Rope Cage to Grow Beans

Materials

• Pole beans climb best up narrow, rough supports. Use garden twine for the ropes. The twine is thin enough for the vines to twine around but not so thin that it cuts into the plant. Garden twine is durable and doesn't rot or break under the weight of the fully producing bean vines. The cage also require stakes to hold the rope in place. Use bamboo poles, 2-by-2-inch boards or metal stakes to provided support. Use supports that are 6 to 8 feet tall so the beans can climb to their full height.

Installation

• Install the cage before you plant the beans, otherwise the pole installation may damage the bean roots. Lash the top of two poles together and separate the bottom to form an A-frame. Insert the bottom 12 inches of the poles into the garden bed so they are secure. Install the A-frame poles every four feet down the length of the bean row. Lash a crossbar between two A-frames. Tie garden twine to the crossbar and stretch it to the ground. Stake the twine to the ground. Attach twine on both sides of the A-frame, creating two rows on either side of the cage. Space each length of twine two to three inches apart down the length of the crossbar.

Planting

• Sow a bean seed at the base of each rope that hangs from the crossbar above. Plant the seeds about 1 inch deep. Keep the soil moist after planting the beans. Plant down both sides of the cage, sowing one to two seeds per rope. The seeds begin sending up sprouts within five to seven days of planting. The young plants don't begin climbing right away. They typically begin producing a vine once they have grown their second or third set of leaves.

Training and Harvesting

• The vines grow and twine up the ropes with minimal training. The young plants may require some help to first find the rope they are meant to climb. Guide the plant onto the rope once it's 6 inches tall if it hasn't begun to climb on its own. Wrap the plant around the rope clockwise one to two times. Once guided to the rope, the bean plant climbs on its own. Pinch off the top of the vine once it reaches the top of the cage so it doesn't continue to put on upward growth. Harvest the bean pods as soon as they are fully formed, but still tender and crisp. Frequent harvesting encourages more bean production and prevents the vines from becoming too heavy on the cage.