

5 ай бұрын

​@jacquesinthegarden I think it prefers semi-arid climates. I've never been confident enough in my mycology skills to eat any fungus I didn't plant, so it goes uneaten when it shows up in my garden. EDIT: apparently, we're both in semi-arid climates, but the temperature and moisture cycles are so different that I didn't even recognize it!

@Hi_Im_Akward

22 күн бұрын

I was curious if it was that type of fungus. I wonder if it's possible to propagate it.

I'm in the same sinking bean boat as you Jacque. I live in Zone 9b (an hour away from SD) and my beans never seem to really take off. Forever trying to get a decent bean harvest

@jacquesinthegarden

8 ай бұрын

Some day we will figure it out!

@Seraph318

8 ай бұрын

I live in 10a currently (Central FL) and I have the most success with beans over the coldest months. I planted a round of Pinto beans with Banana squash around the middle of September and built a rough trellis around them. Right when it started to cool down around the beginning of October, they took off and are already looking nearly done. But they never seem to grow well for me when I sow them after March/April - into the hot months. The way I think about it: our summer is hotter/more intense than most other places in the US altogether (in general), and our fall/winter is probably closer to lower zone's spring (60's-70's). I think January for us tends to be the coldest, maybe low 30's on a cold year? So that's when I try to have them harvested by and plant my roots instead. Then just leave the really hot weather crops for the dead heat when nothing else will really thrive (peppers/tomatoes/etc.). I hope that helped a bit :D I had a rough time with beans for a while, and only noticed this one year when I had nothing going on over the cooler months and just did a trial.

@yeevita

8 ай бұрын

@@Seraph318 Same. I am in the high desert of CA. Beans I plant in spring going in to summer always die in summer before they can produce anything. Beans I grow in late summer or Aug/Sept, I can usually get a crop before they die to being too cold. So like right now is my green bean season. They seem to be susceptible to mites still, but are producing.

@krystlerevia1715

4 ай бұрын

I have had the best success with beans in the fall garden. They didn’t die until we got a hard frost. 8b SE Texas.

I’m so glad I saw this video! I was already planning on doing a row of corn along a fence that is south facing, but now I can add in beans, and try some kind of a squash at its face, which I totally hadn’t even remembered when I was thinking about doing the corn. Thank you so much for the reminder!

@CWorgen5732

5 ай бұрын

Corn generally does better in a block planting, as it pollinates more thoroughly. Consider that you might get a better harvest with a double row ❤

I plant Scarlet runner beans every year. I love them. I found out that they are a native to Central America and a perennial. Their roots are huge. I am in zone 7b so too cold to over winter out of doors. I am going to try potting up some roots and bringing them in where it is cool and dark and see what happens. They do need a long growing season and I was late planting this year so while they look great it is unlikely they will dry this year. Fortunately I have enough seed from last year for next year .

@jacquesinthegarden

8 ай бұрын

Have you tried eating their tubers? We tried some the first year, it was interesting sort of like a sunchoke!

Great video and I've planned a 2024 4x4 bed to be my Three Sisters home! No yard work for me this weekend though - snow here in Denver, CO!

Such a great project and teaching tool for all of us -- thank you! The beans are indeed gorgeous and we hope your bean gods are more benevolent next year!

I thought you were doing a garden tour of a garden owned by three of your sister.😂😂 I don't know if you have three sisters but since I'm still learning I didn't know it was a gardening method.😂

Thank you for showing the full process. I've been wanting to do this and you answered all the questions I had.

I had very similar results from my three sisters! My pumpkins that were growing around the periphery took over before they were killed by powdery mildew midsummer after all of the rain. I'll probably plant my beans, which did very poorly in comparison right around the same time to keep them growing well with the corn!

Your garden looks like so much fun. Plus you have chooks. Just walking around it would brighten your day.

Wow!!!Another Amazing and productive day with your garden Jacques, and I hope all is well with you and your family! God Bless!😍

Nice video. About your surprisingly vigorous corn. You grew from saved seed, which means you likely, possibly inadvertently, have started to select for traits that work well in your conditions -- a land race corn adapted to your specific conditions. Thats pretty cool!

That’s a nice looking bean. Gotta try this next year! I planted corn and squash together in an attempted succession planting and if I would have had a couple more weeks of good weather, it would have worked really well! Early, weirdly cool temperatures foiled my plans.

I love this tutorial. I learned something new about gardening and will try it soon. Thank you, Jacque

Thanks for sharing the process with us, Jacques! I started mine at the end of our very hot summer in central TX, and so far I have a few corn cobs, the beans are coming along nicely but the squash is just like yours--shaded out by the corn. Live and learn, I say, and I'll re-orient next year. Your videos are so informative and very much appreciated:)

I love these videos that show the beginning to end of a project. Thanks Jacques!

Would love to try this in my future home(hopefully soon) For the corn, we usually let the corn mature, pluck them and then let them dry near the chimney. It works quite well.

I love his attitude! Keep up the awesome videos Jacques and thanks a bunch!

I love this and have wanted to try it for a couple years. Thanks for this awesome tutorial. Gonna do it!!

3 sisters idea is awesome for springtime, but it is October. Okay, I saw your April 28 planting date ! Awesome time lapse ! Fun.

You did pretty good with the Three sisters method I did that one year in my garden I planted beans around my corn that was my first time doing that

Going to be trying this method for the first time this season - so excited! Thank you for all the info. Your videos and knowledge are always such an inspiration. ✌🏼🌟

I really enjoyed watching this. You’ve inspired me to give it a try.

Something healed in me watching this! When you said “milpa” a tear came to my eye. Thank you for sharing this education and your lessons learned, and respecting the history behind the three sisters system! Great video! 🌽

Thanks for sharing!! I loved this long form format where we saw the developments through the season!!

That's so funny...I was trying to figure out how you were going to make matzo out of your corn patch. A little slow today. 😂

@jacquesinthegarden

8 ай бұрын

Haha slow days going around, I'm in the same boat

We used to do that in overseas when I was a kid, my mom's garden was like that 40-50 years ago too.

Wow what a harvest🤩 definitely going to try this!

I don't know why, but every time i open KZread on my PC this video comes up. Each time i marvel at your nasturtiums. Mine always look like crap. Beautiful flowers, great advice. You rock.

I was really looking forward to this video in the spring when you mentioned planting it. Interesting results. I tried a take on the 3 sisters this year with field corn, a mix of black and kidney beans, a mix of zucchini and winter squash, and a few jalapenos sprinkled around the outside to hopefully keep the squirrels and deer away. The corn and black beans did quite well, kidney beans ok, and everything else in varying stages of poorly. I had to harvest the corn a little early too because the critters were getting into it. It was a fun experiment though, and it wasn't a total failure at least.

@jacquesinthegarden

8 ай бұрын

I love being interplanted mixed garden beds! That sounds like an interesting combination, sorry to hear about the pest pressure!

Thanks so much for putting the dates lol. i thought it was during this season that you were planting corn. 😅. Thats an awesome experiment you did. 🙌🏽

Loved the bean asmr. One of many gardening joys 😅

I love seeing people using 3 sisters. I haven’t set one up yet but I know the principles… 1 plant that grows tall and strong, one that climbs and one that covers Sunflowers, corn, okra Beans (most common especially given its a summer thing) Watermelon, cucumber, pumpkin, sweet potato etc etc

Love the seeing the whole process in a video Idk why I thought corn was unattainable for me to grow but I already did 2 sisters got some unexpected pumpkins

Jacques, this is fantastic! So fun to watch the entire process.

I'd really love if you would please do an update as you plant this again this year. I want to perfect it for a variety of reasons in my home (they are the main foods I love, I am Haudenosaunee descended, and regenerative agriculture is my passion).

I'm going to do this this year! Looks good.

love these companion planting videos. can u guys do some more? Love to learn what else companions well

Great experiment Jacques. I'm going to try that next Spring. I have not had much luck with squash here. For sure ill try to plant it on the sunny side of tge corn. 😊.

Yo your videos are so entertaining and informative 😮

All I kept thinking is that’s a lot of great dry material for the compost. I gave a hard time getting safe dry material here in the humid south. Had to laugh at myself. The squashes look wonderful!

I'm so doing this. Excited as.

Nice video. I was able to grow corn and beans this year. I surprised myself 🎉

I saw your youtube short and it made me watch the full vid what a strategy that is

Jacques we started growing Christmas pole beans, the first year we grew them we got 7 lbs, since then our totals have been down to 1lb or so. Last year we had an early frost which killed the vine and we hardly got anything. That first year the vine was growing in a mess around climbing spinach but that was best year.

This is GREAT! I love the idea of 3 sisters, for space saving and companion planting, but there is not much positive videos out there for it...thnks again!

Thank you for the vids, most appreciated. I would say that I have done the 3 sisters in the past, and the best bean I found was Dragon Tongue. I planted within the corn, as opposed to outside, and it thrived. I'm sure you know it is a mutli-purpose bean, beautiful and delicious. Again, thanks for all you do, righteous. EDIT: and forgot Fortex, it's one of our favorites. Sorry I forgot it.

thanks for this nice flik. In particular it makes very clear that the 3 sisters is mainly for dried beans and corn. Too bad that it would not work in my climate, in the best case I can get sweetcorn. It will never ripen before the fall rain sets in.

I’d really like to see you do this next year again. And also thinking of the three sisters and culture stuff. I love when you share stuff from Bulgaria and also this is cool becasue it’s from native Americans. Can you do more culture stuff?

I have have tried 3 sisters a few times and have had good luck planting the squash at the same time as the corn.

This was great to see!

Thank you for sharing with us

Awesome video! thank you for sharing.

I’m learning to garden! Loving it!! But this Louisiana climate is crazy insane. Still in the 90’s during the days, but maybe around 60 one night and 30’s the next 🤦🏻‍♀️ my flower beds have done well for years, tho. Fingers crossed I have a big harvest so I can share and give away!!

I also live in San Diego and have been watching epic gardening for years now. I wish I could garden with you or meet you and Kevin!Could you possibly organize a meet and greet in San Diego?

@jacquesinthegarden

8 ай бұрын

We have gone to a majority of the San Diego seed swaps! The last one was in liberty station and I believe one is coming up at the end of the month.

@Eli-vj2wc

8 ай бұрын

Oh that’s great where can I find the seed swap? Or what website would I go to find a seed swap?

hi jacques 🤗 great video and great suggestions in the comments section for other plants to try. tfs

Kabocha squash I have so much fun I took your advice and so much good reap in fall thank you🎉

Thanks for the video!

I was actually planning on starting a 3-sisters garden next spring! Thanks for the video Jacques You mentioned that you enjoy making bean soups, would you have a favorite recipe that you'd recommend? I enjoy growing beans but sometimes don't really know what to do with them aside from stir-fry or steam lol.

@williammaxwell1919

8 ай бұрын

I used to grow Madagascar Beans, great to add to dishes like pumpkin or potatoe soup and stews (canavor, vegetarian and vegan). With soups, dried and soaked beans, thicken the consistency (I'd blend my soups because my kids prefered it that way) and add a broader range of minerals and other goodies. Don't be afraid to experiment; take your favourite soup and experiment. The worst you can do is have a culinary fail, though it may turn out to be the most amazing soup you've prepared. Google whatever soup you want to make with added beans; you'll get way too many hits, but read them for inspiration. The first time I try a new recipe, I invariably try a variation based on my avaliable ingredients and my palate (some herbs and spices I prefer, others not so) resulting in some very surprising and yummy results (some not so yummy) I used to tell my kids "Only the Gardner and the Cook can play with food!"

@jacquesinthegarden

8 ай бұрын

My favorite is Bulgarian "Bob Chorba" which translates to bean broth/soup. Its pretty simple and lets the beans really shine through! So delicious with a hearty slice of sourdough garlic toast

Great video....very informative

Your broccoli looks great . Yes, we learn from you and from year to year. Do you think cornmeal sprinkled on the soil helps control cut-worms ? I believe it works as I had a problem with cutworms annihilating my brassica seedlings and now they are finally growing bigger.

also corn smut is the corn fungus thst develops and its actually a delicacy. u can eat it, my husband tried ours, he said it didn't taste like much, so it'll probably absorb flavor from whatever u cook it with

Already looking forward to an update next year 😉

Maybe you could even use the shade and mulch as food for mushrooms and give the three sisters a small little brother 😊

I like growing 2 sisters- corn & beans. Every time I try melons or squash they arent ready until much later than the corn & beans. Even when i try to plant them earlier than the corn & beans.

The way we did it when I was a kid is a little different. First, the distance between rows was a little bigger, so you could actually walk between them. Beans were planted inline with the corn, so you don't step on them. Pumpkins were planted inline too, just not as often as the beans. Corn was left to dry in the field, but not quite that hard. I'm not sure about timing, it was a long time ago, but I think the pumpkins were planted together with either the corn, or the beans. I forgot to mention, this was in Romania.

dude months of work and filming, this shit is a documentary! Thank you for this video, next year lets get a timelapse started hahahaha

love your channel. corn is quite tough for us to grow down here in Florida. my pumpkins and melons kept getting devoured as soon as they set by stink bugs...ohh Florida lol

@erikahuxley

8 ай бұрын

I used to grow in South Florida, the entire native soil there have root knot nematodes, so they infect and steal nutrients from many plants, hence its nearly impossible to grow certain crops like corn there. But I did grew corn there in containers, but with fresh potting mix and not put native soil in it, and I make sure to raise the container above the ground. Brassica is one type of plant that resist root knot nematodes.

@GrowingFoodMadeEasy

8 ай бұрын

@@erikahuxley thank you Erika! Great to know 😃

Hi. What color Greenstalk is that? It looks really good with the terra-cotta color. Love the flowers in your garden.

@jacquesinthegarden

8 ай бұрын

Its the exclusive Oasis color that we sell at EpicGardening: growepic.co/3FrRrbs

❤❤❤❤looking forward to next year 🌈

Winter squash ROCKS. 10/10 would grow again

I appreciated this video, it filled in some questions I had as to where in proximity I should be sowing the bean seeds. Is there a certain kind of squash that we should be planting. I’ve never planted squash before and I notice they need a lot of space for their leaves. I am attempting to grow 3 sisters in a 2x4 raised bed.

"I think there's something crawling on me" LMAOOOO.....

I will be trying this in my community garden raised box beds, any advice?

I failed at my attempt this year for 3 sisters. The beans didn't germinate in my clay soil and I had issues with squash this year due to watering issues. But I did get dent corn.

Man, I thought my corn spacing was tight at 12".

@jacquesinthegarden

8 ай бұрын

It honestly felt wrong going so tight but the yield was great!

Excellent video.

That corn fungus is actually a delicacy, and you could leave some of the corn on the dried out stalk to ferment and fully turn.

@jacquesinthegarden

8 ай бұрын

My understanding was that the corn fungus was when it was still fresh corn?

@draunt7

8 ай бұрын

@@jacquesinthegarden Yeah it might be the rotting corn on the living stalk that's required. Tho we do use that fungus as a taco filling in indigenous dishes if you ever get some.

Thanks for the inspirational video. What variety of Kabocha squash do you grow?

@jacquesinthegarden

5 ай бұрын

I believe these were Kurinishiki Kabocha!

Great video ☺️ How do you repeal bunnies?

Excelente explicación del granjero

I would LOVE to see you try huitlacoche (aka corn smut) someday if you accidentally grow some in your corn. It is absolutely delicious and the US is a total sucker for breeding strains to resist it. Coulda been such a market in Latin America with how much corn we grow. 😅

@jacquesinthegarden

8 ай бұрын

For sure would have loved to get some!

@tamidavis3730

8 ай бұрын

How do you eat it? I wound up with quite a few ears with it on there last year but couldn't bring myself to try it😂

I need to see you do a small oversown chaos garden

Nice recap

I've done this before. It's great.

@sandrasherer8779

5 ай бұрын

We did a lesson with our 4th graders. I intermingled the beans and put the squash right under the corn.