Runner canes - wigwams or not??

[Farmer_Gyles]

i'm trying to work out the most efficient way of using my land
the patch for the french and runner beans is 8ft x 2ft
i was thinking of planting out like this:
x x x x x x x x


x x x x x x x x

and then i can plant a row of lettuce inside the canes
this will (in theory) give me plenty of beans and lettuce - and the more lettuce i grow, the better

but i could do 4 wigwams of 8 canes each ...... that will give a lot more beans .... i *could* plant 1 lettuce under each wigwam, but will the lettuce get enough light under the wigwams?
what would you do??

[squashysu]

hi

i have one wigwam for 6 runners and at the mo it is working well, but runners can get very bushy, so i dont know if there would be enough light, also my dad does his runners the way you are describing and you cant see the earth when in full flower etc, he always has an excellent crop. So i dont know if the runners/lettuce would work.

Hopefully someone will come along and help more, but lettuce do grow well in troughs and planters, so you could use them instead of using more space, thats what i am doing.

SS

[rustylady]

As you have a long narrow strip you could make a traditional bean frame instead of wigwams. Canes down each side, crossed at the top and braced with a cane tied at the crossing point. Once the beans are in full leaf your lettuce will not stand a chance, they will not get enough light. You may get an early crop while the beans are still going up the canes.

[Madasafish]

I'm growing lettuce started in greenhouse in my bean bed. My beans have just been planted in greenhouse.. so I expect I will pick lettuuce when I plant beans,

I tried wigwams last year.. going for a full bean frame this year...freeze them to avoid winter food prices.

[lottielady]

I did the bean frame with a cross brace at the top last year but then grew my squashes around the base of them and that worked really well hope that helps

[lottie dolly]

if you really want to try lettuce within the bean bed,perhaps you could try them on the outsides as this is the only way they will get any light,i would suggest the following,give it a try,nothing to loose,
x x x x beans
* * * lettuce

[greenstar]

I'm with lottie dolly on this one - this is how I grew my beans and lettuce last year, and because we got such fantastic results, I'll be doing the same this year. In fact we beat all the old hands and won two first prizes for our runners at the lottie show last year

[lottie dolly]

thankyou greenstar,i personaly have never tryed it,as yet i just use the open ground,but thought it a more practical solution to save space,well done with the prizes,