Corn, beans and squash, mostly

Two weeks ago, we installed our first Three Sisters planting, inspired by the traditional agricultural practices of many Native Americans. We "sacrificed" the sunniest swathe of lawn to accommodate ten mounds:






























This is Oregon, of course, where everything grows with astonishing rapidity. Here is the same planting only two weeks later:






























We seeded an heirloom open-pollinated corn called Country Gentleman; there wasn't room for enough corn mounds to guarantee wind pollination, so we will have to fertilize by hand, "tickling the tassels." I certainly hope that process is self-evident.

In the far corner is a cantaloupe hill, and there is a sunflower mix interspersed on either end.

We've also just cleared a lot of construction debris out from behind the garage; there we hope to attempt quinoa, and a beautiful dried bean called Yin Yang: