In the photos and video below, Coleman shows how he’s making a bamboo bean teepee using bamboo we’ve harvested from our own bamboo patch.
No bamboo? No problem! If you don’t have bamboo, you can just use any kind of slim wood strips or poles. We like the bamboo because it’s light, sturdy, abundant and easy to work with. Also the joints of the bamboo provide natural resting points that keep the twine from slipping.
Bean Teepee Trellis
Easy to make and cheaper than store-bought, we’re loving these bamboo teepees for beans. We’re using them for our purple bush beans and for our new Gold Marie Vining beans.
You can read more about how we’re using it in our “tools we use” compilation.
Growing on a teepee frame makes it easier to see and pick the beans.
Garden Twine for Bean Plant Supports
Bamboo Teepee for Vining, Pole and Bush Beans
Here’s Coleman’s YouTube video on how to create bean teepee support system.
The Benefits of Bean Teepees
Teepees offer great support for all kinds of growing needs. We’re using them for vining, pole and bush beans.
We have a small grove of bamboo that we’ve been growing for YEARS, and we use it for so many things in the garden.
And yes… it can spread, though ours has been reasonable so far. Our was planted around 25 years ago and only now are we beginning to see bamboo sprouts here and there in other locations on our property.
So we may still awake one day to realize we’re in a bamboo crises, where it’s taking over everything, but so far, so good. Meanwhile, it’s a free source of ready supports for teepees, cages, tomato supports, garden fencing, plant measuring sticks and more.
Summary of what we like about the bean teepee trellis system.
- Inexpensive
- Easy to make
- Attractively displays your plants and vegetables
- Easy to see and harvest beans and other veggies
- Works well for potted plants and in the ground crops
- Provides enough space for aeration and sunlight
And here’s more information on how to grow beans plus our golden and purple beans.
Wishing you great gardens and happy harvests!
G. Coleman Alderson is an entrepreneur, land manager, investor, gardener, and author of the novel, Mountain Whispers: Days Without Sun. Coleman holds an MS from Penn State where his thesis centered on horticulture, park planning, design, and maintenance. He’s a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and a licensed building contractor for 27 years. “But nothing surpasses my 40 years of lessons from the field and garden. And in the garden, as in life, it’s always interesting because those lessons never end!” Coleman Alderson