Sunday 14 March 2010

Bean Bed Preparation




As you can see from my past postings; I am growing lots of beans again this year. To be successful at growing beans you need to make the most of your space. So I use the 'Munty' frame which is taken from a chap on the Allotment Forum.

First, I've attached 4 vertical posts to the South Side of the bed. Then I dig a trench along the North Side of the bed.


Then the trench gets filled with anything organic; this year as we have so much manure - I've filled it with that.


Then the trench gets backfilled with the original soil. Our soil is clay - with 2 years now of organic being added. The Main ingredients of the organic are newspapers, cardboard, coffee grounds and sawdust [we get the last 2 free from St*rbucks and from our lottie neighbour who gets it from a sawmill for us].

Once the trench is backfilled I can continue making the frame. As I ran out of cable ties today - I'm showing a frame that I made last year for effect.

The beans are planted into the north side, in the trench. They grow up the twine, and over the canes and then carry on up the sloping twine towards the top of the south side frame.

This design means that you don't lose any space under the frame - which is often the case when you grow in wigwams or cross canes. Also, the beans all get sunlight as there is no shading. The frames aren't too tall to block out light from the bed behind - so everyone is a winner!!!