Assortment - La Milpa & the "Three Sisters

Milpa is a set of ancestral and traditional agricultural practices of the Mesoamerican peoples. It includes the association of the "3 sisters": corn, squash and beans. By reappropriating these cultivation methods, gardeners are abandoning practices based on the abusive exploitation of natural resources, and returning to healthy, self-sufficient, input-free gardening.

At the heart of this agrosystem lies the sharing of resources, the transmission of cultural knowledge, and of course autonomy from field to plate, far from the control of agribusiness. For this reason, all funds raised by sales of this assortment are donated in full to the Semences Sans Frontières campaign, whose missions are fully in line with the symbolism of the Milpa.

The Maize, Bean and Squash Triad

This assortment contains :

• Arc en Ciel Inca" sweet corn: this variety produces 20 to 30 cm ears of multicolored, sweet kernels. It reaches 1.5 to 3 m in height.

• Tarbais" shelling bean - 60 g bag -: a very old variety with pods around 20 cm long. They offer melt-in-the-mouth beans, traditionally used in cassoulet. This variety can grow up to 2.50 m tall.

• Pepo Howden" squash: this variety grows to over 3 m in height. It produces 4 to 6 fruits, 40 to 50 cm long and weighing up to 15 kg, with sturdy stalks. Their beautifully ribbed orange skin and firm flesh make them ideal for carving on Saint Martin's Day.

• Semences Sans Frontières bag illustrated with a representation of the Milpa method

• Leaflet "La Milpa & the "Three Sisters": its history, an illustrated gardening guide...

Grown together, these plants help each other make the best use of natural resources. Corn, with its sturdy stems, becomes a solid support for beans. The Beans naturally fix nitrogen in the soil, supporting the needs of the Corn. Squash cover the soil with their foliage, preventing erosion, keeping it moist and limiting weed growth. What's more, from a nutritional point of view, these 3 vegetables provide a balanced diet. Beans and corn complement each other in terms of sulfur amino acids, and their combination makes them close to animal proteins, while squash offers a wealth of vitamins and minerals.

Gardening tip

This technique saves an enormous amount of space in the vegetable garden, since it involves combining crops on the same bed. There are many combinations and arrangements to suit the conditions of each garden, but each plant must have enough space to develop as harmoniously as possible.

As soon as the soil has warmed up, form mounds 20 to 30 cm high, spaced 40 to 50 cm apart in all directions, then flatten the top of each one. Sow 3 corn seeds in their centers, 2 to 3 cm deep.

One or two weeks after emergence, keep only the most vigorous Corn plant on each mound. When they reach 10 to 15 cm in height, sow 3 bean seeds, 2 to 3 cm deep, in the middle of the slope, around each Corn plant.

A week after planting the Beans, sow 3 Squash seeds in stacks, alternating with the mounds and spaced 1.5 m apart in all directions. Direct the squash seedlings so that they naturally cover the plot without climbing over the Corn.