`The corn, the bean and the squash are three loving sisters who must always live together to be happy. The older sister is tall and graceful, the next younger loved to twine about her and lean for strength upon her. The youngest rambled at the feet of their sisters and protected them from prowling enemies. When the moon drops low and the summer night is lit only by the mysterious light of the stars, these three sister come forth in human form wearing their green garments and decked in blossoms. They have been seen dancing in the shadows, singing to their mother earth, praising their father sun and whispering words of comfort to mankind. And women and men, to show gratitude, call the three sisters Dyonheyko, “they who sustain our lives”'. Corn, beans and squash also complement each other nutritionally. Corn provides carbohydrates, the dried beans are rich in protein, balancing the lack of necessary amino acids found in corn. Finally, squash yields both vitamins from the fruit and healthful, delicious oil from the seeds.

	Great excitement as we started to get the ground ready to plant the seeds for the big event.
Jo cast her gaze over the garden and still thinks I am off my rocker.......
	I have used two old tyres for the Beans and Sweet Corn,to reduce weeds and also hold the water better as the soil in this area is very poor.
	The corn started to germinate the same time as the beans and think that I should of planted them way before the beans
The corn and beans in the front box have gone mad,I think I have planted to much stuff in one place,but as this is by trial and error I will wait and see what happens.
	This is the corn in the tyres just after the rain storm.I have put canes in to help it all back up
The corn has 4 weeks to recover from the storm,and the pumpkins are kicking in giving weed cover at the back.The beans have been a bit poor,but its still early days yet.
	The corn is now starting to produce flowery bits that it needs to pollinate and start to grow the cobs
Only one Pumpkin is doing the weed control bit,but it is doing it very well,there are some small Pumpkins just starting to push through.
The beans have failed - I didnt use climbing ones I think and they are just hanging around at the base of the corn - The cobs are now showing and look fantastic,the ones in the tyres look a lot taller though.
We do this every year - once the Sunflowers are big enough you are able to make a face in the flower.Everybody stops and looks twice......
	The Pumpkin is only small but it is trying its best,we should of planted them in a better position as at the moment it is going all over the drive. Now that the weather is turning so are the leaves on the plants - the two photos here were taken on 29-09-2007
	Well thats it,the Garstang Three Sisters garden has been harvested and the fruits of our labours will not keep the tribe alive over the winter.It was fun and interesting but now we move onto the next project which will invole the huge monkey that sits in my lorry with me.

A pumpkin lantern made from the Three Sisters Garden - now left to nourish the soil ready for next year

Success with a Three Sisters garden involves careful attention to timing, seed spacing, and varieties. In many areas, if you simply plant all three in the same hole at the same time, the result will be a snarl of vines in which the corn gets overwhelmed!

Text taken from his fantastic American website:

http://www.reneesgarden.com/articles/3sisters.htm

Varieties of Corn

By perhaps 5000 bc the indigenous peoples of southern Mexico first domesticated a wild variety of corn. The earliest corn plants bore only a few kernels on each stalk. By selectively breeding these plants over thousands of years, Native Americans developed a variety of types of domesticated corn, or maize, which bore large cobs holding hundreds of kernels. This illustration shows several varieties of maize.

Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2002. © 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Text taken from the fantastic Encarta

Three Sisters links on one handy page - well a GOOGLE search anyway

NativeTech: Planting a Three Sisters GardenThe Three Sisters all work together. Critters will find it harder to invade your garden by interplanting your corn, beans and squash. ...

www.nativetech.org/cornhusk/threesisters.html

Creating a Three Sisters GardenYou'll want to plant your three sisters garden in late spring once the danger of frost has passed. Choose a site that has direct sunshine for most of the ...

www.kidsgardening.com/growingideas/projects/March02/mar02-pg1.htm

The Three Sisters Garden- Corn, Beans, SquashSpecialty heirloom and cottage garden flowers, gourmet vegetables and aromatic herb seeds from around the world. Colorful packets with growing instructions ...

www.reneesgarden.com/articles/3sisters.html

In the Three Sisters GardenInvite your students to explore activities related to Native American corn, bean, and squash gardens. In the Three Sisters Garden includes gardening methods ...

www.kidsgardeningstore.com/11-4019.html

Three Sisters GardenJust past the new Long Day Moon, I took this picture of the three sisters garden. The corn has come up nicely and the beans and squash are doing well. ...

www.imrisk.com/threesisters/threesisters.htm

Three Sister's Garden FarmRing gardens, like those grown at Three Sisters Farm, utilize the principles of sustainable agriculture, companion planting, and soil building to create a ...

www.homegrowngreens.com/

Carol Klein http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/tv_and_radio/presenterbiogs_j.shtml#carol_klein