I love planting pole beans because they are high yielding and take up less space than other vegetables. You can use successive planting to increase your yield and extend your harvest. There are so many varieties to choose from too.
Inexpensive trellis ideas:
- recycled rolled wire or chicken wire fencing (we save all decent sized wire fencing because the uses are endless)
- a section of chain link fence or dog pen panel
- along a deck railing
- bamboo sticks and string
- fallen limbs used a poles
- limbs from tree pruning
- old swing set frame
- plastic netting stapled to wood stakes (can be rolled up and used year to year)
- leftover bird netting stretched and held in place by sticks or stakes
- upside down tomato cage
- cattle panel or hog panel with T posts (can be found used cheap)
- wooden pallet
- a teepee of three poles attached at top with string woven between them
- bicycle wheel mounted horizontally through center hold on pole
- the back of an old chair
- the side of a baby crib
- old wire dog crate
- old farm gate
- corn (research Three Sisters planting)
There is no end to what you can reuse as a trellis if you are creative and resourceful. I am using the dog pen panel idea this year because I have panels sitting around. It will be fast to implement. I also put seeds in beds and containers that are along fencing or deck railings.
Bush beans don't need trellising, according to some, and give a harvest sooner, but the overall yield is lower. I grow both and sometimes still support my bush beans so they don't sprawl all over.
