The Three Sisters

For those of you who are stuck inside from the weather and dreaming about the garden you will soon be starting, I wanted to share a story with you. I was born and raised in Oklahoma and the amount of Native American culture that abounds there is amazing. There is so much we can all learn from the way they have always gone about things and that includes planting our gardens. The story goes that there are three sisters and these three are all you need to sustain life. Corn, Beans and Squash are these sisters. They are to be planted together in the same mound. If you do this it will all be good and this is why.... The corn grows tall and provides a pole for the beans to climb, in return the beans provide a stability for the corn against the wind. The squash will spread out at the bottom and take advantage of the shade from the corn and beans. In return the squash provides a natural covering for the ground that prevents weeds and keeps the ground cool and moist. This is the ultimate in companion planting, don't you think?