How to Plant a Pole Bean Clubhouse

Do you wish your children would go outside and get some fresh air? Do you want them to stop playing video and computer games all day? Would you like your children to experience and enjoy nature? Planting a pole bean clubhouse will accomplish all that, and probably more. Making a pole bean playhouse for your children will interest and involve them in gardening; it will keep your kids happily nearby while you are outside working on the yard, the garden. And a pole bean club house just might get your kids to eat healthily.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bean seeds
• Soil
• Stakes
• Water

1. Choose the location to plant the pole bean clubhouse. Beans need lots of sun, so pick a spot that gets full sun. (Don’t worry. Your children will be well-screened inside their shady clubhouse.) Find a well-drained site as beans loathe soggy soil.

2. Measure a 7-foot diameter circle. Use a stake and 3.5-foot string to get a perfect 7-foot circle. Mark this with lime, white powder, or degradable paint.

3. Prepare the soil for your site. If you are using a corner of your existing garden, little if any prep work will be necessary. If you are going to convert lawn for this purpose, you will have to eliminate the grass. One method is to take up the sod, digging down about 1.5 inches, and shaking and beating the good soil out from the roots. Discard or compost the grass. Remove rocks, sticks and other hard objects and work the soil. An alternative method would be to simply place a thick (10 sheets or so ) layer of newspaper over the area. The grass and weeds won’t be able to grow up through this, and will die. Wet the layer down thoroughly so it stays in place while you work.

4. Spread 6 inches of good top soil (available in bags from your garden center) over your site. If using the newspaper method, be sure to cover well, especially at the edges.

5. Cut 9 to 12 pieces of bamboo or other pole material, 12 feet in length. This will be ample for a 6 to 6 1/2 foot circle, spacing the poles every 1.5 to 2 feet at the base. Dig holes about 6 inches down and plant the poles securely. Tie the tops of the poles together in teepee fashion. An even easier way to make your clubhouse frame is to use pre-made V-shaped garden trellises. Simple invert the trellises (point of V up), bury bottoms securely and tie the tops together. Be sure to leave an opening for the clubhouse “door!”

6. Plant 4 to 6 bean seeds around each pole. Seeds are available cheaply in the spring at most department and discount stores. Plant the seeds 1.5 inches deep.

7. Encourage the seedlings to wind about the poles by manually wrapping the tendrils around the pole to get them started.

8. Weed around the plants and water sparingly, only 1 inch per week. Beans don’t like overwatering. Water at the base of the plant (not the leaves).

9. Pick and eat beans 10 weeks from planting. You can still plant your clubhouse, even if it is mid-season. Although you probably won’t get a good crop, your kids will still have fun playing inside their secret hideout.

Tips & Warnings

• Encourage your children to do as much of the work of planting and caring for the clubhouse as they are able.
• Create a “picket fence” around the base of the clubhouse by planting a border of a dense, compact flower like dwarf marigolds, or even bush beans.
• For more effective shading, plant a ring of tall sunflowers around the clubhouse.
• Newer varieties of beans have more resistance to viruses.
• For a dramatic effect, plant a variety of purple climbing bean, like Trionfo. Its bright, variegated leaves and purple and green pods are quite attractive. (The beans turn green when cooked.)
• If you want to start seeds indoors, use degradable, plantable peat pots. Beans don’t like their roots disturbed.