Beans up drainpipes

[fran]

Good morning all.

Has anyone tried to train climbing beans around drain pipes?

I'm trying to squeeze as much into my tiny garden as I can - and the drainpipes seem to be a wasted resource! I'm trying to think of what I can wrap around the pipe- and how- so that the beans will be able to climb up the plastic.

I'll have to grow the beans in containers as it's concrete.

Thanks

[Paulottie]

Beans are winders so I guess they would but the difficult bit would be to get them started. You could try to introduce them by tying them on.

[barrie tough]

good idea only thing i can think of is a small trellis or if its a big pot a few canes tied at the like a wig wam should work.try dwarf beans might be better for height.

[Novice Gardener]

It sounds like a good idea, but wouldn't it make harvesting them difficult? If you use something that slopes slightly, then the beans kind of hang down freely (if that makes sense??) but I would have thought that growing them up something dead straight might mean they don't crop as well? I was thinking of growing runners and climbing french beans up an arched trellis that goes over my gate.

[Mike and Louise]

Not sure if the drain pipe will be narrow enough for the beans to cling to, unless you tie them to it.

We only grow our beans in big square pots and allow them to grow up bamboo canes.

[peanut]

You could put chicken wire around the drainpipe, the beans would climb up that fine!

[fran]

Good idea! Will try.
Thanks.

[fran]

Thanks. I've got an arch with small climbing rose (in pot) and honeysuckle against a wall, only it's in part shade. How much shade can beans take? It wld get sun after about 12.00 in summer.

[areia]

my first garden was a yard i had my runners in 2 pots either side of my kitchen window for which i had 5 canes n each pot and as they got much bigger i tied string across the window for them to train across saved me havin to close the cutains at night

[peanut]

My old garden was really small and north facing, only got sun from lunchtime in summer.....I grew Runners, Toms, Q's, Aubergines, French beans etc and had crops from all.

[TonyF]

And there's an article, with pics. of somebody's small garden who uses down-pipes for runners etc. this month in Kitchen Gardens.