What is a milpa?
The “Milpa” system is a traditional intercropping system of regional vegetables. Its origins come from thousands of years ago in the regions of Mexico and Central America, based on the ancient agricultural methods of Maya peoples and other Mesoamerican people. The word “Milpa” comes from the term “maize field” even though they not only plant maize but squash, beans, melons, and possibly peppers, sweet potatoes, and other plants as well.
https://www.marc.ucsb.edu/research/maya-forest-is-a-garden/maya-forest-gardens/milpa-cycle
The Three Sisters
https://flusterbuster.com/gardens-3-sisters.html
Squash, beans, and corn are planted together to benefit each other, the soil, and the nutritional needs of the people who grew them.
The biological diversity of maize, beans, and squash grown together creates a polyculture (the simultaneous cultivation or exploitation of several crops or kinds of animals). Each plant utilizes different nutrients in the soil and then returns those nutrients to the soil as they decompose. The root systems of these three crops are of varying sizes and depths, which helps to break up the soil, and because each crop is a different height, they’re each able to capture available light from various angles. Diversity provides protection from devastation, too. One pest or disease wouldn’t wipe out an entire field, and a harvest of some sort is nearly guaranteed.
Maize, beans, and squash also complement one another for a nutritious and well-balanced diet. For example, the combination of maize and beans creates a complete protein. Squash is full of vitamins and minerals that the maize and beans both lack, and squash seeds provide oil and protein. Maize and squash are also both high in calories, which help sustain energy.
In the arid Southwest, the Three Sisters weren’t always planted side by side, either. According to the nonprofit Native Seeds/SEARCH, the Hopi and Navajo planted each crop in a separate part of the field and used wide spacing to take advantage of scant rainfall. Farmers in this region sometimes grew sunflowers and amaranth, which were also important food sources, along with the Three Sisters. The Hopi grew wild cleome (Cleome serrulata, or Rocky Mountain bee plant) to attract pollinators for the squash.The benefits of growing these three crops together are clear to modern soil scientists and nutritionists, although at the time there was no scientific knowledge behind this sophisticated planting method. It was simply the result of Mesoamerican farmers being keenly aware of their environment and experimenting for thousands of years to grow the hardiest and most nutritious crops.
milpa in modern times
https://mexicocooks.typepad.com/mexico_cooks/2012/09/the-milpa-bastion-of-biological-and-cultural-diversity-in-mexico.html
Some of the benefits of the Milpa system are that it is a system where the different species coincide, sharing resources like water, light, soil and even ecological interactions, such as the nitrogen fixation provided by the beans. This is how it continues to play an important economic and cultural role in our modern times, as CONABIO (National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of the Biodiversity) noted:
The Milpas are a reflection of the knowledge, technology and agricultural practices necessary to obtain from the land and human labor the products necessary to satisfy the basic needs of the peasant family. Because the Milpas represent an important part of Mexican cuisine and continue to be the basis of food sovereignty in many regions of Mexico.
The importance of the Milpa is unquestionable, and it is a big role in Mexico and Central America (bigger than it is in USA). Currently, farmers across the country are growing around 60 native varieties of maize, five native varieties of beans, four native varieties of pumpkins and an amazing variety of peppers. Farmers choose seeds every year, which they breed according to their needs and interests.
why should you plant a milpa?
- It’s one of the best ways to get non-GMO corn
- It’s sustainable and simple!
Blog post by Analia Tovar
SOURCES
Fischer, N. (2018, December 18). Ancient Companion Planting: The Three Sisters – nannie appleseed. Medium. https://medium.com/nannie-appleseed/ancient-companion-planting-the-three-sisters-e1d3b5f34285</p;>
Haslam, A. (2020, January 7). What is a Milpa, and Why Should You Plant One in Your Garden This Year? Red and Honey. https://redandhoney.com/milpa-plant-one/</p;>
MILPA CYCLE | MESOAMERICAN Research Center. (n.d.). MesoAmerican Research Center. https://www.marc.ucsb.edu/research/maya-forest-is-a-garden/maya-forest-gardens/milpa-cycle</p;>
VENTURA-MARTÍNEZ, L. U. I. S. A. (2017, October 12). A Mexican legacy: “La milpa,” the birthplace of maize. Alliance for Science. https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2017/10/a-mexican-legacy-la-milpa-the-birthplace-of-maize/</p;>