2022 Little Easy Bean Network - We Are Beans Without Borders

[heirloomgal]

I use the sort of mid-string slip knot where you twist the string into a loop and then pull another loop through it. There may be a better solution but I've tied this one thousands of times and don't have to think about it.

I can picture that! The worst for me is when one row blows into another when the beans are growing at top speed and immediately sew themselves together in a tangled mass. Luckily that hasn't happened since I stopped using old, fragile bamboo. There isn't much you can do til it's time to harvest everything at once by cutting the vines down.

Right now I'm having a dickens of a time to get some of the pole beans to climb properly. As in, upwards and actually onto the pole. They are climbing on themselves in a downward fashion, or on the vine next door or falling onto the ground and swirling. It's bizarre. Everyday I'm out there looking for beans to help, and trying to tangle them up onto the poles. Most seem to be finally catching, eventually, but I've lost a few vine tips in this odd growing ineptitude.

 

[jbosmith]

These are the beans growing in my community garden plot. I sometimes have trouble killing the pretty weeds, but I swear I ripped out 90% of the poppies this year. Still, they're awfully pretty right now. Especially those purple flag poppies in the background. They aren't doing the beans any favors, but I'll do something about them when they're done blossoming. Probably.

Jacob's Cattle, blossoming after being in the ground less than a month, all while living under a 3' agastache plant like it ain't no thang. Such a great variety.

 

[heirloomgal]

Gorgeous! Gosh I love a straw mulch. And those red & purple poppies are beautiful.

Jacob's Cattle is so awesome, maybe even especially for those of us in Northerly climes. It just does so darn well and is so productive! It's a good looking bean too. The gold version I have not found to be as productive, and the beans are smaller I think.

I sometimes have trouble killing the pretty weeds...

but I admit it pains me too to pull out my poppies.

 

[jbosmith]

Gorgeous! Gosh I love a straw mulch. And those red & purple poppies are beautiful.

That's all ancient hay from a friend's hay loft. I think we put it in around 2009 or 2010?

Jacob's Cattle is so awesome, maybe even especially for those of us in Northerly climes. It just does so darn well and is so productive! It's a good looking bean too. The gold version I have not found to be as productive, and the beans are smaller I think.

I think it's another Eastern Abenaki variety from Maine! I used to have a dark purple variant that I liked but it was also less productive.

but I admit it pains me too to pull out my poppies.

I was going to keep my pictures more on target today buuuut since poppies came up again.. these are in the back corner of those bush beans.

 

[Decoy1]

That garden is semi-sheltered from strong wind by a greenhouse but it can admittedly still be hit or miss in a strong thunderstorm, especially if it's not brand new bamboo. The top line of twine is all tied on with slip knots just so that if I have to cut it to fix a broken pole the whole thing doesn't fall down. If I stop posting bean pictures in August, it probably means that that trellis is held together with duct tape and bubble gum. ;-)

When I was using just unsupported cane teepees, they regularly had to be rescued with guy ropes and heavy stakes. The whole garden became crisscrossed guy ropes and you couldn’t get down the paths for access or mowing. Not satisfactory! Eventually I constructed some wooden frameworks to support the canes and so far they’ve stood upright!

 

[flowerbug]

Right now I'm having a dickens of a time to get some of the pole beans to climb properly. As in, upwards and actually onto the pole. They are climbing on themselves in a downward fashion, or on the vine next door or falling onto the ground and swirling. It's bizarre. Everyday I'm out there looking for beans to help, and trying to tangle them up onto the poles. Most seem to be finally catching, eventually, but I've lost a few vine tips in this odd growing ineptitude.

so many skills you pick up herding beans!

 

[Blue-Jay]

That is interesting @Bluejay77 , I didn't know you took the fencing down so early in the season, I thought it stayed up until fall. This is certainly a relief to hear! And thank goodness I have no deer to fend off!

Your are correct about the rabbit fencing staying up until the end of the season. However once bean plants become mature enough I could take down the rabbit fencing if I so chose to.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Everyday I'm out there looking for beans to help, and trying to tangle them up onto the poles.

I can tangle some but I tie mine if they don't grow right. I tear an old 100% cotton Tee shirt into strips and use a bowline knot to tie it around the bean vine a couple of leaves from the tip. Then tie the other end of the strip to the support.

The bowline knot, also called the rescue knot, doesn't slip but stays open so it won't strangle the vine. Probably unnecessary with beans but this is also how I train tomatoes and roses. With beans I probably could use string too instead of the softer strips. I use 2x4 welded wire supported between two T-Posts so I'm trying to lead them up to the wire. Instead of tying the bottom end to something near the ground and trying to train the beans to climb the string, I tie the string directly to the plant and then wrap the vine around the strip to get it started to climb.

Sometimes instead of a bowline knot, I tie one end of the strip to the support, position the vine up to the support, then tie the other end to the support. This is usually for the longer ones that want to run across the ground instead of climb. This sounds too detailed and awkward. I just tie them to the T-posts.

When I can I tangle them but sometimes the wind just blows them back out or they may not be long enough. I grow a lot less than most people on here, usually about 12 climbing varieties so I can pamper them some. And I'm growing segregations trying to stabilize them. Sometimes it helps to be able to identify which plant a seed came off of instead of just the variety. The bowline takes a bit to learn and does take more time than some other knots but I've tied it so many times it's just natural.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Right now I'm having a dickens of a time to get some of the pole beans to climb properly. As in, upwards and actually onto the pole. They are climbing on themselves in a downward fashion, or on the vine next door or falling onto the ground and swirling. It's bizarre. Everyday I'm out there looking for beans to help, and trying to tangle them up onto the poles. Most seem to be finally catching, eventually, but I've lost a few vine tips in this odd growing ineptitude

I also find some of the pole beans can't seem to find the pole structure I have provided for them to climb on. The plants are growing right next to the pole. I don't understand why they have such a hard time getting started but many of them seem too. So here is what I do. I buy a roll of green velcro tape at one of our local ACE Hardware stores. I don't know what you have where you live. I cut off a length of it enough to go around the pole just a little more than once. I hold the the struggling runner next to the pole and tape it with the velcro tape to the pole. That is what gets them on their way to climbing the pole. I have a photo of the roll of velcro tape below, and a runner that I just taped to it's pole this morning. The role in the store is usually afixed to a piece of cardboard by the manufactuer and and has a hole near the top so the product can be hung on pin sticking out of a pegboard or some type of arrangement.

 

[heirloomgal]

Thank you @Bluejay77 @Ridgerunner ! Great ideas! I learn so much on LEBN!