Last year my pole bean structure fell down, 3 times. Once really wasn't my fault, as the tree behind it was throwing branches at it in a mega windstorm. The other times were, as I had used standard tomato stakes to hold up the ends, but the bean load was just too much.
This year is different.
I used 3 full 8' 2x4s for each side, angling them to get a final height of just over 6', the height I can comfortably pick beans without having to haul a ladder into the garden. The horizontal stringer is an old clothesline with clothesline tensioner, abandoned by a previous owner.
The vertical stringers are bits of binder twine from the straw I use as mulch. At the end of the growing season, it's easy to pull the twine out and compost the beans.
I've seen some people use page wire fence to grow beans on, but unless you have goats, it's really a pain to strip off the old beanstalks in the fall. Leaving them there for multiple seasons promotes rot.
This year is different.
The vertical stringers are bits of binder twine from the straw I use as mulch. At the end of the growing season, it's easy to pull the twine out and compost the beans.
I've seen some people use page wire fence to grow beans on, but unless you have goats, it's really a pain to strip off the old beanstalks in the fall. Leaving them there for multiple seasons promotes rot.
