The bean teepee has been one of the more successful structures we’ve made in the garden. It’s pretty much what I had hoped it would be. It is producing pounds of stringless violet pole beans and it has rich foliage covering the entire structure. It provides plenty of shade inside for a 3-year old’s picnic.
We started the teepee with four bean plants from the greenhouse. The seed packet told us that these wouldn’t like to be transplanted, but we did it anyway because we wanted to start them early. After transplanting, the growth definitely stalled for a couple of weeks before they started to send out new shoots.
At the time, of the transplant, we also planted several seeds in the ground and they performed pathetically. They were attacked by slugs or snails or some other critter as each of them emerged from the ground. The larger starts didn’t seem as vulnerable.
Eventually, we decided to plant all of our remaining seeds in 3″ starter pots in the greenhouse. After they sprouted a second pair of leaves, we planted them along the base of the teepee. These transplants were more aggressive. They took off, and before long the entire teepee was covered with bean plants.
Shelly has suggested some fancier beans next year and I am totally on board. These have been remarkable though. Their purple color is unusual and it is fun to see them turn green when they cook.