Thread: Pole beans
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Old September 3, 2017   #65
JRinPA
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: SE PA
Posts: 961
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5-7 plants each for 6 ft....I plant a bit more closely than that. 8x more dense if my math is correct. This only my second year with beans. I make a trellis from bamboo and arbor vitae branches, about 14' long I guess. Everything forms triangles for strength, so I suppose it is more properly called a trussis. Yeah, dorky engineer humor, but I typed it so it will stay. I plant a bean every 3" as the johnny packages say, but then I go and put them along each side, about a foot apart, and then lay compost over them. It is awesome. Two types of beans per trellis, and one type each on the teepee for total of seven types in that garden.

Last year I had three such trellises, but there was too much shade in the middle. This year I kept the two outside trellises about the same but erected three teepees in the middle instead of a solid trellis. Each teepee got maybe 20 beans under them. That helped a lot to keep the middle open to sunshine. I have way more beans than I know what to do with....oh well, better eat them! It is so much fun watching them fill in.

I figure plant heavy so the beetles can't possibly destroy enough to matter. The planting doesn't take long at all compared to putting the structure up. Next year I plan to put tomatoes there again. Not sure yet where I will put the pole beans, but I think I can get another year from those sticks.

My mom has done some blanching and freezing since the canning was blah. That is what she had planned to do originally. Her mom did that when she was younger and it worked fine. Freezer space is always tight, though. I am thinking maybe can some dilly beans.
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