Tales from the Garden: Three Sisters Garden

So this year I decided I was going to garden. I was weaning myself off of antidepressants, and needed something to distract me from the constant war in my head. Gardening slid into place as a distraction from unwanted thoughts, a positive outlet for anxious energy. I'm sure the sunshine and fresh air also helped the healing process. During February and March, I spent a lot of time looking at seeds (and building my seed hoard).

One rainy day we were at a local Osh and I was checking out seeds on a Renee's Garden display. In addition to individual seed packets, there were also bundles of groups of seeds that went well together; kitchen herbs, Gourmet Greens, Hummingbird Garden, and Three Sisters Garden.
The Three Sisters Garden caught my attention. I had already bought a lot of seeds, so I had corn, squash and beans already, but I was intrigued by the idea.

When visiting the Renee's Garden website it describes the Three Sisters Garden the following way:
"According to Iroquois legend, corn, beans, and squash are three inseparable sisters who only grow and thrive together. This tradition of interplanting corn, beans and squash in the same mounds, widespread among Native American farming societies, is a sophisticated, sustainable system that provided long-term soil fertility and a healthy diet to generations.Growing a Three Sisters Garden is a wonderful way to feel more connected to the history of this land, regardless of our ancestry."

If you follow the link above, you can see a diagram on how to lay one out. I have spent much of my time making sure that things I planted near each other were friends and benefited so this seems like the perfect experiment. Plus three things that I am most excited to grow are corn (I have 4 varieties), bean, and the pink porcelain doll pumpkins I also picked up from Renee's Garden.

So now the time has come to do dig my 10' x 10'. The pollen outside is so bad, it is making it hard to accomplish much of anything. At least we have a long, long growing season here, so if I delay another weekend, it will be okay.