Three Sisters. One plot, three plants.

Posted by Rosie

You know what?  I think I should complain more often!  After having a moan about the unseasonal June weather on top of a rather miserable May, the weather gods took heed and finally sent some glorious sunshine.  Eco-Gites of Lenault has been basking in sunshine this week and I even have slightly red shoulders to prove it! *

The garden has been thankful for this change of temperature too.  The strawberries have gone ballistic - this is about 4kgs that I picked 2 days ago and the blue bowl was full to the top with even more before Simon, Tom and Ben got their paws on them!

Strawberries anyone?

And did you notice in the picture above a few raspberries sneaking into the corner of the picture?  I don't have a huge number of summer raspberries but they are always welcome coming early in the fruit season and to be honest I think I actually prefer them to strawberries.  (There may actually have been a few more in the bowl before I got my paws on them this time!)

First Raspberries

And just look at my mange-tout - it seems only last week that I was worried the weeds might overrun them and now they are at the top of their supports.  I must keep a close eye on these as the time from flower to edible mange-tout is really very quick.  Mmmm - stir-fry may be on the menu soon at Eco-Gites of Lenault!

Mange-tout or Triffids?

Finally you may be wondering at the title, Three Sisters.  One plot, three plants.  This is what I mean ...

Three Sisters Planting

Fear not - I have not gone completely mad and planted sticks but I am planting 3 different vegetables in the same part of the polytunnel ... and the sticks are there to show me where the seeds are so I know where to water!   Native Americans used to plant sweetcorn and in between the tall sweetcorn plants they would sow pumpkins to ramble across the ground.  Finally they would sow climbing beans that use the sweetcorn stems to climb up.  This is Three Sisters Planting which I am trying in a slightly altered form.  In my version I have sown sweetcorn with crystal apple cucumbers in the gaps.  These may or may not climb (they vary) and I will sow some climbing beans in pots to add at the base of the sweetcorn if the cucumbers prefer to ramble.  And I have one more plant right at the back - a sweet potato vine.  This rambled last year but can apparently climb so I will have to wait and see what it does.  Poor thing, it is rather lonely there on it's own as this was the last one the garden centre had.  I hope it likes sweetcorn, cucumbers and beans for neighbours.

So all in all a pretty good week in the garden.  I have also resown the parsnips and beetroots and bought chard seedlings after they too failed to germinate.  I feel we may have veg to eat after all this year!

Keen to see what other gardeners have been up to this week?  The pop on over to Annie at Mammasuarus and have a nose through the other blogs in the How Does Your garden Grow linky:

* And on the subject of complaining might I just add that my lottery numbers never come up and George Clooney has NEVER visited the gite ;)