This is my first year doing a "three sisters" garden, and so far, everything is doing great. The pumpkin vines are fanned out around the base, the corn is getting taller, and the pole beans are beginning to wind their way up the young stalksÂwhich makes me worry. I can't help but think that the pole beans are going to wrap themselves too tightly around the stalks and not allow the corn proper growth, or that when the ears start to develop they will push through and snap the bean vines. Yikes!

I realize people have been doing this much longer than history probably even knows, which makes me feel like my fears are unfounded. If people swear by this method, then there shouldn't be anything to worry about...and yet I still feel uneasy.

Also, last night at somewhere around three in the morning, it dawned on me that I have 24 separate pumpkin plants...I think I'm going to thin them down to just 12. Sound good?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!