So, part of my outside garden this year I decided to plant a Three Sisters garden in part of my big raised bed. I found a lot of conflicting info about this on the internet. What I ended up doing was using a section of bed four feet wide and about...ten feet long. I made two mounds about twenty inches high, flat on top, and about three feet across.

At the edge of the flat part, I planted corn seeds (Mandan Bride from SSE, its a dent corn). On the sloping sides, I planted some squashes, and mixed in with the corn on top, I planted some pole beans.

In between the mounds and on the short ends of the mounds, I planted some lettuces. On one long edge of the bed, I planted arugula, and on the other, five color chard.

Before I planted I dug in loads of well rotted manure and compost and turned every thing over pretty thoroughly.

Initially, I was nervous about germination, and I wasn't sure what the end density was supposed to be. As far as I can tell, intercropping systems like Three Sisters are designed to be more densely planted then row crops. My plan was to see how things started to come in and thin it to an acceptable size.

Basically, I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. I'm also not sure how much thinner it has to be, and if there will be any chance I can transplant some of the plants.

The garden is growing insanely fast. The plants I planted from seed are substantially larger already than plants I planted the same day from largish seedlings from the garden center. We've had really good growing conditions in my area and the plants so far seem to love being interplanted this way and in this soil.

Take a look at this pic. How much do you think I should thin this? I wish I planted the corn further ahead of everything (I gave it a week), because its not far enough ahead of the beans to start training them around it, and I'm worried that the big squash leaves are restricting the corn's access to sun.

I'm getting worried that if I leave this to grow like this, the plants will start to choke each other and limit food production. The last thing I want is a load of leaves and no food (this has happened to when I planted some tomatoes in containers before, huge green bushes with like one tomato). The corn is tighter together than the seed package recommends (slightly), but its in a block for pollination. Also, there's an active hive of carpenter bees about six feet from the garden, and they are supposed to be good pollinators, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Anyway, I have no experience with this style of gardening, so looking at this pic and reading this description, any advice you guys have would be super appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

The Hidatsas/Mandans planted separate hills for corn, beans and squash. Corn hills were about four feet apart on center and bean hills were centered between four corn hills. Rows of Squash hills formed boarders between plots of corn/beans.

The hills were formed because it was easier to scratch up loose soil than to dig down to loosen it (all they had were hoes and digging sticks). Hilling also helped with weeding and drainage. With your raised beds none of this applies to you and planting everything so closely together will cause root competition for water and nutrients. It already looks like your squash is nitrogen deficient (yellowing leaves), if this is the case your corn may be stunted.

I would thin the squash to two or three per hill and then train the vines away from the hills on the sunny side and cover them at the leaf bases with soil in hopes that they will root away from the mounds. And you might want to fertilize the mounds if it looks like growth is slowing. The height differences will mean that you should have no problem with light competition (the corn will soon be above the squash leaves), water and nutrients are going to be your problem so you will have to monitor them closely.

Keep us posted...I have done a lot of research on 3SistersGardening and haven't got my nerve up yet! you give me hope! I do garden with raised beds and interplant..thanks for the view! Pam