- Joined
- Feb 5, 2019
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- Location
- East Texas
- Hardiness Zone
- old zone 8b/new zone 9a
- Country
Interplanting is one of the practices of ancient farming which involves planting more than one type of plant together. It is used extensively in Mexico where I first observed it and subsequently adopted it. Many advantages of this approach include lessened insect problems, protection from wind/elements, weed control/elimination, and nitrogen fixing if a legume is one of the plants. It can be done small scale and/or large scale equally well.
The "standard" compliment of plants for three sisters is squash, beans, and corn. What I call the Texas three sisters is better I believe because squash doesn't do well in the Texas heat and beans and watermelon and corn on the other hand each thrives. The corn provides support for the beans which provide nitrogen to the others and the watermelon provides shade to eliminate weeds. This has worked really well for me for a long time.
Presenting the Texas Three Sisters:
The "standard" compliment of plants for three sisters is squash, beans, and corn. What I call the Texas three sisters is better I believe because squash doesn't do well in the Texas heat and beans and watermelon and corn on the other hand each thrives. The corn provides support for the beans which provide nitrogen to the others and the watermelon provides shade to eliminate weeds. This has worked really well for me for a long time.
Presenting the Texas Three Sisters: