A famous saying goes, “Good things come in threes.” The first people living in North America knew that groups of three can be good for plants too. They created a planting strategy called the Three Sisters!
The Three Sisters planting has been practiced by people for thousands of years. It involves growing certain plant species together in the same space. Indigenous people found that three veggies grow very well together.
Those vegetables are corn, beans, and squash. Each of these foods is good for health. Corn has . Beans have . Squash has vitamins. The crops can be dried and eaten year round. And people found that the plants even help each other grow.
For example, pole beans grow upward. However, they don’t have strong vines. The plants need a pole or other structure to wrap around and climb. Corn grows tall, though. By planting corn with the beans, the bean plants have support.
The beans help too. They fertilize the soil by adding nitrogen to it. This boosts both the corn and the third crop: squash.
Unlike corn or beans, squash plants stay low. They spread out and grow large leaves. These leaves act like umbrellas, covering the soil. This keeps the soil cool and wet.
The Three Sisters is an important piece of culture. This is true for the Haudenosaunee people.
The Haudenosaunee believe there are three sister spirits. They protect the corn, beans, and squash. These spirits are called the De-o-ha-ko. That means “the ones who support us.”
Today, people still plant using the Three Sisters method.
Updated November 21, 2023, 5:01 P.M. (ET)
By Hannah Marcum
