Hello,

I'm familiar with the three sisters concept of growing pole beans up corn stalks, and planting squash as mulch. I'm proposing variations, using bamboo tepees, and an assortment of cucumbers, melons and squashes, and would like your thoughts on how sucessful I might be. I'm open to a lot of changes, but I'll share my initial thoughts to get the conversation started.

1. One bean tepee will be built in each 4' by 4' section of raised row. I propose 5, maybe 6 large diameter (1 1/2" to 2" )bamboo stakes to build the tepees. How about 8 feet long, buried 18" in the ground to survive Oklahoma wind?

2. If the soil has ever been farmed, it's not been in the last 100 years. Until a wildfire a month ago, it was covered in grasses and small trees. For three years, I had been accumulating cardboard and sawdust in place, some of which had decomposed, and some of which went up in flames. I will be incorporating aged compost into the wide rows. I'd call it sandy loam, extra heavy on the sand. No soil test.

3. One tepee of each of the following pole beans:

Asian Yardlong Asparagus Bean

Signora della Campagna aka Country Woman

Asparagus Bean Liana RS

Tennessee Cutshort

Kentucky Wonder

Thai #3 Extra Long

Greasy Grit

Lima Fordhook #242

Musica

Super Marconi

Emerite

Yellow Pole Manaviglia Venezia

Red Striped Greasy

Garafal Oro

4. Mulch crops, the number of which will have to be pared down to equal one per tepee. Please chime in with how successful I might be with any given variety as mulch.

Cantaloupe Hale's Jumbo

Cantaloupe Rocky Ford Green Flesh

Cantaloupe Canoe Creek

Melon Hale's Best

Muskmelon Jenny Lind

Melon Ambrosia

Melon Ananas

Melon Israeli

Melon Tenderal Verde tardif

Melon Casaba

Melon Piel de Sapo

Watermelon Moon & stars

Watermelon Yellowbaby

Burpee's Fordhook Zucchini

Early Prolific Straightneck Summer Squash

Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin

Pumpkin Rouge Vif d'Etamp

Blue Hubbard Squash

Golden Hubbard Squash

Howden Pumpkin

Jarrahdale Squash

Long Island Cheese Pumpkin

Delicata Squash

All will be grown inside a combination of rabbit fence and deer fence.

I am currently set up with two lengths of 1/2" irrigation tubing from dripworks per 4' width of bed. If you think I should use the special tees to get circular irrigation around the tepees, I can probably manage that.

Thanks for all your input.