I don't know the answer, but they really do reach for the sky, don't they? A couple of years ago, I had them reaching out of the garden, growing up a pole that held an oriole feeder, and on into a nearby tree branch!!

A couple of years ago, I had them reaching out of the garden, growing up a pole that held an oriole feeder, and on into a nearby tree branch!!

Oh, that's funny! LOL! I may have to rethink the "beauty" of my cute little fences and start using something taller in the future.

Kristy :)

I believe pole beans are one of those plants that doesn't develop side shoots when you pinch out the growing tip. As such, when you trim off the end, the plant can't/won't get any bigger. I have a 4' wire trellis for my beans. Last year they got up that high and then flopped over, making a clumpy mess. Here's a picture of what it looked like before the plants started growing:
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This year I wanted to avoid the 4' high clump so I bought some 8' t-posts and some garden mesh and made an extension. Here's what it looks like now:
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I apologize for the blurry nature of the pictures, but I can't figure out how to get sharp-focus pictures on anything more than 5-10 feet away. A person's face is usually nice and sharp, or a fruit or bug or single item, but if I'm trying to take a picture of the house, or a tree or the garden, it's all blurry. I hate that.

Anyway, the pole beans are climbing up the mesh (and up the corn). I hope this will take care of the clump and make it easier to harvest.

Your garden looks GREAT!! I think I'll go ahead and pinch off some of the ends and see how that works! If anything, I will learn a lesson about which way to go next season!

Good luck with your veggies....looks like a fun place to spend the summer checking out the progress of things.

Thanks for the replies!
Kristy :)

I have my pole beans on a big A-frame and they still take over :) - 'tis the nature of the beast, and they like this heat we've been having. Pinching back, well yes you can, but then you encourage growth to extra stems and leaves and away from your beans.

-Marie

Pinching back, well yes you can, but then you encourage growth to extra stems and leaves and away from your beans.

I had not thought about that! I haven't done a thing to them yet. I keep trying to train them away from my tomatoes. I really wish I had more space!

Thanks for the reply!
Kristy :)