There are many different legends surrounding the Three Sisters gardening practice in Native American culture where corn (maize) beans (pole kind) and squash are planted together. The story goes that beans, corn, and squash represent three Native American maidens. The three, while different, love each other very much and thrive when they are near each other. These “sisters” are known as the “sustainers” of life. They grow together in the same mound each one protecting the others. The corn stands tall so the beans have a pole to climb. The beans help to keep the soil fertile and keep the corn from falling when it's windy. While the squash vines act as a living mulch, keeping weeds from invading and protecting the soils moisture.
The Cherokee legend involves three women who helped each other stay fed, hydrated and strong on the Trail of Tears, a lesson that the Cherokee used in planting their crops when they arrived in the Oklahoma Territory[1]. My favorite legend is that originated when a woman of medicine who could no longer bear the fighting among her three daughters asked the Creator to help her find a way to get them to stop. That night she had a dream, and in it each sister was a different seed. In her dream, she planted them in one mound in just the way they would have lived at home and told them that to grow and thrive, they would need to be different but dependent upon each other. They needed to see that each was special, and each had great things to offer on her own and with the others.
The next morning while cooking breakfast, she cooked each daughter an egg, but each was different: one hard-boiled, one scrambled, and one over-easy. She told her daughters of her dream and said to them, “You are like these eggs. Each is still an egg but with different textures and flavors. Each of you has a special place in the world and in my heart.” The daughters started to cry and hugged each other, because now they would celebrate their differences and love one another more because of them[2].
Basic Step See diagram on how to arrange them[3].:
- Prepare the site: A week before planting, clear any debris or weeds and spread a thick layer of compost on the growing area (at least four inches thick).
- Plant the corn seeds (tall variety): Shape the soil into a shape like a pitcher's mound, about a foot high.
- Plant the bean seeds (not the bush variety): After corn stalks have reached 4”
- Plant the squash seeds (compact variety): A after beans have emerged.
- Water
[1]The Legend of the Three Sisters – Oneida Indian NationThe Legend of the Three Sisters – Oneida Indian Nation
[2] North Carolina Legends & Myths: The “Three Sisters” | NCpedia