I chose this spot because of the tagged over mural in the background. It originally showed a child hugging his mother's pregnant belly. Her belly was the planet earth. It was a little strange, but I looked forward to seeing it when I passed by. I planted the Three Sisters nearby as an homage to the mural.
I met a neighbor, Jose, who planted a wooden stake to support the corn. The site was a little far from where I live. I did not have time to check on it every day and the sisters suffered.
After a rainy day, I noticed that the three sisters were shorter. The corn stalk must have been uprooted in the storm.The stalk in lying on the ground near the other two sisters. Luckily, it seemed that Jose has added some supports for the bean plants. I wheatpasted a thankyou note to one of the posts.
The lack of rain and brutal heat proved too much for the remaining sisters. I had been watering them, but I missed a crucial weekend and they wilted. A few dried out beans were swaying in the wind.
For my second planting I decided to plant the three sisters on my own in a container so I could get a good idea of how the three plants grow together.
The corn did not grow as quickly as the year before.
I moved the container to a sunnier spot, but the corn still did not grow. I had a few beans, squash blossoms, but no squash. I think the container was too crowded.
At the end of the season, there were just a few squash blossoms and some withered leaves.
The new growing season has just begun. I have made a four foot square raised bed and started a new planting. Perhaps not the guerilla gardening I originally planned, but once I truly understand the three sisters, then I can adapt them to more challenging environments.
The corn seedlings have come up. I am using a slightly different planting method this time. I am waiting until the corn is ten inches tall to plant the beans and I am planting the squash separately from the beans.
