Runner beans are known to climb and therefore need a climbing aid. But you don't need to dig deep into your pockets, because you can easily build a bean trellis yourself. Below we explain which materials are suitable for this and give a few creative ideas.
How can I build a bean trellis myself?
To build a bean trellis yourself, you need a sturdy stick, nails, strips and crooked sticks. Attach the strips to the nails on the pole and stretch them towards the plants. Use sticks to hold the strips next to the plants.
What beans like to grow on
Beans pull themselves up with the help of loops, which means you don't need to tie the beans, as is the case with tomatoes, for example. But you have to give the ground something to hold on to. House walls are not suitable because the beans do not have suction cups like ivy, for example, but instead attach themselves in a loop like a round shape. If you want to save time, you can simply place your runner beans next to a “natural” climbing aid sow. Here are a few ideas:
- chain link fence
- Bamboo fence
- Corn (the beans snake their way up the corn without harming the plant)
- Metal fence with bars
- Window grilles (careful, creates more shadows in the room!)
Trail support cheap and easy to build yourself
If you don't have any of the above things in your garden, you can simply build the trellis yourself inexpensively. For example from:
- Stripping
- Bamboo sticks
- long branches
Building a trellis out of strips
A particularly beautiful sight is a pyramid-shaped structure made of runner beans. This shape saves space and is very easy to build yourself. You need:
- stable strip (€6.00 at Amazon)
- a stable stick about two meters long
- Nails with wide heads
- several crookedly shaped sticks
- Hammer
Then proceed as follows:
- Before setting up the pole, hammer nails all around the top. The number of nails corresponds to the number of your pole bean plants.
- Now tie a piece of strip to each nail. The strip should be about 1.5 times as long as the rod.
- Drive the stick into the ground as deep as possible, a hammer or spade can help.
- Now stretch the strings to your plants or seeds and attach them next to the plants using the sticks.
- The plants stand in a circle around the pole with a distance of at least 30cm.
Here you will find video instructions for your pyramid-shaped trellis:
Ich baue mir ein Bohnenzelt / Rankhilfe / Stangenbohne
