three sisters (agriculture)

The Three Sisters are the three main agricultural crops of Native Americans in North America: squash, maize (or corn), and climbing beans. In a technique known as companion planting, the three crops are planted close together:

build flat-topped mounds of soil for each "cluster", about a foot high and 20 inches wide
plant several corn seeds close together, in the very center
when the corn is 6 inches tall, plant beans and squash around the corn, alternating between beans and squash

The three crops benefit from each other:

The corn provides a structure for the beans to climb, eliminating the need for poles.
The beans provide the nitrogen to the soil that the other plants remove.
The squash spreads along the ground, monopolizing the sunlight to prevent weeds.
The squash also acts as a "living mulch," creating a microclimate to retain moisture in the soil.

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