A couple homeschool years ago, we studied the Haudensaunee/Iroquois , a First Nations people of eastern Canada and down into the northern states. The women because they did the farming had quite a lot of decision making power. They used the three sisters method of farming. I believe the method first got started in Mesoameria. When grown together, corn, squash, and runner beans create a symbiotic agricultural union and a complete protein when also consumed together.

The corn grows tall and provides structure for the runner beans. The runner beans provide nitrogen for the soil, and the squash provide shade and prevent the overgrowth of weeds. They sure do.

The beans do lose out some on the arrangement, but you can't win them all, even if you are a hardy runner bean. I choose to plant Scarlet Runners, for their pretty red and also edible flowers. You may remember this bean from grammar school, where you likely planted it and watched it sprout and reach up to near-sighted giants in a matter of days. You measured and graphed its progress. It is also a great homeschool exercise as an experiment in Life Sciences and Math.

For some reason, out in the mild and long-sunny days of northern Alberta, it was a snail's process for all of the plants. My one planter in the backyard had an infestation of red ants and I only ever got a few very small squash from it. Hoping for better yields next year. The other one in the back, produced 3 good size orange pumpkins and one small, and a couple dozen beans, but no corn. Not as bad it sounds. The squash plants also produced copious yellow and orange blooms, also edible. I however was not up to elaborate meals; so instead I cut them at the end of the day, after the bees had had their fill, and gave them to my next door neighbour for his chickens. The pollinators and fowl absolutely appreciated my efforts.

The front yard south-facing planter was the clear winner my first year out as farmer behind the yellow door. It measures a modest 2.5 feet by 5 feet. Not a lot of soil. It only produced two beans, but by the fattest and the sire of next years crop. But it also produced five Japanese pumpkins and eight spaghetti squash. Add to that a dozen corns of cob. Not a bad yield for such a small patch.

Once the gardens had established themselves, I did virtually no weeding. They were some thirsty though. Minime and I had read a short novel years back where during drought, a grandfather must cart bathtub water, and other grey water, to maintain the growth of his prized pumpkin. Sorry I can't remember the name. Well, I did so too and also used rain water. Take that Greta. If however you had to go away for more than a few days, a sprinkler system on a timer and this miraculous garden would mostly take car of itself.