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the beans to corn plant roots. Squash, rambling along the ground in spaces between the corn mounds forms a living mulch, helping to retain moisture for the thirsty corn, suppress weeds and cool the soil. The Anasazi Indians of the Southwest astutely added another plant to this mix, the flower cleome which is sought after by bees, pollinating allies to squash and beans.
Working with the idea of guilds and beneficial interplantings is one of the most important foundational approaches in my own garden to realize the goal of having a fully balanced, healthy garden with a minimal amount of intervention, unnecessary work or waste of supplies on my part. Plants do much more beyond giving the gifts of food, medicine, shelter and materials provision: a plant resume’ would also include fertilizing, soil building, pest control, disease and climate regulation as basic skills. How I’ve set up my own version of a squash guild takes this into consideration.
Of course, squash grows in the guild. Corn too, though much more will be grown in the future, as I expand the plot. This planting of corn was my late planting, so beans have not been sown yet. (Note: it’s important to allow the com to reach knee-high and to choose an appropriate pole bean variety to avoid choking the com! Scotia, or Genuine Cornfield, Turkey Craw and Ruth Bible are good varieties to grow. They are all available from Southern Seed Exposure.
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