The Three Sisters are one of my experimental plots. Having the space and climate means that I can give things a try, and as I outlined in my previous update, the Three Sisters mix of maize, beans and melons is a technique that I have wondered about, which seems pretty neat and sustainable.
The Red Aztec maize that I planted seemed to do well through our dry Spring, and I only watered it when it wilted. The rain finally came nearly 3 weeks ago, and here’s a photo of the bed the next day.
In two and a half weeks the change has been dramatic. At first I was disappointed that some of the stalks started flowering at a low height; I was envisaging 2 metre stands, but I figured that they were more stressed than they showed by the dry weather and were bolting to fruit. The surprise has been that the stalks have elongated as they flower, so that although it isn’t a stand you could get lost in, they do at least have some height now. The cobs are just starting to set, so I will see in a few weeks whether there is a good fill in them.
By the way, I saw online that you can eat red corn fresh as a vegetable, rather than just as a grain, so I will try that. Does anyone have suggestions for cooking it?
Meanwhile the other sisters are coming on well. The cucumbers have been a surprise, giving us ‘stealth cukes’ on a regular basis. I keep going up to have a look, and finding an unexpected cucumber or two ready to pick. The zucchini are coming on very well and should be ready to pick next week.
The beans were the untried element for me, but they seem to be doing the right thing. Just as the maize is finishing growth, the beans are reaching the tops of the stalks and will I hope start to fill out between them.
I like it! If the partnership is working this well after our exceptional dry, I’ll be keen to see how it goes next year with hopefully more rain. I’ll post an update on the yields of maize, cucumber, zucchini, and beans.