Corn a "Special Needs Grain"

My adventures in planting corn incorrectly started a few years ago.  I planted a nice long row of sweet corn and then was utterly bewildered that I wasn't able to harvest even one tiny ear of corn.  Well it turns out that corn needs certain growing conditions in order to produce a tasty crop.  Corn is a hermaphorodite because each corn plant has both male flowers (the tassel) and female flowers (silk from the ear). In order to help with pollination, corn should be grown close together in multiple rows or in circles. It also helps to give the  stalks a gentle shake to help nature take its course. I am experimenting with the traditional Native American way of planting corn this year called The Three Sisters.

The Iroquois people traditionally planted their corn crop with beans and squash. They called these three companion plants the three sisters.   Renee's Garden has a great webpage that explains not only how to plant the the three sisters but also why it is beneficial to do so: "Corn provides a natural pole for bean vines to climb. Beans fix nitrogen on their roots, improving the overall fertility of the plot by providing nitrogen to the following years corn. Bean vines also help stabilize the corn plants, making them less vulnerable to blowing over in the wind. Shallow-rooted squash vines become a living mulch, shading emerging weeds and preventing soil moisture from evaporating, thereby improving the overall crops chances of survival in dry years."

Our First Lady, Michelle Obama, who is working hard to improve the eating habits of young people just recently planted the three sisters with a group of Native American children in the White House garden.