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Three Sisters (agriculture)

 

 
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Three Sisters (agriculture)
 
 
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The Three Sisters are the three main agricultural crops of some Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples....
 groups in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
: squash, maize
Maize

Maize , known as corn in some countries, is a cereal domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents....
, and climbing bean
Bean

Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genus of the Family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed.The whole young pods of bean plants, if picked before the pods ripen and dry, can be tender enough to eat whole, whether cooked or raw....
s (typically tepary bean
Tepary bean

The Tepary bean is native to the Southwestern United States United States and Mexico and has been grown there by the native peoples since pre-Columbian times....
s or common bean
Common bean

The common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, is an herbaceous annual plant domesticated independently in ancient Mesoamerica and the Andes, and now grown worldwide for its edible bean, popular both dry and as a green bean....
s).

In one technique known as companion planting
Companion planting

Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is planting of different crops in close physical proximity, on the theory that they will help each other....
, the three crops are planted close together. Flat-topped mounds of soil are built for each cluster of crops. Each mound is about 30 cm (1 ft) high and 50 cm (20 in) wide, and several maize seeds are planted
Sowing

Sowing is the process of planting seeds.However, before sowing, good quality seeds should be selected to produce a high yield....
 close together in the center of each mound.






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The Three Sisters are the three main agricultural crops of some Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples....
 groups in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
: squash, maize
Maize

Maize , known as corn in some countries, is a cereal domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents....
, and climbing bean
Bean

Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genus of the Family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed.The whole young pods of bean plants, if picked before the pods ripen and dry, can be tender enough to eat whole, whether cooked or raw....
s (typically tepary bean
Tepary bean

The Tepary bean is native to the Southwestern United States United States and Mexico and has been grown there by the native peoples since pre-Columbian times....
s or common bean
Common bean

The common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, is an herbaceous annual plant domesticated independently in ancient Mesoamerica and the Andes, and now grown worldwide for its edible bean, popular both dry and as a green bean....
s).

In one technique known as companion planting
Companion planting

Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is planting of different crops in close physical proximity, on the theory that they will help each other....
, the three crops are planted close together. Flat-topped mounds of soil are built for each cluster of crops. Each mound is about 30 cm (1 ft) high and 50 cm (20 in) wide, and several maize seeds are planted
Sowing

Sowing is the process of planting seeds.However, before sowing, good quality seeds should be selected to produce a high yield....
 close together in the center of each mound. In parts of the Atlantic Northeast
Atlantic Northeast

The Atlantic Northeast is a region of North America, comprising New England in the United States and the Canadian Maritimes in Canada. Definitions of the region vary; in New England it may be restricted to the rural north, and it may also extend to all of Atlantic Canada....
, rotten fish or eel are buried in the mound with the maize seeds, to act as additional fertilizer where the soil is poor. When the maize is 15 cm (6 inches) tall, beans and squash are planted around the maize, alternating between beans and squash. Milpa
Milpa

Milpa is a crop-growing system used throughout Mesoamerica. It has been most extensively described in the Yucat?n peninsula area of Mexico. The word milpa is a Mexican Spanish term meaning "field," and is derived from the Nahuatl word phrase mil-pa "to the field" ....
s are farms or gardens that employ companion planting on a larger scale.

The three crops benefit from each other. The maize provides a structure for the beans to climb, eliminating the need for poles. The beans provide the nitrogen
Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674?. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere....
 to the soil
Soil

Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
 that the other plants utilize and the squash spreads along the ground, monopolizing the sunlight
Sunlight

Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total spectroscopy of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is Filter ed through the Earth's atmosphere, and the solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon....
 to prevent weed
WEED

WEED is a radio station broadcasting a Gospel format. Licensed to Rocky Mount, North Carolina, USA, it serves the area. The station is currently owned by Northstar Broadcasting Corporation....
s. The squash leaves act as a "living mulch
Mulch

In agriculture and gardening, is a protective cover placed over the soil, primarily to modify the effects of the local climate. A wide variety of nature and Synthetic fiber materials are used....
," creating a microclimate
Microclimate

A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles ....
 to retain moisture in the soil, and the prickly hairs
Spine (botany)

Spines are leaves that have been modified into cylindrical, hard structures with sharp ends. They are occasionally called thorn , which is incorrect ....
 of the vine deter pests.

Native Americans throughout North America are known for growing variations of three sister's gardens. The Anasazi are known for adopting this garden design in a more xeric environment.

See also

  • Milpa
    Milpa

    Milpa is a crop-growing system used throughout Mesoamerica. It has been most extensively described in the Yucat?n peninsula area of Mexico. The word milpa is a Mexican Spanish term meaning "field," and is derived from the Nahuatl word phrase mil-pa "to the field" ....


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