Supports for climbing beans and peas

Vertically growing plants are an attractive feature to any vegetable garden, as well as being an excellent space-saver. Climbing peas and beans (especially runner beans) are super productive, but providing strong supports for these plants is essential. As seedlings, these plants are small and delicate but with time, the vines have wound their way up to six feet tall with a thick mass of leaves and pods. The supporting structures need to be strong enough to take the weight and sturdy enough to survive winds.

Deciding what type of supports to use

There are a huge variety of supports available, made from a variety of materials, selection being dependant on budget and personal preferences but why not try making your own!

The first decision, being what to make them from. Bamboo canes are perfectly straight, have relatively long lengths and are very resistant to weathering. Spare sticks and branches from trees, are less likely to be straight or flexible and may be harder to fasten together into a strong structure. Any kind of wire fencing can be used for climbing plants as long as it is sturdy enough when combined with strong poles. Recycled materials such as steel rebar are often used with spare timber, made into sturdy frames.

When using poles, two beans or pea plants are often grown up a single pole. However, it can be quite costly when having to install a number of poles so its quite common to add something else for them to clump up so that the gap between poles can be increased. Installing netting, string or wire are common choices to use between poles.

Building your supports

Once the materials have been collected, its time to build! There are many types of structure from Double row (planting two rows of beans or peas about 30cm apart), Wigwam (plants are place in a wide circle and the canes are either tied at the top or fastened into a cane ring), Arch (climbing plants over an arch between beds or over a walkway), Wall or Fence, and Central Support (like the Wigwam structure a single strong pole can be the anchor for many lengths of taught string radiating out to pegs driven into the ground).

Three sisters support method

Another method of support is to use sweet corn. In the traditional ‘three sisters’ companion planting method, beans are planted next to sweet corn and grow up the strong corn stems, while squash are grown underneath to suppress weeds and keep the roots moist.