I give the beans an eight foot trellis. Above that, they're on their own. They can be lopped off above whatever height you decide on, but I don't bother with that.

Jim

My beans are about 4" tall now. My fencing is about 3.5 to 4 feet tall. It is my first year with pole beans. Any suggestions with fencing this low? I don't want to have to buy more equipment.

Here are the beans I was talking about. Several vines are over 12 feet tall. Most notably the leftmost vine that is now climbing the bamboo pole after using up all of the twine.
The picture below isn't very good. There are many blossoms on each vine but the secondary vines haven't filled in very much yet. Still amazing growth considering how cold it has been.

I'm starting to think that these vines will grow as tall as you let them. And only when they stop growing higher, or bend sideways or downwards, will energy be diverted towards branching the lower vine sprouts and filling out the pods. Kind of like fruit trees whose apical dominance discourages branching lower down.

Here's the picture. (900K JPG file)

If you don't really get Jack and the Bean Stalk, grow pole beans.

One can grow really tall varieties on relatively short trellises. I have one bean which will easily go up 14'. Yet I heard of someone who actually grew it on 3' stakes and, even without poles at all! (Unless you know it'll work, I would never recommend growing pole beans without any support. Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.)

Just remember that you HAVE TO PICK THEM! For that reason, I rarely give a bean more than an 8' tall pole. I'm six feet tall and can reach 8'. I don't trim the vines. Once they hit the top they loop back down and start over again. One of my favorites actually concentrates most of its' growth at the top 3' of the pole.

George
Tahlequah, OK

I'd love to see a picture of your 18+ foot beans, steve! (If you have one) And especially come back and post pictures of your 32 foot beans next year.

My trellis is 7ft and they certainly grow over it - I am 5 ft tall and have trouble picking high beans.

~emmers

Hi everyone,

I grow two crops a year here in Florida. I plant one in February and the other in September. I can't grow them here in the summer as it gets too hot. They don't like ninty degree weather. They are my favorite green bean.

Here is a picture of my 7 foot trellis in April.

Happy gardening to all,

Luther