CUISINE & CULTURE
This is week three of ideas to keep youngsters engaged in the garden this summer. Building a bean teepee will keep children occupied all summer. They can be a part of the many decisions that have to be made to grow beans successfully on the teepee. Here are the steps in which they can be involved.
• Decide which bean variety to grow, select a pole variety based on the kind of bean they produce.
• Purchase pole bean seed.
• Study the garden layout for the best spot for the teepee; select a spot with available water and at least 6 hours of full sunshine.
• Collect supports for the teepee. Possibilities include any straight pole the desired length, usually 8 feet as some pole beans have long runners. Bamboo canes are lightweight and easy to position. Other materials are metal poles, like conduit, or PVC pipes. Choose small diameter poles that the beans can wrap around. Pre-made obelisks are showy but expensive.
• Select at least four poles.
• Once bean teepee materials are gathered position poles in a circle with a finished width of at least 3 feet. Set poles at equidistant 1-foot spacing. Something youngsters can understand in spacing them is to look at the circle as if it was the face of a clock and place poles at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock.
• Insert poles into the ground at least 6 inches.
• Wrap poles together at the top using twine or string to form the teepee.
• Time to plant the beans. Place two bean seeds at the base of each pole. Firm gently into the soil 1 inch deep. Water gently; keep moist until shoots appear. When the first leaves appear, pluck out the weakest seedling, leaving seedling one per pole.
• Now the fun part for the kids. Beans are climbers. They naturally will curl around poles as they climb. To increase growing space for the plants, tie strings parallel to the ground beginning at about 8 inches above ground level. Encircle the teepee with one line, then others about 12-inch spacings up the teepee.
• Keep soil moist throughout the growing season.
• Guide stems daily up and around the strings and poles.
• Look for a harvest of pods in about two months. They will continue to produce until the kids go back to school.
• Enjoy fresh beans all summer!
Ellen Peffley Harp, a retired professor of horticulture at Texas Tech University, writes about gardening for several Texas newspapers.
