posted 4 years ago
OK, I've grown all of those except tobacco.
Corn, beans and squash I actually tried as a three sisters patch, but I didn't have enough space or sunlight, so the squash was a bust. Corn generates a lot of carbon for the soil, whose value is often overlooked in agricultural situations.
I've started some baby sunflowers this year that I'm planning to put around my bean patch, since I haven't found a type of corn that will tolerate our cool nights and low sun level.
I've had no luck growing sunchokes, although a friend grows them. As a tuber, my area probably relied on camas instead.
I like ground cherries and my son loves them, but alas, they tend to need a longer, hotter summer than I have available. I can see in the right climate that they'd be an excellent compliment. Their botanical name is Physalis pruinosa which is in the Nightshade family. I'm making do with growing tomatillos (Physalis philadelphica) which I can harvest still green and mix with tomatoes to make a nice salsa. I've got a volunteer and I'm wondering if its a tomatillo or a ground cherry as it is possible it is either.
I realize that tobacco was important culturally, and I do know someone with a hot spot in his backyard that used to grow it, but for the moment I'll pass as there are higher priorities.
What would interest me is exactly how they interwove these plants, particularly managing a root crop. I know the Indigenous culture where I grew up moved their villages after multiple years and this would have helped the soil regenerate and probably reduced pest loads.
Where I currently live, the Indigenous were more ocean oriented (salmon in particular) but were known for their camas fields and grew nettles for fiber, but I'm not aware of them having an agricultural system such as either 3 or 7 sisters.