Kitchen Garden Forum

Don't know how you get on with your local parks. We have asked them to drop in any old football nets past their playing days. Two so far.

I would never have thought of football nets as runner bean supports but imagine they could be quite effective as long as they’re not still in the goal mouths where the beans are planted !
However I would imagine there will be an awful lot more disentangling to do at the end of the season when the haulms all die back. I find unwinding each plant from around one cane at a time is fiddly enough. Having to unwind each plant from a whole square of netting could be a lot more time consuming as if you tug too hard you could tear the netting.

Possibly good for other tall climbing plants like small squashes or cucumbers though which don’t have have such tenacious tendrils.

It never ceases to amaze me, the clever thoughts us gardeners have for re-using things.....good thinking Shallot Man.....Now what what could you use Rugby posts for?

Have you tried stock fencing with the 4 inch squares? Nailed to two or three strong upright posts is excellent. Won't blow down and easy to pull the dead stems off at the end of the season. It's good for sweet peas and lots of other climbing things that need a strong support.

I erected a runner bean support many years ago, which I’ve found easy to manage. It consists of two 3” sq x 7ft posts, set in Metposts and 10 ft apart. 3/4" slots, cut into the top of each post “in line” with the narrow plot, hold each end of a 10ft long 4” x ¾” plank. To support the beans I use bamboo canes, tied to the plank along its length. The canes and plank can be easily taken down each year to allow for cultivating the plot.

Dear All,
when removing bean haulms from bamboo canes push the stems UP the cane and they will come off quite easily. This is because the cane gets smaller as you go up and the stems loosen and uncurl as they are pushed up the cane.

I also use plastic tie wraps to fasten the canes together at the top. If you get the reusable ones they can last for several years.

I usually plant out my beans as I find that they can be rather erratic when started in situ. I then plant them as deep as I can; at least to the first pair of leaves. I usually do double rows with a semi circle of canes at each end to make best use of the space.

I also dig out a 2-4 inch trench in the middle of the two rows of canes so I can just throw buckets of water into it from either end (my allotment is 16ft wide). This saves a lot of time trotting up and down the row with a watering can in high Summer.
Regards Sally Wright

oldherbaceous wrote:It never ceases to amaze me, the clever thoughts us gardeners have for re-using things.....good thinking Shallot Man.....Now what what could you use Rugby posts for?

Blimey OH. Will have to spend Sat & Sund Lunch at the Rugby Club Bar mulling over this.