[ATF]

I'm sure I've read somewhere that in the Americas they used to grow sweetcorn and beans together - the corn providing support for the beans, the beans providing nitrogen for the corn. Anyone every tried it? Since it seems sweetcorn will grow this far North (Fife) I thought I'd give it a shot on our windswept allotment.

anyone grown horseradish from seed? If so know where I can get some seeds from, or if anyone has any fancy a seed swap?

[cluckingnuts]

In Latin America they grow the '3 sisters'. Sweetcorn, beans, squash. As you say, the sweetcorn providing a 'pole' for the beans, the beans providing nitrogen + the squash suppressing weeds.

[northfifeduckling]

I tried beans and sweetcorn together outdoors last year. The beans did not do well but they did poorly on my plot everywehere, maybe just not a good year. I was thinking of trying the same in the tunnel this year.

[Fleecewife]

I have tried it, not outside though.  Here, at 1000 feet and windy in southern Scotland sweetcorn will not crop outside, so I grow it in a polytunnel, where it has good and bad years, even with a carefully chosen variety.  The idea of the squash in the 3 sisters is to shade the roots - that bit worked fairly well but I would rather have had the squashes supported and growing vertically. When the beans grew well, the corn didn't crop, and when I tried dwarf beans, they were too shaded but the corn did ok.  The previous time I ended up putting in canes for every bean, which rather defeats the purpose.  So overall what I found was that when all three were grown together, only one did well.  So I will be growing them all separately from now on.  I will be interested to hear how you get on ATF, both with growing corn outside in Fife and with using the three sisters technique.  I believe that the North American Indians also put a fish in the bottom of the planting hole, which could be the key ingredient, but I don't have any fish.....     n

[ellisr]

I used this system 2 years ago and had a great success with the sweetcorn, beans and pumpkins (baby small ones) I must admit that I dug a trench and filled it with rotted manure then planted straight into that and then covered over the top of the manure with soil, it held the water well as the 3 plants are very hungry and thirsty. I do admit to pollinating by hand to ensure good sweetcorn crop but it was not done with any skill really just a soft paint brush. I was thinking of doing this again this year as we love all the 3 veg and really don't have a huge growing area so have to maximise the crops.

[dizzy1pig]

I'm sure I've read somewhere that in the Americas they used to grow sweetcorn and beans together - the corn providing support for the beans, the beans providing nitrogen for the corn. Anyone every tried it? Since it seems sweetcorn will grow this far North (Fife) I thought I'd give it a shot on our windswept allotment.

anyone grown horseradish from seed? If so know where I can get some seeds from, or if anyone has any fancy a seed swap?

I am in Leuchars and have loads can dig up some roots for you if you want it.........

[robert waddell]

well i grew sweetcorn last year here at 550 ft the hampshires loved them stem as well
will be trying it again this year closer planted and with dung  see how it goes
 central scotland windy and clay soil  but farmers that grow it slurry the ground heavy 

[ellied]

I grew sweetcorn outdoors in Fife last year with partial success in that I got immature cobs that didn't ripen far enough but I reckon I didn't feed them well enough so am trying again this year in a heavily manured bed. 

Beans I usually get way more than I need but I'd not heard of the 3 sisters idea and was planning to keep them separate and put things like courgette and squash in containers or small beds where they wouldn't take up a lot of growing space and would overhang onto the gravel/stone when producing fruit

Maybe I'll have a go with the 3 in one space idea and see how it goes - if I get half the beans and a few sweetcorns and squashes then I'd have a better varied diet than endless beans

Horseradish - what can you do with it if you don't eat beef and want HR sauce to go with it?  I'm not far from Leuchars if there is spare but it needs to be something I can use when/if it grows!

[dizzy1pig]

loads of horse radish is like ground elder when you break it it grows...
you welcome to some and anything else i got...

[ellisr]

I forgot to say I have a soaker hose that I put around the bases of the sweetcorn as they like a good drink and so do the courgettes, squashes and beans and I did have it hooked up to my water butt so very eco friendly growing and basically I forgot about them until I could harvest (with just a little help with the pollination but don't know if the corn was because of that or it had done it naturally)

[Greenerlife]

I've grown sweetcorn with pumpkin at the base which worked very well together.  Not heard of it with beans.

I have just glyphosated all my horseradish!  been trying to dig it up for three years now and given up being "nice"!

[ellied]

So how do you arrange the co-planting?  I usually use wigwam for the beans would I need to put them up a straight climber of some kind with the corn behind it and squashes at the front?  Can anyone draw a picture on here?

Would it work with a courgette instead of a squash?

[Beewyched]

I think the beans are supposed to grow up the corn for their support.  Don't see why you couldn't use a courgette, it produces plenty of big leaves to provide shade - I think it's the onion family that shouldn't be companioned with beans.

I tried growing corn here last summer in an old flower bed & they didn't fully mature (pigs loved them though & the stalks too  )  Think it was because there wasn't enough goodness in the soil, so will be trying again this year in the raised beds my OH built for me.

[ATF]

I am in Leuchars and have loads can dig up some roots for you if you want it.........

Thanks for that - I've PM'd you. It'd be great to get some, looks like growing it from seeds ain't really possible....although i guess it must have at some point!

Horseradish - what can you do with it if you don't eat beef and want HR sauce to go with it?  I'm not far from Leuchars if there is spare but it needs to be something I can use when/if it grows!

Horseradish and beetroot chutney.....mmmmmmmmmmm

Apparently Sweetcorn grows OK here, so some old hands have told me, so I've started some seeds off along with a selection of beans (runners, Yugoslavian black beans and some just called 'climbers', plus a selections of squashes and marrows.....I'll see what germinates and then plant out a selection.

[Hatty]

i've also heard of people planting sunflowers instead of the corn, an option to try if you want a few flowers or  livestock you could feed them to

I'll be trying both if i get the beds sorted quick enough