Look no further than a Three Sisters patch to fill your plates with vegetables using little effort.
The scoop
TikTokers Jordan and Silvan (@homegrown_handgathered) are “living the land” and love to share it. In a recent video, the duo shows us how to harvest their favorite trio: corn, beans, and squash. Planting these vegetables together is called a Three Sisters patch.
“You can’t beat this time-tested trio if you wanna produce more of your own food with as little effort as possible,” they say. “Flour corn, dry bean, and winter squash in a Three Sisters patch are so independent that once they establish their root system, they pretty much take care of themselves until harvest.”
How it’s helping
According to the specialist website Bite Sized Gardening, Three Sisters is an ancient gardening method found among sedentary Native American tribes from the Great Lakes to Mexico, most famously the Iroquois — although they were reported to grow Indian potatoes instead of climbing beans.
As the TikTokers noted, these three crops are not only easy to grow but are also full of carbohydrates, protein, and fat, which can make “all kinds of substantial, filling meals.”
This year, they even tried growing some Hopi blue corn, which is known to grow in the Southwest with little rainfall. And given that extreme weather events, including droughts, are expected to increase in frequency and intensity as global temperatures rise, growing your own food could come in handy.
Needless to say, you won’t have much maintenance work: There’s no need for much water, and no need for synthetic amendments to improve the soil structure, fertility, and health. Beyond the financial win, you will be able to boast about filling your fridge with your own food for months and, just as importantly, contributing to reducing demand for mass-produced, globally shipped products waiting on the shelves of the local supermarket.
What everyone’s saying
One TikToker commented: “Indigenous folks know what’s up! It works so well.”
And if you’re not big on corn, know that the corn varieties planted on a Three Sisters patch are generally intended for making flour and not eating fresh — another commenter wrote: “It’s for making tortillas, polenta, cornmeal, etc. Or I did popcorn this year!”
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