4 ms·

Three Sisters (Agriculture)

86 points by downboots 4y ago

sebcat 4y ago
My experience is that it's hard to get right, messes with crop rotation and lower yield. I've had beans overtaking the maize and I've had squash overtaking the beans. YMMV.
- geowwy 4y ago
  I saw this video earlier this week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUvnGPAe2Q8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUvnGPAe2Q8 I haven't tried it in my garden but it does seem to have downsides as a system. I'm not all that excited to try it.
- hosh 4y ago
  Does the three sister method really need crop rotation? Were you trying it with no-till methods? What about integrated pest control?
  - sebcat 4y ago
    You need crop rotation for beans at least. To lower the risk of parasites and deceased.
    - hosh 4y ago
      Three Sisters pattern has been generalized as a “guild”, with beans fulfilling the function of a nitrogen fixer growing in the vine canopy layer (using the sturdy corn stalks). Knowing that, wouldn’t you substitute beans with a different nitrogen-fixer at an open canopy slot? Or even, different varieties of beans?
euroderf 4y ago
It would be great to see a resource on how to apply this principle to other regions of the world. Like, ideas for the plants to cultivate.
- nunodonato 4y ago
  this is one of the basics of permaculture. If you get in touch with any permaculture teacher/resource for other climates I'm sure you'll easily find an equivalent solution. It's all about working with what you have, where you are
- scns 4y ago
  Combine Onions with Carrots, they repel each others pests.
  - morninglight 4y ago
    Nope. The fat rabbits in my garden enjoy a balanced diet.
    - mharig 4y ago
      Go and get a gun and you have a healthy diet of rabbits stuffed with onions and carrots.
- n4r9 4y ago
  A similar-ish methodology that I'm aware of is Push-Pull Agriculture for crops in East Africa: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push%E2%80%93pull_agricultural_pest_management https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push%E2%80%93pull_agricultural...
a_c 4y ago
Braiding Sweetgrass was the book that introduced me the idea of three sisters. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17465709-braiding-sweetgrass https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17465709-braiding-sweetg... In Let My People Go Surfing https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22155.Let_My_People_Go_Surfing https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22155.Let_My_People_Go_S... , the author Yvon Chouinard mentioned that nature love diversity and hate mono-culture. While he didn't invent the concept, it was very profound to me. Earlier here on HN, there was a post about "replacing bad systems with bad systems" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35476350 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35476350 Sometimes I think to myself, maybe we started with the best system, the nature, and replace it gradually with partial understanding of the nature.

86 points by downboots 4y ago

My experience is that it's hard to get right, messes with crop rotation and lower yield. I've had beans overtaking the maize and I've had squash overtaking the beans. YMMV.

geowwy 4y ago
I saw this video earlier this week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUvnGPAe2Q8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUvnGPAe2Q8 I haven't tried it in my garden but it does seem to have downsides as a system. I'm not all that excited to try it.
hosh 4y ago
Does the three sister method really need crop rotation? Were you trying it with no-till methods? What about integrated pest control?
- sebcat 4y ago
  You need crop rotation for beans at least. To lower the risk of parasites and deceased.
  - hosh 4y ago
    Three Sisters pattern has been generalized as a “guild”, with beans fulfilling the function of a nitrogen fixer growing in the vine canopy layer (using the sturdy corn stalks). Knowing that, wouldn’t you substitute beans with a different nitrogen-fixer at an open canopy slot? Or even, different varieties of beans?

euroderf 4y ago

It would be great to see a resource on how to apply this principle to other regions of the world. Like, ideas for the plants to cultivate.

nunodonato 4y ago
this is one of the basics of permaculture. If you get in touch with any permaculture teacher/resource for other climates I'm sure you'll easily find an equivalent solution. It's all about working with what you have, where you are
scns 4y ago
Combine Onions with Carrots, they repel each others pests.
- morninglight 4y ago
  Nope. The fat rabbits in my garden enjoy a balanced diet.
  - mharig 4y ago
    Go and get a gun and you have a healthy diet of rabbits stuffed with onions and carrots.
n4r9 4y ago
A similar-ish methodology that I'm aware of is Push-Pull Agriculture for crops in East Africa: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push%E2%80%93pull_agricultural_pest_management https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push%E2%80%93pull_agricultural...

a_c 4y ago

Braiding Sweetgrass was the book that introduced me the idea of three sisters. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17465709-braiding-sweetgrass https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17465709-braiding-sweetg... In Let My People Go Surfing https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22155.Let_My_People_Go_Surfing https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22155.Let_My_People_Go_S... , the author Yvon Chouinard mentioned that nature love diversity and hate mono-culture. While he didn't invent the concept, it was very profound to me. Earlier here on HN, there was a post about "replacing bad systems with bad systems" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35476350 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35476350 Sometimes I think to myself, maybe we started with the best system, the nature, and replace it gradually with partial understanding of the nature.