This page was exported from Shelburne Free Press [ https://shelburnefreepress.ca ] Export date:Wed Jul 3 17:21:56 2024 / +0000 GMT ___________________________________________________ Title: Three Sisters Garden planted over the weekend --------------------------------------------------- Written By Paula Brown Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A plot of space in the Shelburne Community Garden is honouring the town's Indigenous roots with the planting of the Three Sisters Garden.  The Dufferin County Cultural Resource Circle (DCCRC) and the Shelburne Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee gathered at the Shelburne Community Garden, located in Fiddle Park, on May 28 to mark the inaugural garden planting.  “It means a lot for us to share our teachings and methods,” said DCCRC Community Elder, Karen Vandenberg, member of the Otter Clan from Christian Island Beausoleil. “It's going to bring awareness to how we can share our culture with Shelburne or anybody who comes to the garden.”  “We're providing an amazing opportunity to learn something special about a traditional planting process that the First Nations people used to use in their gardens and still do,” said Debbie Egerton, chair of the DCCRC. The Three Sisters Garden consists of three plants that are intertwined together – corn, beans, and squash. For many Indigenous communities, the three sisters represent the most important crops, both complementing each other in the garden as well as nutritionally. The tradition of calling these crops the “three Sisters” originated with the Haudenosaunee (People of the Long House), also known as the Iroquois, where the three seeds were planted in the same mound.  “Corn is planted in the center and it grows tall, the beans then grow around and you train them to circle the corn. It helps the beans to grow stronger, but the beans also then hold the corn steady so it doesn't waver in the wind. The nitrogen from them also helps to fertilize the soil,” explained DCCRC Knowledge Keeper Kristi Bhogal of the Seneca Snipe Clan. “Then you plant squash on the side at the bottom of the mounds and train them to go the Haudenosaunee way, meaning counter-clockwise. The squash helps shade the mound, which protects the bean seedlings as they grow, naturally keeps weeds and bugs away, and this keeps the mound steady, which helps support the beans and the corn as well.” The Three Sisters Garden was planted during a specific moon cycle called the planting moon. All the plants from the garden were donated from the Alton Greenhouse and Garden Centre. The DCCRC will harvest the vegetables from the garden in the fall, at which time a Three Sisters Soup will be cooked.  --------------------------------------------------- Images: --------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Post date: 2022-06-02 12:57:55 Post date GMT: 2022-06-02 16:57:55 Post modified date: 2022-06-09 13:12:32 Post modified date GMT: 2022-06-09 17:12:32 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Export of Post and Page as text file has been powered by [ Universal Post Manager ] plugin from www.gconverters.com