Now that you've watched the video about my pole bean trellis, I wanted to better show you how it's set up in my garden.
As you can see by the above photo, I have 4 arbors that span a 3-foot-wide path between two of my raised beds. Each arbor has spikes that you push down into the soil for stability. If you live in a particularly windy area, you might even want to anchor them with stakes but I've never had mine blow over.
The arbors are made out of powder-coated steel and should last a really long time. They haven't rusted and are very sturdy. I bought mine at a local Fred Meyer store a few years ago but you can easily find them at home centers, too.
Each year, I start pole bean seeds indoors about the 1st of May and transplant them outdoors in mid-May. The seedlings are planted along the bottom of the arbors. I've planted them on the inside and the outside of the arbors; it doesn't really make a difference.
Pretty soon, the plants look like they're in a race to reach the top of the arbors and cross over to the other side! (see above)
I love how the beans hang down on the inside for easy picking (above). And best of all, I get to stand in the shade while picking (see below)!
So there you have it. I realize the gardening season is coming to a rapid close but wanted to share this idea with you for next year.
I just love this method of growing pole beans because it takes up less garden space and also looks really cool. I'm a proponent of crop rotation so I move the arbors to different beds each year. It's been fun seeing the bean trellis slowly marching through the garden over the years!
