growing pole beans in the wind

16 years ago

I live in a very windy area and have only grown bush beans. Can you grow climbers in the wind. We get lots of 30 mph and some 60 mph winds. I wonder if they will be wind whipped and blown to pieces. Thanks.

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Dale Williams

10 years ago

Am still experimenting to find the optimal support for tall pole beans and the taller peas, like Alderman. Used to use double decorative metal arches that we could get in boxes for $8-10 dollars each; up to about 3 years ago, we could get 3 years out of each arch. But then the quality really dropped, and now they start bending and breaking by July! I rigged emergency supports by adding long t-posts and tying everything together, and was lucky enough to save the green bean crop (at least so far!). Now, the Zuchinni Rampicante area is also supported by these arches, but because of the different growth pattern, and the fact that the weight hangs down seems to stabilize the arches (which are tied together with a network of baling twine) so they last a full season. I have five beds with 6' t-posts with string netting, which work for cucumbers, but even those start leaning once the cover gets really dense. Only thing that has been successful is the 2x3 posts with cross-beam and netting, which I thought was serious overkill, but may now have to consider building similar in place of the other 12 support systems. The arches used to be the more economical route, but obviously not the case anymore. I did like the more graceful appearance, over the wooden posts with cross-beam approach, but it sure doesn't look graceful flat on the ground! Anyone have any experience with stability of PVC or galvanized piping for heavy growers like old fashioned pole beans? As you know, it's not the weight of the vines, it's that once they get going, they form a 'sail' for the wind to catch and heave the supports over to the side!

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Comments (6)

jimster
16 years ago
If the trellis can stand the wind the beans will be OK. Be sure the trellis is well braced to support the wind load which develops on the mass of plant material near the top. Individual leaves, being flexible, spill the wind and aren't harmed unless there is a hurricane.

Jim
zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
16 years ago
I am a big fan of trellised pole beans, they make up a majority of my bean plantings. However, they are vulnerable to wind. The leaves might come through gusty winds OK, provided that the trellis is strong enough. The pods, though, could suffer from wind bruising, which causes hard scarred spots on the pods. Some pole snaps seem to be more vulnerable to wind bruising than others... including "Fortex", I am sad to say.

For dry beans or shellies, bruised pods are not an issue, since the pod will not be eaten. For snaps, though, the bruises can be very unappealing. My winds are nowhere near as strong as yours, Renny, but I still try to plant my pole snaps downwind of other tall crops. If your winds are predominately from the West (as mine are) it might be helpful to grow pole snaps on the East side of a structure, or behind shelter of some kind. Lacking that, bush beans might be the best bet.
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mauirose
16 years ago
i'm going to start reducing the height of my trellises, to allow the vines to reach for the top and then drape back down. It seems like the higher the trellis the more damage the vines sustain.

My pole beans don't seem to have as long a bearing season as they do in other areas. i suspect the constant wind pressure leaves them more susceptible to disease but i have no evidence to support that. They still produce longer than the bush varities and it is a great convenience to pick standing up!
Macmex
16 years ago
I imagine it would be a help to put up your trellis' so that the wind runs along their length instead of hitting them broadside. We have some high winds here in Oklahoma and I have not noticed any real damage to our trellised beans. Uh, well, I guess I did have one casualty this year. I had a volunteer pole bean come out of a batch of bush beans, and I was pretty sure it wouldn't even bloom while the bush beans were blooming. So I put up a pole, forgetting to cut the pole down to 8' maximum height. The bean went up about 13' and made a HUGH mass of vines, which caught the wind like a sail. We had some high winds this week and the pole snapped.

George
Tahlequah, OK
Ignatz DeZoobnar
10 years ago
I had an opportunity to make use of some cast off dog kennel panels. Essentially chain link on tube frames. I haven't measured but they are about 10' X 5'. Mounted lengthwise at a slight angle, leaning to the east. Full west sunlight, on the east the beans hang for easy picking. I had one go down early, a deer ran into it. I planted squash too close, they wanna climb it too.