Phil Patterson

I'm trying to create a three-sister's garden and I have noticed some of my genuine cornfield bean seedlings have curled-up leaves. I have extra seeds I could replace them with, but I am not sure if it's necessary. Oddly, the Cherokee Trail of Tears Beans I planted don't have the same problem anywhere.

What is happening to these beans, and what should I do?

I was planning to create mixed rows of potatoes and onions in my garden, but I've heard that onions can stunt the growth of potato tubers. Does anyone know if this is true, and, if so, what causes it?

I want to develop a plan to live on a homestead in the future. I've learned that there are a lot of different ways to earn money on a homestead, and that it's rare to be able to live completely off what you can grow and sell. Knowing this, I want to determine how I will make most of my money, and build a plan around that. However, the sheer amount of options is a bit mind-boggling.

What are some common activities homesteaders do that can provide a significant source of income?

Hello, I started my first garden last summer, and I enjoyed it a lot. I want to try having a three-sisters or four-sisters garden next Spring. I'm a bit of an amateur historian, and growing heirloom crops, especially those grown by Native-Americans, are interesting to me.

I've read up on it, and I'm looking into traditional Ho-Chunk/Winnebago planting methods and varieties. I live in ex-Ho-Chunk territory. So far, hours of internet-searching hasn't revealed anything about their traditional agricultural methods other than that they planted corn, squash, and beans.

Since I live in southern Wisconsin, varieties like Mandan Bride, and Oneida White are potential candidates. I don't know if Oneida white is sold outside of the Oneida community. I would like to plant Cherokee Trail of Tears beans if they taste like black turtle beans (my favorite type of beans).

Have you tried to grow a three-sisters garden yourself?

What heirloom varieties of corn, squash, and beans have you had the most success with?

Travis Johnson wrote:I know I am about state the obvious, but just to make sure we are all on the same page, a person always has to ensure their PH levels are right before supplementing with anything. Proper PH levels unlock everything in the soil, so if your PH is to low or too high, even if your soil does have adequate amounts of iron and zinc, the plant will not up take them.

Always get your PH right first, then fertilize.

I didn't know that. Thanks!

John Weiland wrote:Just to add that some of the more discrete green/white variegation in the leaves may have a genetic basis while mineral deficiencies may be causing more general chlorosis or the reddening of stress.  As noted it wouldn't hurt to treat for the deficiency.  What was the source of the corn seed that you planted and if you saved seed from the previous year, did it have any white striping in last year's crop?

I got the seed for the first garden from Shopko, It is Golden Cross Bantam Hybrid corn. I got the seed for the second from Menards, It's Sunny Days Hybrid corn.

I have had terrible luck growing corn. In my first garden, only one corn plant seems to have sprouted, in my second, less than half sprouted. Each garden has a different variety of sweet corn.

My first garden has two feet of soil purchased from a garden center. I believe it is made from local soil. My second garden has had the top 6 inches of soil removed and replaced with the same garden soil. Both my natural soil and this garden soil are sandy-loam soils.

Onions, turnips, pole green beans, bush black beans, potatoes, bell peppers, and tomatoes have had no trouble growing as long as I remembered to water them daily. I had no luck germinating spinach, but I chalked that up to a late planting in warm weather.

I returned from a trip yesterday, and I have been unable to water my gardens for five days.

All of the corn that sprouted has at least one white stripe down the center of each leaf. One corn plant in the second garden is particularly stunted and has several white stripes across two of it's leaves. Before I left it only had one leaf with multiple white stripes.  When it sprouted all it's leaves were completely white. I didn't even think it was corn, but I let it grow because I wanted to see what it became.

Before I left all the corn plants in the second garden had small parts of the bottom of their stalks that were red. Now a few no longer have that.

Here is a picture of that corn plant, along with a neighbor that features the more-typical single-white-stripe.



I read that this is caused by either iron or zinc deficiency. However, I am not sure how to tell the difference. Is there some way to tell?

I know that sometimes it takes awhile for nutrients to seep into the soil.
How can I amend the soil as quickly as possible?

Trace Oswald wrote:I would just leave it be.  I don't think it needs rescuing.  It may be that some of your seeds weren't great.

I forgot to mention this, but I planted a different variety of corn in another garden, and most of them didn't germinate either. Those that did aren't able to support themselves fully, and seem to lean over. I don't see any European corn borers, I watered them almost every day, and I planted them all at least 1 inch down.

James Freyr wrote:I think you may have one corn plant and grass. Can you tell us about the soil, such as tilling, planting in the soil you have or bringing in say, a truck load of soil/compost from a nursery? Have you always had a garden in this spot or is this the first year?

This is my first year of gardening. I am not sure about the soil. My father bought it, and IIRC all he told me was that it was compost mixed with regular dirt.

Something seems to be wrong with my soil. I planted several corn plants, and only one was quicker to grow than the weeds. When the weeds started coming up, I pulled all the plants that obviously weren't corn.

However, I still ended up like this.



Now, I'm not sure what to do. Is there a way to rescue this situation?