The Three Sisters Garden (or in my case two, with some substitutions...)

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As a newcomer to the world of gardening and of growing edible crops, I am constantly learning. I consult many different sources for advice on caring for specific plants and controlling pests. Given that the surface that I have available for planting is limited, I also read and learn about things such as crop rotation and companion planting, in order to make the most of what little space I can find. And this brings me to the Three Sisters Garden.

I stumbled upon this concept by accident: a tweet from the amazing account @brainpicker made reference to a book that called my attention so, a bit curious, I ordered it and started reading. The book in question is called "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants", and was written by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a Native American professor of biology and environmental sciences. It's difficult to describe the book in a couple of sentences, but I think anyone who loves nature will enjoy it: at least I did. It was a great read, and I savored every chapter. And while it's not meant to be a book on gardening tips, I did learn a couple of things that I now apply when I work in the garden or collect herbs outside. 

But what about the Three Sisters? Well, Dr. Kimmerer describes them in a wonderful, poetic way. As I'm not so gifted in poetic writing (I like to say that I'm a writer of "non-fiction", given that some of my masterpieces include reports on international trade issues), I'll just say that it is a planting technique used by Native Americans, who planted corn, beans and squash together in the same plot. The "sisters" support each other in different ways: corn is the first to emerge, and provides support for the bean vines; the beans fix nitrogen from the air and make it available in the soil as nutrients for the whole family; while the squash, which emerges last, expands horizontally and protects the soil with its large leaves, keeping moisture in and deterring weeds. In this way, the three plants help and protect each other, and also provide a very nutritionally balanced nourishment: corn is rich in carbohydrates, beans provide protein, and squash is a source of vitamins. Hence the value given  by Native Americans to the Three Sisters, which also appear in many stories and legends, among them in the Iroquois creation myth of "Sky Woman". 

One of my "two sisters" boxes.

Going back to my garden, this seemed to me like an very good way to use space, which I mentioned is limited. I used to have this idea that each thing needed to be planted in its separate plot and with enough separation, so learning that you can plant different crops so close together was new and very welcome information for me. However, I read about the Three Sisters at the end of May, which was a bit late in my location to try to start a big planting project. So I had to adapt to my possibilities.  I took advantage of the fact that I already had some established zucchini plants, and decided to plant sweet snap peas in the same boxes. Not exactly beans, but peas are also legumes and, like beans, they fix nitrogen.

The planting system has worked great so far, as the two plants don't compete for space. I had to use bamboo sticks to support the peas, as it was late to plant corn. I was also concerned about the amount of space that corn might need, so a full three sisters garden will have to wait until next year and a bit more planning. I already have a spot in mind. 

Peas on the vine.

Although I'm still far from achieving food sovereignty, I'm happy to have gotten an acceptable harvest of both zucchini and peas. The snap peas have an amazing sweet taste, and are great both fresh and cooked. So far we've eaten them fresh in a green salad, grilled with a bit of olive oil and salt, and boiled as part of my version of an Italian "insalata" with potatoes (again, replacing the green beans with peas- you have to do what you can, with what you have, where you are!).

Harvest for the "insalata".