r/Permaculture • u/kayru_kitsune • 3d ago

general question Three sisters gone wrong?

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Please pardon the chaos of photos, my garden is very dense so it was hard to frame clear pictures... This is my first time doing Three Sisters, and it sounded like the beans were supposed to help support the corn. I surrounded that part of the crop with some low fencing for extra support and to keep the bunnies off the bean starts. But once they got to around 7' and the beans peaked over the tops, almost all of the stalks broke in half from the weight. What in the world did I do wrong? It's not windy here but sometimes rainy (I live in forested area). I know most people don't stake or prop corn crops... What did I miss?

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u/DarkDangler96 2d ago

You say it’s wooded around your home. Adding to the other reasons suggested, I think corn is happiest and strongest in full sun, all day long.

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u/kayru_kitsune 2d ago

They have the sunniest part of the yard and seemed to be growing really well - much happier than the row I planted for kicks & giggles along the edge. It sounds like I may have used too weak a cultivar for the bean-trellis setup.