Some years ago I gave it a try, without knowing more than the growing beans up cornstalks and covering the ground with squash vines. It was a bit of a disaster.
Higher hopes this time. I have a strong stalked corn that does not get overly tall, and I have bred all of the lodging issues out of it. I have beans that are not going to climb over 7 feet high, and I have squash that is only going to cover the ground within 40″ of where it is planted, and not climb the corn. Took me a while to breed or find varieties I was comfortable trying this with again.
I am using the red speckled selection from the Wamneheza I made and grew out back in 2012. I gave most of it to the Ponca tribe through Amos Hinton, but kept a pound back for myself.
Hills are 5′ apart, 18″ across, with 12 seeds, in groups of 2, around the circumference. When the corn is about 6″ high the beans will get planted in the middle, and mounds of squash will go between every hill. That is the plan anyway.
Each hill got mudded in properly, and there has been little rain, so it gives the corn a head start on the weeds.
Found stuff for all the kids to do. <grin> kept them busy. Even if it was just getting rocks out of the field.
This was my primary planting crew. From left, Phoebe, Bella, and Nell.
The cat was demanding, but sweet. Mostly.
Charlie mostly wanted to just hang out and ask questions about what we were doing.
Before we left, I had to go visit the parents of the bacon. Warm today, and they were enjoying their mud wallows. Personal spas.
So at the end of the time we had to work before heading home, we had 5 rows of 9 hills, with 12 seeds per hill, so 540 seeds of the Speckled Red Flour corn. And I did 5 rows (not hills) of Bear Island Flint corn, which is mostly because the seed I have for it is 7 years old and I need to rejuvenate it. Also, the garlic we planted in the early warm up when the ground first thawed on the south facing slope at The Adickes Farm is up and thriving.
