Do they go together? I say so. Mostly because I couldn't decide between a for-the-table beanpole teepee and the pretty moonflower tent. Needless to say, I was inspired by Sharon Lovejoy and her excellent Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots book. We have moonflowers and morning glories planted around the front porch, and decided on morning glories and beans for the teepee. A funny mix, but there it is.
Harry (and Maia) dug holes in the front lawn first, partly because our soil is red clay and I wanted to mix it with better garden soil and partly because the ground was so hard I couldn't push the poles in.
We used six foot bamboo poles. I was hoping for eight foot, but couldn't find any at the store. Six foot poles turn out to make the perfect size teepee for an almost-three-year-old munchkin (or two), though. We wrapped the whole thing with garden twine, leaving a generous opening for the door.
Then Maia planted the beans. I mixed them with bean and pea inoculant first, which helps them fix nitrogen in the soil (I think). These are Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans, left over from last summer. They didn't do so great last year, and I'm hoping it's just because I didn't use the inoculant. I'm crossing my fingers for a teepee covered with beans and morning glories.
And here's the finished teepee. We'll try for another photo in a month or two when the teepee is covered (hopefully) with growing things...
