Beans

[caseylee]

I have been advised the best way to grow beans is on canes in a teepee type of way, has anyone got any pictures or just basically ideas how I do this, do I need to train them, should i tie then up the canes, I am really a newbie to this

[caseylee]

[Tee Gee]

You could use the method shown on the first picture here; http://tinyurl.com/29w9my  which I call the 'A' frame method.

The tepee method is similar but it forms a circle. The trouble with the teepee method is the beans can get into one hell of a tangle.

As far as training them they will tie them selves in by twining around the canes.

It is sometimes prudent at planting out time to give the a hand and tie them into the cane but it is not essential

[caseylee]

that allotment looks beautiful, at the moment mine is a giant mud pit but i am keeping my spirits up there.  I will def try the way you said it looks like its effective

[Eristic]

   

Here's my wigwams. Very stable method of support.

[caseylee]

they look really good, I beleive that you just leave them to grow up themselves is that right.  ALso I managed to get a thing from b&q the other day whic is a teepee holder for the canes, do you know if this is easier to use or to tie them like yourselves.  Sorry last question are the beans easy to pick on this method

[Hyacinth]

KC....the teepee cane holder....a round plastic thing with abt 6- 8 slots you push canes into, perhaps?  I use these and have had them for 8yrs. Surgery left me with weak arms & I can honestly say that the job I hate the most (cos I just can't do it) is to tie the canes together when they're already in the ground & you have to stretch your arms over your head....so these plastic thingys are a godsend...I can put them in with the canes on the ground & hoik the thing up, position the canes, and push them into the ground. Still a bit of a faff, but manageable. Sorted!

[Eristic]

All the above plus yes they are easy to pick although you do sometimes have to have a rustle and peek inside to find the hiders.

[Hyacinth]

Sorry, came back to modify my post to add about ease of picking but E got there ahead of me. :)

[morton]

The advantage of the wigwam is that you can have several and stagger the sowing of the seeds to extend the harvest by a couple of months. They can then be dotted around in small clear areas of ground.
It also makes the wigwam a lot more stable if you tie a string around the canes about half way up.
Considering that the sowing date around Lincolnshire is always reckoned to be 14th May it's a bit early to be thinking about beans yet.

[Trevor_D]

The other advantages of a wigwam over a long A-frame are:
a) it copes better in the wind (Ours is quite a windy site and unless your supports are made of scaffolding poles, it's quite common for long frames to collapse like a pack of cards in the autumn.); and
b) they can be dotted round the site to act as architectural features, rather than a long line which can cast a shadow over nearby crops.

[Hyacinth]

.....and I put some of the later sown ones in Wilkos tubs when the garden plottie site gets full. Yep! Good things, are wigwams 8)

[GrannieAnnie]

We were pruning tree branches and thinning lilacs- those 10-12 foot branches made an excellent and free pole bean teepee with kind of a wild look with the twisty branches. Think I just used wire to bind the top, managed to get it up myself by hoisting only a couple branches first then adding in others. Had to use a ladder to pick the highest beans but what a crop!

the best thing about teepees:  they look excitingly architectural in the garden. 8)

[Deb P]

I tie my wigwams up with plain jute twine, and then wind them around the sticks for extra support like a spiders web. Takes me about 20 mins per wigwam now, but I find it useful when plants are smaller to help them get a grip....



It's also useful for small pumpkins like 'Jack be Little', makes it easy to tie them in and train up a smaller wigwam...

[caseylee]

I am going to be using the plastic wigwam holder, should i still put the string around them like the picture,  and excellant tip about the little pumpkins I have those this year aswell.  What else can I grow on wigwams

[Deb P]

You don' t have to use string, I find it helps plants like peas in particular that have tendrils to cling better, and I wind climbing beans sideways along the strings otherwise they are inclined to just go straight up one bamboo pole, run out of wigwam and then hang down which can destabilise the whole thing.

You could grow tomatoes, most small fruiting squash (Jeannine is the squash queen, I remember her doing a list of squash on a thread last year suitable for training up wigwams etc, try a search), sweet peas, climbing beans, peas......

[Barnowl]

It's also useful for small pumpkins like 'Jack be Little', makes it easy to tie them in and train up a smaller wigwam...

Do you plant the Jack be Little inside the wigwam or outside and train it in?

[Deb P]

I planted three plants outside that little wigwam and just trained them all in a clockwise direction around the supports.

[Barnowl]

Thanks Deb - I'll give it a whirl  :)

[Stevens706]

Hi

You can make your own wigwam holder by cutting the bottom off a large plastic plant pot and drilling 8 - 10 holes into it.

[Trevor_D]

I grow sugar snaps & mangetout up wigwams. (They need tying in to start, but are self-clinging once they get going.) And sweet peas. (Sweet peas & White Lady runners look good together.) And climbing French beans, of course.