The Fourth Sister

 Recently, I had the opportunity to spend time with the Espadas family is Uayma, Mexico. This family is a multi-generational Mayan legacy who are working to keep the Mayan practices alive. During this time, we took a trip their nearby educational retreat which will host a variety of courses. While walking through the property, I noticed that they had a large three sisters plot set up which was in the last stage of its growth. They use a very similar setup to the one we used. The system is planted in succession in a sort of circle in rows with corn first, followed by squash, and then beans. Upon my viewing, the corn was a mere stalk, the squash had been removed, the beans were in full fruit, and the new fourth sister, peppers, had just begun to show plentiful fruit. This was interesting, as many traditional farmers have added peppers as the last rotation to help "mop up" any remaining nutrients and ensure the season is completed as efficiently as possible. There is a new fourth sister in the game!