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Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: misfit on May 06, 2011, 12:40:16
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hi all, do any of you plant anything inside your runner bean wigwams ?? could anything be planted there or is it a no no ??
cheers
ian
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hopefully it's dark in there on account of all the leaves and beans you'll have
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I grew marrows last year and was ok
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I've done courgettes too.
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cheers peeps :)
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tried a small squash, not too good :)
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I often scatter radishes there, likely to mature before it gets too dark.
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I've managed a courgette under borlottis before but it was onlyhappy once it got out from under them and as it was in a builders bag (half full) it became a real pest re watering..... that bag took a lot of water ..... that was two years ago....
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I grow coriander under there - it stops it going to seed when it's hot and dry.
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I plant squashes among them.
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thanks for all the replies :)
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i think you are referring to a teepee not a wigwam since the too are not similar at all and are not same thing.
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Actually Plainleaf you are quoting incorrectly,
A teepee is a conical shape, and when used by native Indians as a home they are covered in hides.
A wigwam can be one of severall shapes including a conical one and again covered in hides.
So they can be identical in appearance.
The basic difference between the two is in their mobility.
The teepee is a temporary structure and the wigwam is a more permanent one.
So unless you know for sure wether the poster moves his or leaves it in place for a long time it is not really appropriate to correct them.
With respect
XX Jeannine
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i think you are referring to a teepee not a wigwam since the too are not similar at all and are not same thing.
either way, i think most people knew what i meant ::) :)
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I have grown lettuce under mine successfully. It keeps them shaded as the season moves on.
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I tried lettuce and spinach under mine last year, some problems with bolting, some problems with not getting enough water, as the beans were a thirsty bunch. I ended up mulching the beans heavily with grass cuttings etc, and that included under the frame - that way the weeds were kept to a minimum so the beans didn't have to compete too much.
I like the idea of a "quick crop" like radish or cut and come again salads.
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Yes, of course we understood misfit. Nobody loves a smarty pants and that includes me ::) ::
I just couldn't resist correcting the corrector!!
XX Jeannine
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Sorry to hijack this thread ... but it is Runner-Bean Related, honest ;D ;D
Do you think there is a space-saving benefit to grow them in trenches with the poles with an 'V' shape to them as opposed to the inverted 'V' wigwam-style. Obviously, you'd leave about 1' or so apart from the other side/half of the 'V'. An additional benefit would be that the trailling stems would fall inwards and more likely to be reached for easier harvesting? As a short-axxed gal, this would help me enormously! ;D ;D ;D
hope i've explained myself clearly here ::) ::) well, maybe the gist of it?!! ;) ;)
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People do do that! (I know what you mean) Well, more like an X shape. And precisely for the reason you describe. I've seen threads on it on here. I've done some this year, after reading about them.
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I plant my beans in raised beds on each side of a path so I can walk under to pick. Also looks nice as a mini tunnel. I think trenches are a good idea so water stays put instead of seeping elsewhere. :)
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We once planted quite a few beans that we had been given by a realaive who assured us they were the best ever but we didn;t know if pole or bush as he had gone overseas at sowing time.
We decided to use a small isolated patch of ground abot 8x8 and -popped the plants in in rows.About six rows. Of course they came as pole.We put poles at each end of the rows with string acrross and down. When they grew we had a maze of plants. they grow over and formed a roof. It was easy to go inside and pick from the roof, it felt quite strange being in there but we got a greay yeild despite the fact they were overcrowded.Especially tight if John and I were both in there picking together.
XX Jeannine
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oh, that's good to know. i didn't think anyone would use this method as most ppl would either use the wigwam or the long rows of them. :D
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Slightly off topic but bean related,
It's too late now as mine are in, but earlier in the year i found a bag of vermiculite, not the light fluffy stuff sold in garden centres, but the stuff sold in builders merchants, and thought, at the time of putting it at the bottom of a trench, where my beans were going to go.
Any way i lost the bag again, so it didn't get used, but,,,
Opinions folks
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Yes, of course we understood misfit. Nobody loves a smarty pants and that includes me ::) ::
I just couldn't resist correcting the corrector!!
XX Jeannine
thanks Jeannine :)
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Hello Misfit, is this any use to you? I grow psb and grow my new plants in the middle of my runnerbean wigwams (1 per wigwam). They grow on happily during the summer shaded by the beans & then continue once the beans have been stripped out. Bonus is that should I need to net against pigeons during the winter/spring the wigwam structure is already in place to support it.........
Have done this for 4 years - yesterday finally dug up the last of the psbs - no pigeon damage! RESULT!!
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oooo interesting idea there Hyacinth. Do you still have probelms with cabbage whites, or do the beans somehow help to keep them at bay? I find if I don't net in summer the butterflies can have a field day
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I've had no probs at all, perhaps because I plant the beans so densely - 2 per pole on 6-7 poles or praps the cabbage whites round here are particularly thick? (I'm in Birmingham, y'know. - tin hat ON and beating rapid retreat.)
;D ;D ;D
No, seriously, it's really worked for me. Well worth giving it a go I reckon.
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I'm tempted, it sounds like a great use of space! and maybe the cabbage whites aren't too bright around here! :D :P
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thanks Hyacinth, might give that a go, after all if you dont try you dont know :)