How The Three Sisters is a Timely Example of Sustainable Nutrition

This Indigenous American agricultural practice is a master class in sustainable nutrition.

As I get older, I’m increasingly awestruck by the arrival of spring. As a horse owner, I deeply feel every season with being out in the elements every day. So, when those first blades of green grass, tree buds, and birdsong emerge, my heart can hardly take it. It’s so exciting.

On the sustainable nutrition side of things, however, I also get very jazzed about the impending growing season. While I don’t have an outdoor space for in-ground gardening at the moment (though hoping to later this spring), my general passion for growing food is renewed and intensified this time of year. I love chatting with friends about varietals, planting plans, and any other nuggets of wisdom I can gather.

The Three Sisters

So, I thought now would be the perfect time to talk about the over 3,000 year old Indigenous American agriculture practice known as the Three Sisters. If you didn’t learn about it in school as a kid, the basic concept behind this practice is that by companion planting corn (or maize), beans, and squash (or pumpkin) together, each thrives better than if they were planted separately. This was especially true with the harsher North American climate thousands of years ago. The name of the practice comes from the Iroquois word ‘Haudenosaunee’ which means ‘three sisters’.

While I’m no historian or anthropologist, there are many legends behind the origins of the Three Sisters. One is from the Iroquois myth of “Sky Woman,” a character who fell from the upper world at the beginning of days. When she passed away, the Three Sister plants grew together from her grave. Another theory is that because these three plants nurture each other like family, they’re viewed as sisters.

Iroquois women were actually in charge of farming in their communities and commonly practiced ‘interplanting’ or planting different seeds together. The Three Sisters also has ties to Seneca and Cherokee culture and was used prevalently in the area of the country now known as New York, though became a widespread practice across the entire North American continent. The Three Sisters were viewed in Native communities as a means to sustain life both physically and spiritually.

The Importance of The Three Sisters

There’s so many reasons why this practice deserves some extra love and attention right now.

First, by embracing and discussing this practice, we’re acknowledging and appreciating the wisdom, value, and history of Indigenous Americans. Indigenous peoples were the first to steward this land we now call America and their insight is nothing short of invaluable. They were thriving here long before colonization and that longstanding knowledge should be cherished. This notion is especially important in this divisive time in American history where disregard for minority groups, Indigenous communities, and people of color is rampant.

This practice also has inherent feminine energy running through it, given its name and history. Women’s voices, too, are greatly under appreciated right now. In fact, Women’s History Month is making headlines this week not because it’s just beginning (it runs the whole month of March) but because federal agencies have banned celebrations of the occasion.

The Three Sisters also highlights the beautiful and important concept that when we work together, we’re greater than the sum of our parts—yet another notion completely devalued by our current administration.

However, the Three Sisters also has meaningful sustainability and nutrition implications regardless of the political climate.

Sustainability

This concept is truly ingenious when you look at how these three plants work together. Corn grows tall, providing a trellis for the bean plant to climb while it grows. Meanwhile, the bean plant fixes nitrogen in the soil through rhizobia bacteria that lives on its roots. This naturally fertilizes and enriches the soil, reducing or eliminating the need to add fertilizers and helping all three plants grow and thrive. Then, as a sprawling plant, squash offers ground cover for natural weed suppression, heat protection, and soil water retention.

This practice, when used today, can cut down on water, fertilizer, pesticide, weed suppression, and trellising needs. It also benefits soil health through plant diversification and natural nitrogen introduction.

Nutrition

The Three Sisters were also cherished by Indigenous American communities as each plant provided them with a robust array of nutrients.

Final Thoughts

While the Three Sisters is the perfect place to start when venturing into companion planting for the first time, the practice of interplanting can also be used with plenty of other plants in your garden. Dill and basil help protect tomatoes from pests without competing for resources, eggplant can be planted with beans and marigolds, spinach with strawberries, lettuce with carrots, peas, or alliums…you’d be shocked at how many combinations there are.

I hope the Three Sisters also reminds you that ancient wisdom is just as valuable and useful today as it was thousands of years ago. Just because we have new, exciting technology doesn’t negate what humans have discovered with their own two hands while in communion with nature over our extensive tenure on earth. Further, I hope this concept serves as the most peaceful act of resistance. Even if you don’t use it for gardening, through simply learning about and acknowledging this practice, you’re embracing the value of minority groups, women, and togetherness.

That said, if you give this practice a try this summer, please let me know! Happy planting!

Posted By: Christina · In: Uncategorized