We put in a few acres every year of "three sisters" corn growing, but it takes some work. Also has to be done in rotation every few years.
That's the way the Iroquois and Huron Indians used to do it around here, along with other Indians in the southwest.
The "three sisters" are squash/pumpkins, corn, and pole beans. You plant all together. If done right, the pole beans climb the cornstalks and put nitrogen into the soil. The squash leaves choke out major weeds AND retain soil moisture. In the fall, fertilize with anything organic you can find. We've been lucky and had almost unlimited access to rotting round hay bales. In the past, the Indians chucked leftover rotted food, bones, leaves, wood ashes, etc. into the mix. The Indians also had unlimited lands at one time and could change locations every few years. Not so easy for a landowner paying taxes. Also, the Indians has short "peason" or "zea mais" corn, and not the big stuff we usually grow.
We rotate every few years and it's worked fine. No store-bought chemicals at all. I have other corn nearby that gets Roundup, Bicep II, Prowl, etc. etc. Much less work but the yield isn't all that much better. And I wonder what damage it does long term - to the land and maybe me too.
Biggest problem with the tri-cropping is you cannot get in to cultivate with a tractor - and it also gets somewhat difficult to get in to pick corn. You have to step cafefully. But, it looks pretty neat and puts out a pretty good yield of beans, pumpkins, corn (and we add sunflowers to the mix).
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