How to Stake Pole Beans

There are two types of green beans to choose from when planting a vegetable garden; bush and pole. Bush beans are low maintenance shrubs that tend to ripen all at once, at which point your harvest is complete. Pole beans need support to grow properly. But the extra effort is well worth it. Pole beans are flavorful and tender and you get to pick them again and again, enjoying fresh beans for the duration of the growing season. Learning to stake pole beans is a simple skill that will enable you to add these prolific producers to your vegetable patch.

Bamboo cane poles 6 to 8 feet long
Utility knife
6 inch nylon mesh
12 gauge wire
Wire cutters
Pole bean seeds

Instructions

- 1
  Install your support system prior to planting the beans. It is better to have the poles in place before the beans start to grow as installing them later tends to damage the fragile plant root system.
- 2
  Choose poles that are between six and eight feet long if you'd like to use a simple pole support. These can be purchased at any garden supply center and are generally made from bamboo cane.
- 3
  Push each pole into the ground until approximately six feet are standing above ground. Place poles at least six feet apart in each row and leave at least four feet of space between each row.
- 4
  Using a small utility knife, make a notch at the top of each pole and then run six inch square nylon mesh along the length of the row, securing it at the top by running short pieces of 12 gauge wire or gardening twine tightly around the pole and through the notches. In this manner you will have created a continuous row trellis.
- 5
  Plant the bean seeds along the bottom of the trellis, placing the beans approximately three inches apart and one inch deep. As the beans sprout and grow, manipulate the vines, weaving them through the squares of the trellis, encouraging upward growth.

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