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Re: Why do you "hill" when you plant the 3 sisters method?

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Frank Teuton wrote:

> Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>
> A hilll or mound is a sort of mini-raised bed, with all the advantages that
> implies....
>
> Corn, beans and squash/pumpkins are all warm weather crops, so the extra
> heat that a slight mound collects is useful to them....
>
> (Peas, OTOH, are a cool season crop---legumes, such as peas and beans, fix
> nitrogen in their roots via association with Rhizobium bacteria, which form
> nodules that you can see---this means the peas/beans are not pulling the
> nitrogen the corn/squash needs, I think, and not so much that they actually
> provide lots of N to the others...Peas in need of support will not have it
> in time from the corn, because they are so early, whereas pole beans,
> planted a couple of weeks or so after the corn, will be supported by
> it....those are my thoughts on the peas and cues of 3 sisters and why peas
> aren't a sister and pole beans are...)
>
> This year, I am experimenting with planting into compost placed over  my
> mulched garden soil, where I grew 12 foot high Bloody Butcher corn last
> year....this corn was not hilled, the soil was not tilled, and the stalks
> were strong and wind resistant....
>
> Untilled soil has greater soil strength, and when it is enriched and alive
> with organic matter and the things that eat it, like earthworms, there are
> ample spaces in the strong soil for the roots to go deep and find the plants
> needs in nutrients, water and anchorage.
>
> A tilled soil is weaker and the blowing over problem in a tilled soil may
> require hilling for added strength.
>
> So my hills wil be compost of a couple inches, over an untilled worm rich
> strong clay soil, and I will not add anything to protect the corn from
> wind....
>
> I'll let everybody know how this turns out---so far the peas, spinach and
> mesclun are happy...
>
> Frank---thinks the little mound is a warmer upper for the three sisters
> chilly toes, which peas like but beans, corn and squashes don't......
> -----Original Message-----
> From: JC Dill <garden@vo.cnchost.com>
> To: sqft@listbot.com <sqft@listbot.com>
> Date: Thursday, May 13, 1999 3:59 AM
> Subject: Why do you "hill" when you plant the 3 sisters method?
>
> >Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
> >
> >I like the 3 sisters idea and want to plant my corn and beans ASAP.  But I
> >was wondering what the purpose of the "hill" is.  It would seem to me that
> >if anything, you would want to plant the corn in a hole and then fill it in
> >as it grows to help support the stalks with extra dirt around the base to
> >keep them from tipping in the wind.
> >
> >So what benefit do you get, exactly, from planting in a hill?  Is it the
> >water catching benefits of the gullies between the hills?  Is this a method
> >that works best in an area where you do a lot of flood irrigation?
> >
> >TIA
> >
> >jc
> >
> >
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