Three Sisters

"Gardening is the slowest of the performing arts," I once read.

In theatre, a show really takes off when all entities involved are truly working together, and the final product is one cohesive work that is the result of the individual talents of many.  Everybody brings something to the table, and when it works, there is a very special energy to the room.  The audience can feel it.  They may not know what it is exactly, but it makes the difference between "well done" and "incredible."

There is a similar teamwork happening in the garden.  There are countless entities involved, and when they are allowed to do their job in a healthy environment, it is quite beautiful.  This synergy is not only found in what the sun, water, and soil are doing for the plants, but also what each plant can do for each other.  I can't think of a better example than that of the Three Sisters garden.


The "Three Sisters" are corn, pole beans, and winter squash.  In addition to being a fine trio for sustenance, the three crops help each other grow while keeping the soil healthy.  The corn grows tall and becomes a natural pole for the climbing beans.  The squash acts as a groundcover, keeping moisture in and weeds out.  The beans grab nitrogen from the air and fix it in the ground, keeping the soil rich.

I was fascinated by this method, and decided to try it for myself.  I dug the bed for this by hand, first removing the sod, and then double digging to get the soil underneath nice and loose.  Using leftover garden soil, I created a raised mound.  I lined the circle with rocks for, you know, dramatic effect.

In the center of the round bed, I planted one squash seed.  I chose Buttercup Squash.  I planted three corn seeds in a triangle around the squash.  It is a blue dent corn, which can be eaten fresh, but is best to be dried and used for grain (cornbread, anybody?).  As soon as the corn is tall enough (it needs to be about ten inches), I will mound up the soil around the stalks, then plan the beans.  Kentucky Wonder pole beans and a cornfield bean given to me by and acquaintance at the airport that has been in the same family for over a hundred years.  Pretty cool.


The double digging process:

A few days ago:

At least for me, Sunday seems to be the right day to contemplate the fascinating nature of the plants that sustain our lives.  This world is an incredible creation.

Some companion planting tidbits for you (from Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte):

"Basil helps tomatoes to overcome both insects and disease, also improving growth and flavor.... It repels  mosquitoes and flies, and when laid over tomatoes in a serving bowl will deter fruit flies."

"Tomatoes and all members of the Brassica "Cabbage" family repel each other and should be kept apart.  Tomatoes also dislike potatoes and fennel."

"Parsley mixed with carrot seed helps to repel carrot flies by its masking aroma."

"Sow oregano with broccoli to repel the cabbage butterfly."

"Mint deters the white cabbageworm by repelling the egg-laying butterflies.  Spearmint repels ants and may help to keep aphids off nearby plants."

"Lovage planted here and there wil improve the health and flavor of other plants."

"Dandelions in the area of fruits and flowers will stimulate them to ripen quickly"

Babies!

The first hints at the fruits of labor (literally) are oh-so-exciting.  Especially when they are Sun Gold tomatoes.  Have you ever had a Sun Gold?  They are like candy.  I cannot wait.  Here's the first one:

Cute, isn't it?  That was yesterday.  Here it is today:

Now, I did not grow these plants from seed.  I was not able to find seed for these because "it is a hybrid, and who the parent plants are is a well-guarded secret."  Yes, it's just that good.  I ordered the plants from Lazy Ox Farm.

As for the tomatoes I did start from seed, we have:

Brandywine...

and San Marzano (the ultimate sauce tomato)...

Another moment of joy was had today when I went out to check my patio plants (which I will describe eventually) and I saw this:

One seed, a medium sized container, decent potting soil, and VOILA!  Yellow wax beans.  Yesterday there were blossoms.  Today, beans.  Who ever said you have to have space to garden? 

Do you know what this is going to be?

If you guessed "A Pretty Purple Pepper," you're absolutely right!

It's been an exciting day of seeing progress.  Watching leaves grow is exciting, but eventually, you need a change of pace.  A flower bud.  Perhaps, a fruit.

Speaking of flowers, I walked out onto my patio this morning and what was one gardenia bloom yesterday had multiplied into about 20.  Fabulous!

Day One... through Seventy-Three

I do hope you will like it here.  Whether you are here to keep up with my progress in my "homestead ventures," or to garden vicariously through me, or perhaps you want to know exactly when to do me a nice favor in hopes for some freshly ripe sun golds, I am glad you made it. 

Now, like my seedlings, I am starting the blog late in the season.  This means I have to play catch up.  Please allow me this quick introduction to my space, and then I will fast forward ahead to Day 73 of my seedlings, which is where I am now.  Don't worry, I'm sure I will interject tidbits from the past 73 days from time to time.

The Design:

The Mother Earth News Garden Planner was an invaluable tool in planning my garden, as was the book Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte.  I based the plan on the things I like to eat and the theories of companion planting.  I won't go into it here, but companion planting guides are fascinating reading on the culture of plants.  This is the layout I created:

This plant list is one of the coolest features of the garden planner:

And for the most part, I pretty much stuck with it.  The position of the beds changed somewhat, and I added a Three Sisters Bed, which consists of Corn, Beans, and Winter Squash all growing together.  You'll understand that one better as it grows, but if you want to read about it, I recommend this link.


The Seedlings

"Seeds are cents, plants are dollars," someone once told me.  I decided to be brave and attempt to start most of my garden from seed.  I found a plan for shelves with lights for seedlings in the Mother Earth News.  By March 12, my wire bookshelves were all set up with fluorescent lights rigged with string to "fly" (they need to raise and lower to stay just over the seedlings) and a plastic tarp to keep the moisture in.  My seed starting mix was purchased and my peat pots and egg cartons were all ready to make things grow.  That Saturday, I planted tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, tarragon, thyme, onions, and my favorite flowers, morning glories and moonflowers.  The thyme and onions are no longer with us, but everything else is coming along.

I did make a few mistakes getting started that caused for super slow germination for everything except the morning glories.  Namely, while I was watering them every day, they were drying out too fast.  Solution: get one of those seed starting trays with the lid.  Once I got them fully enclosed, everything popped right up.  As a result, my tomatoes and peppers went in the garden super late.  Next year, I will definitely start the seeds mid-February.

My seedling shelves:

 Welcome to the world, moon flowers!

The Planting

In my beds, I used garden soil from Mebane Shrubbery all mixed up with some compost and some peat moss.  Dad and I managed to get all that stuff into the bed frames one afternoon.  This would not have happened without him.  We got a good layer of mulch over it (free, thanks to the efforts of Jon Hope and the generosity of the airport), and then it was time to plant the seeds that were to be directly sowed in the garden (some, like lettuce and beans, don't do well as transplants).

I got my printed garden plans and a ruler out and, keeping proper scale, cleared out areas of the mulch so that I could plant the seeds.  All that happened on April 17.  I harvested my first salad on May 20.  Not too shabby. 

Newly planted bed:

And now....

As of this evening, all of my tomato and pepper plants have made it in the bed!  Yes, they are small for May 24.  But hey, give a first-time-seed-starter a break! 

[...secret...I did go out and buy one pepper plant and one Better Boy plant, just in case... and the sun golds were only available as plants.]

I still have a few marigolds and basil left to transplant, but we are rolling, folks:

The Beans Bed (yellow and purple bush beans, nasturtium, marigolds, borage, lovage, tarragon, and carrots):

The Pepper Bed (geraniums, pentunias, marigolds, one purchased purple pepper plant and one bell pepper seedling):

The Greens and Maters Bed (San Marzano tomatoes, Sun Gold tomatoes, marigold, nastutium, arugula, mesclun mix, spinach, carrots, onions, parsley, and freshly-sown row of cilantro):

And the Tomato Bed (3 Brandywine Seedlings, 1 Better Boy, Petunias, carrots, basil, onions):

And folks, that pretty much brings us current.  Stay tuned for future posts on topics such as "The Tiniest Sun Gold Tomato" or "The Trials and Tribulations of Fertilizing Mulched Beds."  But really, I'll try to keep it interesting and short (with the exception of this post), and I'll definitely post plenty of pictures so that you, too, can watch my garden grow!