The Three Sisters: Corn, Beans, and Squash

Courtesy of Anna Juchnowicz

Among the Iroquois, it was the custom for centuries to grow three plants together: corn, squash, and beans.  Seeds for corn were planted in hills about one step apart. These plants grew up tall and straight.  In every seventh hill,  the people also planted beans. Their vines grew up around the corn. The cornstalks supported the beans, and the beans fixed nitrogen in the soil to feed the corn.

Along with the beans, the Iroquois also planted squash. The large leaves of the squash plants sheltered the soil and kept it from drying out.  They also reduced the number of weeds growing in the bed. These three plants together were a perfect combination, helping each other to produce plenty of food for the people. The Iroquois called the trio of plants the Three Sisters. We can also call this strategy companion planting.

Over time, the sensible idea of planting these three vegetables together spread across the country, and many different groups of Native Americans took it up.  In different places, the climate and other conditions meat that different kinds of squash, corn, and beans would grow best together. By learning from experience which seeds worked best, the people in different Native American regions could get the best results.

This method of farming is an excellent example of working with nature. It makes a good study for Native American Heritage Month or Thanksgiving. It’s a good chance to learn important life skills, too.

To study the Three Sisters, bring corn, bean, and squash seeds for kids to experience and then plant. Read one or all of the books below, explore the resources on gardening so you’ll know how to plant your seeds successfully, and buy some of the vegetables to use in stews, succotash, and other dishes. Next year, you may have home-grown vegetables!

Books

In the Three Sisters Garden includes the legend of the three sisters, gardening adventures, and lots of information and activities.

Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun’s Thanksgiving Story tells how the Wampanoag taught English settlers how to use the Three Sisters companion planting method. It also includes a recipe.

Get serious about Three Sisters cooking with this beautiful collection of indigenous-inspired dishes. The author, who hails from Shawnee, Oklahoma, is a celebrated Native American chef.

Get serious about gardening, too, with this very thorough book, A Practical Guide on How to Use the Three Sisters Method in Your Garden. If you never planted in this way before, give it a try and see show the results differ from the results you’ve previously had in your vegetable garden.

Online resources

• An essay by Andi Murphy tells what the Three Sisters means to her. Read the essay and discuss: what’s the main point Murphy is making? She tells several different stories; how does each one support her main point? Challenge kids to write an essay of their own about food they grew up with.
• Native Seeds SEARCH offers clear instructions on how to grow a Three Sisters garden.
• From the Oneida Nation, a retelling of the legend of the three sisters.
• From the Chickasaw Nation, a traditional recipe for Three Sisters Stew.