This year at the Derwood Demo Garden we acquired some new planting space, which I decided to use for a growing technique we just haven’t had the square footage for in many years: a Three Sisters garden. Growing corn, beans, and squash together in this symbiotic way is an innovation of several Native American peoples, particularly the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois. Each of the sisters has a role: the corn, grown in small groups in separate hills, creates a tall structure; the beans twine up the corn and stay high up for picking; the squash spreads out to suppress weeds and deter animals. Continue reading →