I’ve always admired the “Three Sisters” garden, a traditional Native American companion planting method combining corn, beans, and squash. Each plant helps the others grow: corn supports climbing beans, beans enrich the soil with nitrogen, and squash vines shade the soil, keeping moisture in and weeds out.
Although traditionally planted in mounds, I wanted to adapt the Three Sisters method to square-foot gardening in raised beds, which is how most of my garden is planted. I’m sharing the spacing, planting times, and tips, along with what I learned by trying the Three Sisters method in raised beds.
What we’ll cover:
- How to Plant a Three Sisters Garden in a Raised Bed (Layout)
- Best Varieties for Your Three Sisters Garden
- When to Plant Your Three Sisters Garden
- Growing Tips for Your Three Sisters Raised Bed Garden
- Harvesting Tips & Observations from My Garden
- Quick Summary
How to Plant a Three Sisters Garden in a Raised Bed (Layout)
I planted my Three Sisters garden in three of my 4×8 raised beds. Here’s the layout I used successfully:
- Corn: Two rows down the center of each bed, spacing roughly 8-12 inches apart (about 12–16 stalks per bed). Initially, I planted corn seeds directly, but found the soil was still too cool, so the seeds didn’t sprout. Using transplants for the spring planting was much more successful.
- Beans: Once the corn was 6 inches to a foot tall, I planted one pole bean seed at the base of each corn stalk (16 bean plants per bed). Use bean transplants if the soil is still cool.
- Squash: I planted two squash plants on each of the long sides of the bed (four squash plants total). The end of my beds already had flowers and roses, so the squash plants occupied the side spaces. Using squash transplants was helpful if the soil was still cool.
If you are gardening in containers, consider trying a Three Sisters grow bag garden instead.
Best Varieties for Your Three Sisters Garden
These varieties grew well for me and are reliable performers:
- Corn: Silver Queen
- Beans: Rattlesnake and Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans
- Squash: Black Beauty Summer Squash, Waltham Butternut, or Block Party F1 Butternut (a newer hybrid variety)
When to Plant Your Three Sisters Garden
General Planting Guidelines (most climates):
- Corn: Plant seeds or transplants once the danger of frost has passed and nighttime temperatures reach at least 55°F (13°C)—typically May in cooler climates. Learn how to check the soil temperature in this guide.
- Pole Beans: Plant seeds or transplants around corn stalks when the corn is about 6–12 inches tall.
- Squash: Plant seeds or transplants roughly two weeks after beans sprout, or when beans are several inches tall. This gives corn and beans a head start and prevents squash from overwhelming them.
Low Desert (Arizona) Specific Planting Windows:
- Spring Planting: Begin planting February 15 – March (you may need to use transplants if the soil is still cool).
- Monsoon Planting: July – August (the soil will be warm enough for direct seeding).
Experiment to determine the timing that works best in your garden.
Vegetable, Herb, and Fruit Planting Guide for the Low Desert of Arizona
The ultimate resource for gardeners in arid regions with hot summers and mild winters—designed specifically for the low desert of Arizona.
It features information on how and when to start seeds indoors and when to transplant them outside for nearly 100 different fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
Growing Tips for Your Three Sisters Raised Bed Garden
Here are some tips that helped me get the most from my raised-bed setup:
- Soil preparation: Corn is a heavy feeder. Before planting, I amended my raised beds with compost and plenty of worm castings. Learn more about the best soil for raised beds.
- Fertilizing: I fertilized corn plants twice during the growing season with AgroThrive fertilizer. It’s organic, easy to use, and effective.
- Watering consistently: Raised beds dry out quickly. Regular, deep watering is crucial. Read my tips on how to water raised bed gardens.
- Sunlight: Choose a location with full sun (at least 6–8 hours daily). I used shade cloth over part of my garden once daytime temperatures topped 90°F.
- Managing beans: Beans climb rapidly. Keep an eye on the vines. Unwrap any that tangle around the corn ears or the tassles. You can top the vine to keep it from growing taller than the corn.
- Supporting vines: Winter squash vines need room to grow. I planted winter squash in the raised bed next to my arch trellises, allowing the vines to climb and spread.
If you’re new to square-foot planting, check out my tips for growing a square-foot garden.
Harvesting Tips & Observations from My Garden
- Harvesting: Beans and summer squash were ready to harvest first, followed by corn. The bean harvest started off slow but picked up quickly as the corn matured.
- Pollination: Pollination was about 80% successful (yay!) with minimal hand-pollination effort.
- Beneficial insects and pests: I was happy to see ladybugs and lacewings, but surprisingly few pests. Normally, I see worms when growing corn, but not this year. The beans showed whitefly damage (especially lower next to the soil), but it didn’t seem to hinder production or get out of hand.
- Supporting corn stalks: Most corn stalks remained upright, supported by bean vines, but a few fell due to the wind. To keep them upright until harvest, I used wooden stakes and coated wire.
What’s next? After removing the corn, I left several pole bean plants in place and planted okra in its place. I’m curious to see if the beans will climb the okra and continue producing—a fun experiment in companion planting and crop succession. The winter squash should continue to grow well; it has several fruits on the vine and is happily climbing the trellis.
Quick Summary
Growing a Three Sisters garden in raised beds was productive and surprisingly easy. I harvested an impressive amount of corn, beans, and squash from a relatively small space.
Using transplants early in the season gave the garden a helpful head start while waiting for the soil to warm. Direct seeding may be more successful during the monsoon planting when the soil is warmer. I wouldn’t adjust the spacing—it worked well—but I may adjust the timing of planting beans next time to prevent them from tangling with the corn tassels before pollen is released.
If you’ve been considering planting a Three Sisters garden, it’s definitely worth trying. Feel free to comment below with your experiences or questions.
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