Different types of green beans

[Zeedman]

My summer got away from me. I only harvested and froze about 4 quarts last season. I still need to clean up where I grew them, so I might be able to save some seeds for 2019. What do you all do to get them to climb? Most of mine last season sprawled.

Most of the beans I grow are pole varieties, so they require a lot of support. My default method is a string trellis, using 7.5' fence T-posts, with 3/8" rebar rod running between poles on top & about 8-9" above the ground. The top bar runs through 1.25" PVC T's, which fit over the top of each pole; the lower bar is attached to the poles with strong zip ties. There are also several horizontal lines of poly baling twine that are tied off pole-to-pole, spaced about 15" apart between the rebar rods. The vertical strings (usually sisal baling twine) are tied on top, wrapped around the horizontal strings on the way down, and tied off on the lower bar with a short pigtail hanging out to train new runners. I usually space the vertical strings about 12" apart, which corresponds to my default bean spacing, and allows east access when picking. The whole structure is very sturdy, I have never lost anything due to strong winds.

This is an older photo, I space the poles only 5-6' apart now... but it shows the structure.

I initially just used the poly baling twine between poles as the top support, but it would sag under load. Strong winds would push the vertical strings to the center, and some plants were broken off or uprooted. Using rebar rod as the top support solved those issues. Adding and/or overlapping the rebar rods allows the trellis to be easily adjusted to any length longer than the rod (I use 5', 10', and 20' lengths). Some beans are reluctant to climb artificial materials (like the poly twine) but have no issues with sisal. I use this same trellis structure for other climbing vegetables (such as bitter melon, cucuzzi, cucumbers, and tomatoes) but use 1/2" rebar rod on top for the heavier plants. Most years, there are between 400-500' of this trellis in the gardens.

If I need to tie the runners to hold them in place long enough for them to start climbing on their own I usually use a trip torn from an old T-shirt. With pole beans it's not as important, a regular string will do, but I use the torn strip to tie up tomatoes as it is wider than string and less likely to cut the stem. I'm just in the habit of ripping up a T-shirt when I'm going to tie something. Sometimes I get in a rut.

I really like that idea, especially for tomatoes. Got a lot of old T's laying around that I presently just use for rags. Plant ties would be a far more dignified re-purposing, and if the strips are small enough, theoretically the cotton would break down on its own... one less thing to end up in the land fill.

 

[digitS']

@Zeedman , that looks like such a great setup!

With the amount of foliage to shade and, maybe, the intensity of sunlight - you probably don't have problems with sisal breaking before the end of the season. That was a problem I had with it.

Can you compost the sisal with the plants?

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

@Zeedman , I like that system!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sisal is a natural product of the hemp plant. You can compost it just like you can compost a 100% cotton T-shirt. You can compost 100% cotton thread. But if you mix in man-made products they won't compost. You don't want man-made string or cloth on your compost. Don't ask how I know, you can probably imagine.

I use a lot of sisal twine. It's made by twisting the fibers instead of weaving or plaiting them, you can get weak spots. That's the biggest problem I have with it, sisal twine can break brand new just by pulling it tight. I would not use it for the horizontals but like @Zeedman I use it for verticals. By the time they break down the runners have reached the top bar and are self-supporting without the twine.

 

[ninnymary]

@zeedma, is the twine taut? I've tried using twine before and it was hard for me to make it nice and tight.

Mary

 

[flowerbug]

Sisal is a natural product of the hemp plant. You can compost it just like you can compost a 100% cotton T-shirt. You can compost 100% cotton thread. But if you mix in man-made products they won't compost. You don't want man-made string or cloth on your compost. Don't ask how I know, you can probably imagine.

I use a lot of sisal twine. It's made by twisting the fibers instead of weaving or plaiting them, you can get weak spots. That's the biggest problem I have with it, sisal twine can break brand new just by pulling it tight. I would not use it for the horizontals but like @Zeedman I use it for verticals. By the time they break down the runners have reached the top bar and are self-supporting without the twine.

thanks for the description and idea, i may adapt this in the future with the only likely change being i don't like PVC or plastics so i'd try to find other means of doing the same things. galvanized metal T's and some other horizontal strings are quite doable.

 

[Zeedman]

Sisal is a natural product of the hemp plant. You can compost it just like you can compost a 100% cotton T-shirt. You can compost 100% cotton thread. But if you mix in man-made products they won't compost. You don't want man-made string or cloth on your compost. Don't ask how I know, you can probably imagine.

I use a lot of sisal twine. It's made by twisting the fibers instead of weaving or plaiting them, you can get weak spots. That's the biggest problem I have with it, sisal twine can break brand new just by pulling it tight. I would not use it for the horizontals but like @Zeedman I use it for verticals. By the time they break down the runners have reached the top bar and are self-supporting without the twine.

(Added emphasis mine.) Actually, even though sisal rope & twine is sometimes called "hemp", it is made from an agave (Agave sisalana). The baling twine comes in several grades at the local farm & fleet. Yes, the width (and strength) frequently vary along the length, with both thick & thin spots. In the past, I had a few strings of the lowest grade break in mid-Summer; so I generally use the middle grade now, which only breaks if left up over Winter. Surprisingly, over the winter, rabbits will chew off most of the twine close to the ground - can't imagine there would be much nutrition in it.

Never tried composting the used string, since I compost in situ & my tiller is a very efficient string collector. In late Autumn (or early Spring, depending upon the weather) when the vines become brittle, I strip off as much vegetation as possible, ball up the strings, and pack them into several trash cans. Those string balls make great fire starters for the bonfire.

@zeedma, is the twine taut? I've tried using twine before and it was hard for me to make it nice and tight.

The horizontal poly twine is pulled only tight enough to be straight, but not stretched, so it will not pull the poles together. It will sag only slightly in the course of the season, as it is loaded down. The sisal vertical strings start the same way; I keep them taught as I wind them down, but not so tight that the top bar is bent down. Sisal will sag slightly as it is exposed to the elements (which makes it unsuitable as a horizontal support) but that doesn't matter for the verticals... because when loaded down, the twine is pulled straight down from the top bar. The horizontal strings take up some of the stress & keep the trellis stable in the wind.

I've never found a need to pull the strings tightly; but if I did so, it would be necessary to brace the poles at the end of the row somehow. Another bean grower I know (who posts elsewhere) runs heavy iron wire from pole-to-pole for top & bottom supports; to keep the wires straight, he ties them to a ground anchor at both ends of the row & pulls the wire tightly. He then wraps twine around the wires top to bottom in a zig-zag pattern, all the way down the row. It is a very fast way to run strings down a very long trellis, and he swears by the method.

Personally, I would be very uncomfortable making a trellis from a single, unbroken strand of twine, because of Christmas Light Syndrome... one break anywhere, and they all go out.

thanks for the description and idea, i may adapt this in the future with the only likely change being i don't like PVC or plastics so i'd try to find other means of doing the same things. galvanized metal T's and some other horizontal strings are quite doable.

Maybe an eye bolt threaded into a pipe cap, in place of the PVC as a pole topper?