09/03/2026
I've grown the Three Sisters together 7-8 times now. Sometimes in the more traditional mound groupings, sometimes in rows.
This is the first time, that I recall, EVER having the squash be such a vigorous climber! The squash seeds were supposed to be butternut, but they look more like a cushaw variety. That's okay with me. Squash is winter poultry feed for us, so I don't mind growing the larger variety and harvesting it for feed.
And these traditional native American bean varieties (Cherokee Trail of Tears and Iroquois Skunk beans) are just as vigorous. The seed packet says 7-8ft tall, but they're nearing the height of the high tunnel, at least 11-12 feet tall!
I'm disappointed that our sorghum harvest will be poor, but lessons learned again. I will need to give it a bigger headstart next time -- more like 3-4 weeks before the beans and squash.