Pole Bean Experiment - Round 3

The first year we planted pole beans they were planted along the fence that outlined our garden so they had a decent support structure right along their bed.  Unfortunately I had no idea how tall pole beans would grow and needless to say the fence just wasn't tall enough for them.

Since I am a firm believer in crop rotation I couldn't plant the beans in the same place again the next year so I had to devise some sort of trellis for them.  I used some pvc pipe, a few pieces of rebar and some twine to make a trellis that held up well until the beans got too heavy for it and dragged it to the ground.  I also planted some beans in the three sisters patch and it seemed to be quite happy to grow up the 11 ft tall corn stalks it was planted next to.

This year I am going to try yet a third kind of trellis to see how that works out for me.  I am going to see if I can make bean tipis by using long poles tied together in a tripod fashion.  After wandering around home depot looking for the perfect cheap tipi material, I decided to use pvc pipe again.  I figure that they will hold up better with fewer plants hanging on them and they are still sturdy and flexible enough to tolerate the high winds in this area.

I only wanted one bed of beans so I staked out four tipis in my 14 foot bean bed.

 

I used 2 foot rebar for stakes since they worked so well in the past and are easy to move and reuse as needed.  I also alternated a square layout with a diamond layout to hopefully make things a little easier to pick when the plants are big.

 

First tipi finished.

Almost done.

The final layout.

 

I am planning to plant three or four plants at the base of each pole.  The hope is that they will entwine themselves around their pole and make the tipis look fairly filled out by the end of the season.  I also hope I made the tipis tall enough that I can stand inside of them to pick beans as well.  I love trying new things in that garden!