If you have never done one before and had success with it then I strongly encourage you to skip the idea. It is one of those concepts that sounds good in theory but just doesn't work in practice because the crops used in an American Indian 3 sisters garden were very different in form and growth then the varieties are today. They were very tall, very sturdy corn varieties, winter squash varieties only and old fashioned slow growing flat bean varieties. As trev said everything was harvested all at one time in the fall. There have been many past discussions here about the limitations and problems associated with the so-called 3 sisters garden and very, very, few success stories. The search will pull them up for you if interested. It honestly offers no benefits and you'll have far more success using traditional gardening methods. I bought corn (peaches and cream), blue lake green beans, zucchini and a yellow summer squash (which I only want one plant of each because I think they're gross, it's the non-cooking people in my house who want them), two kinds of cucumbers, a pickling one and a slicing one. I plan on pickling the cucumbers and green beans so I want a lot of those. That is an awfully large amount of crops for such a small space. You really need to reconsider your crop choices or add additional gardening space. ie: grow the squash and cucumbers in containers. Sorry as I know this isn't what you wanted to hear. Dave

This method is a bit unconventional, but here goes: I acquired 2 Barred Rock hens a few years ago. Because of the number of wild critters nearby, I can't let them roam, so have them caged in a chain link enclosure. They like the roly poly bugs very much. So - now every morning, when I check them, I add some almost finished compost - a shovel or 2. You should hear them chortle - as they scratch through their morning compost offering. Also, when the compost is finished - I like to screen it before use and adding to planters, so the siftings are allowed to sit overnight in the wheelbarrow. Next day, all of the bugs will congregate to the top - the birds will dispatch them readily - or again, I scoop them up and feed them to "my girls" in their pen. One other thing that seems to be working - I have acquired a plethora of small lizards more so recently - and they scamper around the yard slurping up all my bugs. Truly - I see very few in my strawberry bins, and only an occasional peck (bird/bug/lizard?). On a thoughful note, however, I also noted one lizard CHEWING on a boysenberry FLOWER. This may/or may not be a future problem, but if so - I might encourage more of the neighbor's visiting cats to keep things in check. Never a dull moment in the yard of an organic farmer! Bejay

Rick You are referring to Colorado Potato Beetles. They usually head for potato plants but will also dine on Tomato plants if there aren't enough potatoes around. They have some of the same compounds in the leaves that attract them. I have found that the easiest, albeit perhaps stranges way to get rid of Colarado Beetles is to first of all make sure your potatoes are healthy and growning well making them less attractive then weaker plants (true of all insect invastions) Then you can mulch them with hay or straw and it makes the next steps easier. Also easier digging here in clay country. Early on I watch for the beetles and hand pick the first round checking the underside of the leaves for eggs and smashing those. I usually carry a jar with a small amount of kerosen or gas in it to drop the beetles in. As the plants grow and it becomes harder to cover 150 pounds worth of spud sets I just go out with a broom every three to four days and "sweep" the plants off. As the eggs hatch this knocks they nymph larva off and they usually die before they can get out of the straw and back on the host plant. Other than a few strange looks from passing vehicles, it works like a charm for me. By the way, many around me use any where from 1 to a combination of three chemicals to kill them and they are usually covered up with them the whole season and out there spraying every 3 days. This year I only had to sweep the plants twice because I've been doing it for many years now. To tell you the truth I think the beetles have come to like the bug juice everybody else sprays more than the potato plants.

Many people seem to have a lack of knowledge of the role the Pill Bugs, Sow Bugs, Wood Lice, etc. have in nature and so they ascribe the wrong interpretation to what they are and the role they play in nature. These wee critters need a cool, moist environment to live and reproduce in and if you provide that you will have an abundance of them, along with other critters that prefer that same environment that most likely caused the problem you are blaming the Pill Bugs for. I also understand there are those that no matter how many entomologists I use as a source there are those that would rather believe myth and folklore, but I offer the link below for those that would like to educate themselves. Here is a link that might be useful: About Pill Bugs