Maíz or Corn

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Sometimes referred to as the “Sacred Triad” or more commonly, “The Three Sisters,” the combination of both growing and eating corn, beans, and squash together is a fortuitous one. Corn requires large amounts of nitrogen, while bean plants grown nearby can use the corn stalk as a beanpole to climb while supplying the corn roots with the extra nitrogen that legumes (beans, alfalfa) add to the soil. The large leaves of sprawling squash plants grow between the hills of beans. Neither squash nor corn are complete proteins, but when corn or beans and squash are eaten together in the same meal, it’s both nutritious and delicious!