Three Sisters Garden

[His_Einna]

Anyone else doing it this year?

[applestar]

I've done that for the past two years, and will most likely do so again. This year, I'm adding the supposedly oft forgotten 4th sister -- Spider Flowers (Cleome), although in my grouping/guild, Sunflower has always been a fourth sister, so perhaps Cleome will be the 5th.

[ilsamay]

the raccoons and the lack of space always do the corn in and sunflowers need to much.....sun. dad and I will be doing lots and lots of beans and squash type things though- I cannot wait for those thin crispy roasted slices of petti pan! (the flying saucer squash) I'm drooling as I sit here typing!

[Toil]

I got great beans and kick-ass corn last year (hardly any earworms), but the squashes went from prolific to nothing at all in 2 weeks. Squash bugs, squash beetles, and cucumber beetles all showed up at once. The predators didn't.

So I'll do it all over this year! nothing beats feeding fresh picked corn to your friends.

[The Helpful Gardener]

It was a rough year for all the above around, toil. I managed with a medley approach to spraying; neem, insecticidal soap, and pyrethrins in rotation. Nobody gets too comfortable that way... Lost a few squash but towards the end of the year when we had had our fill mostyl anyway. But one of the worst years I've seen. Saw a few assasins but by then it was spray or be overrun. You can hold them off though, sort of like the Alamo...

Cukes got taken out by voles though

HG

[Toil]

I'm an hours drive from you hg, so I know you feel the same pain as I do over last season. I'm hoping with all that food around, the good guys will really be back in full force.

It seems like timing was the key. I was handing out summer squashes and gave away kabochas started early.

I'm way too lazy to spray 3 products! But I will pass that on to others.