Grade 3 Three Sisters Garden
Last week in science classes with Mrs. Christine Torlina, Grade 3 students harvested produce from the Three Sisters Garden planted last spring. Unfortunately, the corn didn’t survive, but thankfully, there were carrots to harvest instead!
A Three Sisters Garden is an ancient companion-planting system used by Indigenous peoples across North and Central America, in which corn, beans, and squash grow together in a single, mutually supportive ecosystem. Corn, the Tall Sister, grows tall and sturdy, providing a natural living trellis for the beans to climb. Beans, the Giving Sister, pull nitrogen from the air and fix it into the soil to naturally fertilize the corn and squash, while also stabilizing the corn stalks against strong winds. Squash, the Protective Sister, sprawls across the ground with large, prickly leaves that create a living mulch to retain soil moisture, block weeds, and deter animal pests.
The Three Sisters Garden connects to the theme of Our Land, Our People for Grade 3, during which they study our changing landscape, migration and movement, our state and region, and Indigenous Peoples.
