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The Iroquois discovered that, when grown together, these three plants make each other stronger. The sturdy corn stalks double as poles and support the beans. The squash’s floppy, oversized leaves perfectly mulch the ground and keep the weeds at bay. This vegetable garden combination has been a North American tradition for centuries. You can try it in your backyard.

GETTING PREPARED

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Before planting your seeds of corn, bean and squash (and for the last, feel free to substitute pumpkin), there are three basic strategies you need to know.

1. Nurture Healthy Soil.

As the old saying goes, dirt’s beneath your fingernails, soil’s under your feet. The truth about gardening is that it’s all about preparing good soil, with fertile proportions of water, air, and compost. Humus and manure also add nutrients to your soil, as will the mulch you place on top. Pile on leaves and other garden debris; they will decay in the soil and nourish it from within.

How do you know if soil is healthy? Good soil is something you can feel. It crumbles airily between your fingers and has worms in it.

2. Experiment with Compost.

Gardeners wax eloquent about compost. And you should hear them talk about compost tea, which is when you mix compost and water and sprinkle it over your plants as fertilizer. You can purchase bags of prepared compost at your local nursery.

Compost is also a backyard project, called “a simple heap of green and brown.” Green is kitchen scraps—but never meat! Brown is fallen leaves, pine tree needles, and even newspapers, cut into strips. Toss it all together, add water every few days, and turn over with a pitchfork once in a while.

In a few months, the natural process of decay turns this heap to compost, full of vitamins for your plants. Add some to your garden soil. (It must be admitted that despite gardeners’ eloquence, sometimes mulch piles don’t work. If this happens to you, it’s okay.)

3. Know the Date of Last Frost.

Many seeds should not be planted outdoors until after the date of the last frost, and this includes corn, beans, and squash (others, like lettuce and peas, are cold-weather crops and can be planted in mid-spring). The best way to find this magic date is to ask any seasoned gardener in your neighborhood. This is called “talking over the fence,” and is without a doubt the best way to learn how to garden.

PLANTING YOUR SISTERS

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Now: you are ready, your soil is dark and crumbly and filled with compost, and the last frost is a distant memory. To plant the Three Sisters, prepare a garden spot three to five feet in diameter, and mound the soil up about one foot.

In the center of the mound make five holes, each an inch deep, and plant two corn seeds in each hole.

In two weeks: The corn seedlings will emerge. Prune the smaller, weaker one from each hole; five corn stalks will remain in the mound. (This two-seed planting trick can be used every time you plant; it’s the best way to find the seeds most likely to succeed.) Then plant the bean seeds in seven holes in a circle around the corn, planting two seeds in each hole, knowing you’ll prune the weaker ones later.

Two weeks after that: The beans will sprout. Once again, prune the smaller ones.

One week later: The beans should be tall enough to start winding through the growing corn stalks; help them find their way. Then plant the seeds for squash or pumpkin in eleven holes around the corn, repeating the two-seed method you now know well.

All summer long: Water very well each day.

In the fall: You’ll have a feast of corn, beans, and squash (or pumpkins) that would make the Iroquois—and your sisters—proud.

Peach Pit Rings

FUNNY THE THINGS girls used to do. This piece of girl lore, rubbing a peach pit into a ring, is really a pretext for hanging out with your friends on a late summer afternoon. Here’s how to do it.

Eat a peach.

Scrape the peach pit on the sidewalk or asphalt, back and forth on one side, then back and forth on the other. You will think nothing is happening, but in fact, microscopic peach pit fibers are