In the garden, one day your are “in” and the next day you are “out”. Most of the corn has been cleared out of the garden to make way for winter seeds – broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, onions, and beets so far. Some stalks of corn remained to allow the beans to finish up and to provide a bit of shade to the pumpkins below. Fine.
See?
The stalks were yanked and broken down into the green waste. This isn’t going into MY compost.
Wiedersehen!
This summer, two beds were planted in the 3 Sisters method of gardening. Corn, squash, and beans are those three sisters. Golden Bantam Yellow Sweet Corn was planted in both beds…not all at once. The seeds were planted weeks apart to insure ears of corn throughout the summer. The first planting was in the east and gradually worked westward. Both beds were planted with Borlotto Solista beans. The eastern bed was planted with Lemon squash. The western bed was planted with Jarrahdale pumpkins.
Here’s the critique:
The corn sucked. No matter when I picked it, it had a doughy texture. The taste was fine. How can you go wrong with butter and salt? The texture was always bad. It could be the variety or it could be the gardener. This is my 1st year growing the stuff. Although the critique rates corn as bad…very bad, I consider this summer a success. My goal was to get at least one ear of corn. I surpassed that; but I will have to think carefully if I want to grow corn again. It does take a lot of water. Several rows were planted to insure pollination. Elvin Bishop plants his 3 Sisters garden in a circular pattern; but I’m completely satisfied picking up a few ears at the Farmers’ Market during future summers while humming a Bishop tune. Let the professionals mess with the mess.
The beans produced less than last summer when more seeds were sown this summer. Not good. Sure the plants climbed up the corn stalks just fine; but I would like a lot more beans to show for the effort. These beans are great dried and I’m disappointed that not many were produced. If you plan on using this method, make sure the corn has sprouted about 6” before planting the beans. Their growth catches up to the corn quickly; so giving corn a head start will provide a nice bean pole for the vines.
Lemon squash produced but not as vigorously as last summer. It could be that the seeds were left over from last summer. I would recommend using a squash that trails all over the place when considering the 3 Sisters method. Bush varieties do not serve the purpose of providing shade on the garden floor beneath the corn stalks. Aphids attacked the squash in this bed pretty badly this summer.
One success is the Jarrahdale pumpkin. They have produced quite a few blue-green squash and provided nice shade for the garden floor. Aphids were around for a brief time. A power blast from the garden hose seemed to clear things up with the help of ladybugs.
Right now, in the tail end of summer heat, I wouldn’t plant a 3 Sisters Garden again. Once I have the time of a cool winter to reflect, I may come to my senses and rise again to the challenge. Maybe I need to go all the way and put a dead fish in the planting bed like Indians did long ago. Nah. This pale (or pail) face steers clear of fish.
Today, the first of the 3 Sisters beds is getting cleaned out to make way for winter – and I’m glad. Seeds for broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onions, carrots, beets, and lettuce are waiting their turn.
I can’t give a full review of the 3 Sisters form of gardening yet because the second bed is flourishing. Hopefully it will help change my thumbs down to a sideways review.
Jarrahdale pumpkin leaf. Size 9 Crocs used for scale reference.
Planted on June 1, the pumpkins should be ready in mid to late September. Jarrahdales really wind through the bed and are providing exceptional shade for this 3 Sisters bed. Hopes of blue-grey pumpkins in the fall make the temperatures of hell a bit more bearable. Next stop is the local, tiny hardware store to pick up some nastursium seeds. They’re suppose to ward off squash bugs. Last summer the garden was overrun by the buggers.
My size 9 crocs can only stomp on so many bugs to help them on their way to an eternal garden.
Harvest time is in full swing in the garden. The apricots were a success. That little tree produced about 4 dozen pieces of fruit. The Santa Rosa plum gave a bounty too. Excellent. I don’t measure and weigh the harvest; so those details simply aren’t tracked and recorded. The tomatoes (Tigerella and Cour Di Bue pictured) are starting to ripen and carrots are mature enough for pulling. BUT the big news is that I’m a successful corn producer. Not a farmer; but, dang it, I was able to harvest my 1st cob last night. GOAL! All I wanted was to sample one cob that I had grown. Now that I’ve met that demand, I need to learn the finer points of freezing corn. Golden Bantam Yellow Sweet Corn was planted in waves with the hopes of having fresh corn all summer long.
I’ll consider growing pop corn if I learn that it tastes as good or better than my preferred brand – Orville Redenbacher.
Podcast Update
Sadly, this “podcast” has come to a sudden end. The fruit on the Split Leaf Philodendron broke off from the plant on June 29. The pod-like fruit looks like an elf’s slipper.
Curiosity got to me; so I split the thing open to learn what was going on inside. Kinda looks like a weird banana.
I’ll be watching for this next June.
It’s too hot to go work out in the garden until the sun sets. Even then, butter melts and so do I. Taking photos require the use of the flash and that means harsher images like this.
I had my first taste of a garden fresh apricot this morning. Rather, it’s the first taste I’ve had from this apricot tree. The sun wasn’t over the Sierras yet while I enjoyed the deliciousness of a juicy, just picked apricot. Dang it.
Okay the lens is kinda dirty; but that is giving a twinkling effect caused by the street light on the other side of the wall. There are some ears of corn in there (the garden bed – not the lens) and quite a few bean pods. Everything in the garden is enjoying the heat (103 today – gross).
These flash pictures may be harsh; but I’ll tell you what harsh is in the garden. Harsh is how I deal with grasshoppers gnashing on my tomatoes.
Goodbye, turkey. My attorney will be in touch.
Can you name what classic Jerry Reed song that line is derived?
Note: Listening to Jerry Reed in the garden helps the work more enjoyable especially if you’re dancing with your dog.
Planting a 3 Sisters garden is supposed to be one way of growing plants that benefit each other. The corn (Golden Bantam Yellow Sweet) is supposed to be the oldest of the three sisters growing the tallest. The squash (Lemon) is the next sister growing over the garden bed to create a shade that keeps the soil cool and moist while preventing the growth of weeds. Beans (Borlotto Solista) grow through the squash and up the corn to complete the trio. Those beans add nitrogen to the soil helping to fertilize the garden. Pretty cool.
Corn has been planted in waves along with beans. The squash was planted at the head of the drip lines to enjoy extra irrigation. Now that I’ve just planted the final wave of corn (Planted June 1. Germinated June 7), I’m going to do things a bit differently. Waiting for the corn to grow about 6” before the beans are planted will help the corn keep pace with the superior growth rate of the beans. This last planting has pumpkins (Jarrahdale) planted for their melons. There is a row of corn that is way too short for the aggressive beans. Farmer MacGregor had to erect a bean support so the vines could stretch over and grow while the corn catches up. I planted additional beans on the other side of the support with hopes it will be filled with beans.
Corn has never been grown in the garden before so my hope is to at least get one ear of corn to try and determine if it’s worth growing in the future. So far, the corn seems to be growing very well. Tassels have started to form and it’s not even hot yet. Mother Nature is getting a helping hand from me as I’m out there shaking the stalks to encourage the pollen from the tassels to fall down to the silks and form kernels of corn. I’m encouraged.
Yes. Silks are starting to form. Is anyone impressed with my Midwestern corn speak? Dang. I’m a Californian and feel like I’m out in tornado country successfully growing a crop of corn. Sure. I know the stuff grows here. It grows here big time; but I’m out there whistling songs from the Wizard of Oz or Oklahoma when I’m working in the corn.
The Lemon squash has really started to grow with vigor and the pumpkins are just beginning to break through the soil. Jarrahdales were planted on June 1 along with some radishes. Remember my theory that world hunger would end if every person had just 2 squash seeds? Sure there’s the additional problem of fertile soil and a source of water to consider.
The rest of the country is supposed to be experiencing gross, hot weather this week while I feel like I’m at the Pacific coast enjoying the cool breezes and warm sun. Oh. My time is coming. Until then. Ahhhh!
In addition to the pumpkins, 2 more rows of Golden Bantam Corn were planted. When my new order of Borlotto Solista Beans arrive, they will be planted amongst the corn to help establish a second 3 Sisters bed. A few more Sugar Baby Watermelons seeds were sown in the melon bed.
Now everything is planted and ready for the summer heat although this weekend there is a chance of rain down here in the valley and snow up in the mountains.
Summer’s Cast of Characters:
There will be onions, carrots, radishes, and French marigolds planted whenever the seeds arrive to act as beneficials for the main crops.
The Iroquois believed corn, beans and squash are precious gifts from the Great Spirit. Each watched over by one of three sisters spirits, called the De-o-ha-ko, or “Our Sustainers" made up the tale of Three Sisters planting. The planting season is marked by ceremonies to honor them, and a festival commemorates the first harvest of “green” corn on the cob. By retelling the stories and performing annual rituals, Native Americans passed down the knowledge of growing, using and preserving the Three Sisters through generations. The only ritual I have is keeping the soil moist.
Iroquois were from the other side of the continent. Yokuts lived in the San Joaquin Valley and up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They didn’t have corn, nor beans, nor squash. Acorns dominated their diet. In elementary school we had field trips to Pioneer Village to watch an ancient Yokut woman grind acorns and weave baskets. I don’t know if any Yokuts continue to conduct education at Pioneer Village; but I do know that the local casinos are pretty successful. I do know that corn, beans, and squash are grown successfully here in the Valley; so I suspect the Three Sisters methods just might work. I’m not taking much of a gamble.
Old tomato cages lay over rows of Golden Bantam Corn to discourage neighborhood cats to get “comfortable” in the vegetable beds. Two rows were planted on March 15 and germinated two weeks later. The exterior row was planted with Borlotto Solista Beans as companions. Recent warm (read: hot) weather has turned up the energy in the corn patch.
I believe pill bugs are damaging all the seedlings in the garden. Sunflowers, lettuce, beets, carrots, beans, and corn have all been hit. In fact, the entire crop of late lettuce has been mowed down by these terrorists. No big deal since the weather is turning hot and the lettuce would have been doomed. Nonetheless, no being should have the bad manners to simply help oneself to the garden bounty without properly asking. The search for a way to annihilate these interlopers is underway. Until then each pill bug encountered will meet the same fate…squash! OR I could kill them with corn (ala Hee Haw). 
Click on the Hee Haw donkey for a sample.
Note: A second planting of corn was made today. Two more rows with the exterior row planted with Borlotto Solista Beans as companions.
I have concocted a screwy way to take pictures when my back won’t allow me to get down on the ground with my eye against the camera. I simply set the camera to automatic, point, shoot, and hope for the best. Here are some of the results from today’s garden tour without any editing:
Generally, the images turn out just fine.
This summer, corn is taking the spotlight in the garden . Much study of a variety of resources led me to try the 3 Sisters method of growing corn. Corn, beans, and squash grown together are supposed to compliment each other. The corn should be planted in a block of 4 rows to help with pollination. I’ve decided to stagger the planting with 2 rows planted today and 2 more planted in about 2 weeks. I may plant more corn, 2 rows at a time. The outside rows will be planted with Borlotto Solista Beans. The beans will use the corn stalks as support. These type of pole beans were grown last summer. They are flashy and delicious.
On the north and south ends of the rows, Lemon Squash will be planted a little later. However, good old Louise Riotte suggests in her book Carrots Love Tomatoes that planting squash early or late in the season helps to avoid insect damage. She also suggests to plant nasturtiums in an effort to repel squash bugs. I can do that.
Initially, Teddy Bear Sunflowers were planted surrounding the bed intended for corn. Plans changed and that’s fine because it turns out that sunflowers don’t get along with beans. Hope the tomatoes like Teddy Bears. They’re going to be neighbors soon.
Here’s a seed catalog description of Golden Bantam Yellow Sweet Corn:
E.L. Coy sold two quarts of seeds to Mr. Burpee in 1900 amd stated. “You now own the very sweetest and richest corn ever known.” Very sweet, juicy, corny tast from 6” ears bearing 10-14 rows of deep, buttery kernels. Good yields.
I’m crossing my gloved fingers that corn will be a success in the garden during the summer of 2011.
