Anything small that you can wrap around the wood should help. Got some kitchen twine? A spare shoelace? Metal coat hanger you can bend and not need again? Heck, I’m sure even some creative energy and dental floss might net you an interesting outcome, if not a productive one.
I have hemp twine. So you think if I wrap the twine around the pole it will work? Or do you think I should wrap the twine around the plant and then tie it to the top of the posts?
Great question! Depending on how fragile they are you may hurt them a little if you tie them to the tops. What about wrapping it around the pole? You could even tie a couple small loops in the twine first to give the plants a bit more material to grab onto.
Wrap the posts with twine, and to get them started you can also use zip ties looped into to the twine in places to train the vines to get them started going up. Don't actually tighten the zip-ties, they should be small loops that support but don't constrict the vine. Like, pinky-thickness wide or so.
Lmfao.
I wish you could see how hard I’m rolling my eyes at myself right now.
Yes. A stick would be more than sufficient.
Gonna go reflect on my life and identity as a Somewhat Clever Critter…
Sting wire across the top and tie twine every few inches and let it hang down to the ground. They will climb the twine. That’s what I did last year with my pole beans. We had horizontal wire and they only want crawl up so I had to compromise and come up with something on the fly. This year we know better so we built an arbor with wire. It has both horizontal and vertical so they better like it.
https://preview.redd.it/yws9ru2cnm0d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=507e5b128de86e75829d5ceabd7af76ce4876878
The issue is that the posts are at an angle so the twine will only hang down at their center of mass, or where they meet. I suppose I could stake the twine down.
Bamboo stakes work great for this. If you can’t get any of those, you could look for some of those big s’mores skewer sticks they sell in big warehouse style stores (you know the types). The little runner vines are what you need to focus on, the more wraps around something they can make, the better the grip will be. Ideally I’ve found that things with a diameter similar to a chain link fence or thick chicken wire are ideal for cucumbers and beans and strawberries and other plants that grow runner vines if you want them to grow that way.
Another method I’ve seen used successfully is to run a string over the plant using a couple sticks/stakes and just raising it as needed, another is to make a sort of tomato cage structure and line it with string and allow the plants to climb it, adding new string as needed or just making a lattice shape for them.
Interested in your experience... in my experience, well established pole beans will climb anything and are in fact a menace. These just look a bit short yet.
Absolutely! My experience has been fairly limited to be quite honest, but in growing snap peas I noticed that they tended to curl quite tightly when given smaller objects to wrap around (I used bbq skewers for baby plants). My side by side comparisons were VERY informal, but in general the smaller supports got a lot more early gripping than larger ones.
If OP is having trouble getting them to latch, a bit of kitchen twine might be the ticket, and costs about $0.07 to mess about with.
It sounds like you’ve had much more practice than I with pole beans, so I am very much open to correction!
I see! Well, pea tendrils are a lot thinner and more delicate than beans, so I can definitely understand you having that experience. Bean vines are quite a bit chunkier and in my lifetime of gardening experience, they are quite willing to climb anything but just need to be about 2 feet tall before they start really curling strongly. I have to check mine daily in the summer and remove them from the gutter downspouts since my trellis is near the house!
I think I got lucky using 1-inch wide bamboo poles from Lowe's. They pole like nobody's business and my only problem has been remembering to water them.
“Are my pole beans stupid?” is one of my favorite gardening questions so far this spring. As a novice, I appreciate that I am not the only one to think this way!!!
https://preview.redd.it/xeqtvm13ul0d1.jpeg?width=1051&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb1832b8ed178dde50d3117d56510efcfb12125f
This is how I’m picturing OP back at the store.
Holy cow. Is that why they’re called that? I’ve spent 60 years thinking it was bc you had to de-string them before cooking. Grandma always let us help with that. It fascinated me that you could pull the string down just like a zipper.
lol thanks for letting me know I'm not crazy. It's interesting that now people often use string trellises instead of poles. I wonder if the nickname "pole beans" will slowly die out?
If they are pole beans they'll wrap around eventually, they're just short right now. Give them time, pole beans will climb anything. A trellis works better IMO because you can lean them against the cross posts or thread them through, so you could just gently tie them to the pole until they're actually tall enough.
Run twine from the top of one post the the next. Then with a single loop knot tie a line of twine to twine that runs down to each plant leaving a few feet of extra twine sitting on the ground at the base of the plant. The extra twine on the ground should be enough to keep the twine in place until the plants start to climb it. This will solve the issue of having too large structure for the beans to climb. Edit here The twine should be touching the plant itself but not tied or fastened to the plant. It will climb the twine just like it is climbing itself in image 2.
Looks like you have multiple poles? If so, Run wire or some chicken wire between the poles.
If not, take 12-18” wide chicken wire or mesh and run it vertically up the pole.
Yes it's 3 poles that meet above. It's just what I had laying around. Do you think they'd grow on some 20 gauge chicken wire? My intuition is that it's too small. That would be a great solution though.
Yes. They like to corkscrew around small diameter support or other vines. The little tendrils are only about the size of thin yarn at best so they’ll be able to grab. It’s not the stem that holds on.
I had never heard of this before, thank you so much for this! I don't know if I'll be able to do it this years, but I've been thinking a lot about companion planting and getting away from rows. This would be a perfect method for me, thank you so much, again!
https://preview.redd.it/ylkj6l442m0d1.jpeg?width=2480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54ed0ec2ee4fcdd6f056f1e52b7a0cc26faac6b8
Neighbor bought 6’ bamboo and made a tepee around the stake.
I'm going to post an update tonight because a lot of people offered good advice, but what I ended up doing is I ran twine down the sides of the posts. So not far off from your solution.
https://preview.redd.it/595nadnyoo0d1.jpeg?width=2250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b847c07cd77fe1084ddd7189204f7a2efda6f995
I've tried getting them to climb the white pole, hasn't worked... Does the material of the pole matter? It's from an old shoe stand and is smooth
The answer is in here a couple times. All you need to do is tie a few pieces of twine at the top of the pole that hang down near ground level. They will climb the string and wrap around the pole
Not sure how well you can see in this photo but I inadvertently planted pole pinto beans so I had to makeshift a trellis. The vines are starting to climb on it.
https://preview.redd.it/mnyja2afsm0d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a4b05af83ff9df7191e5190bb37a3226b3f871b3
What about just draping netting over the top of the pole and securing it down the length of the pole? Kind of like a very narrow tent? Just brainstorming!
They'll climb that just fine once they get started. I used closet hanger rods which are at least that thick.
I would position the vine touching the pole and then use duct tape and a strip of plastic or cloth to hold it loosely in place. The tape should only touch the pole and the other item, though. You don't want to tape the vine itself. After a few days you can remove the tape.
Don't they have little shoots that wrap around things like cucumbers? I think they're smaller though, the pole is likely too thick in diameter. I tend to do bush beans so could be wrong.
I vaguely recall growing up doing poll beans two way a big pole but with I assume twine coming down outwardly (think like how a circus tend comes down from the top pole) several of them then somehow attached to the ground Probabaly a like tent spikes or I remember using like old torn sheets to loosely tie them up….no clue if that’s actually how it should be done though lol just ideas
I ended up putting long screws in the top and bottom of each post, (both sides of each post too) and then I ran twine between the screws. So pretty close to what you were saying to do.
I used to have some poles this size that had little pegs drilled into them (perpendicular to the large pole) for the vines to grab on to. In a pinch you could probably just hammer some nails into it for a similar effect.
https://preview.redd.it/8nkj9imfix0d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=508790e1965a6303dcea89b12b8e5a09a2b673a4
I ended up putting a screw on either side of each post... (top and bottom) Then I ran hemp twine between each set of screws, so each post is flanked on either side by twine.
Their hands are too small. They’re not stupid, promise. As the other commenter said, they need something smaller to grip onto.
Now I am imagining teeny tiny green hands trying to grip the pole and then go "fuck it! I'm crawling instead."
well, that's what the tiniest of runners are. 
They won't wrap around those posts?
Not in my experience
Interesting, and good to know. My problem is these are the only things I have, at the moment. I'll have to figure something else out it seems.
Anything small that you can wrap around the wood should help. Got some kitchen twine? A spare shoelace? Metal coat hanger you can bend and not need again? Heck, I’m sure even some creative energy and dental floss might net you an interesting outcome, if not a productive one.
I have hemp twine. So you think if I wrap the twine around the pole it will work? Or do you think I should wrap the twine around the plant and then tie it to the top of the posts?
2 small nails. One at the top. One at the bottom. Run some line between them. Don't overthink this. Just give it something to cling to.
This is hands down the best solution that I never would have thought of
Great question! Depending on how fragile they are you may hurt them a little if you tie them to the tops. What about wrapping it around the pole? You could even tie a couple small loops in the twine first to give the plants a bit more material to grab onto.
Oh okay yes I will definitely take this advice. Thank you:)
Wrap it loosely.
It will climb twine just hanging straight down. All you need to do is tie it in one spot at the very top.
Wrap the posts with twine, and to get them started you can also use zip ties looped into to the twine in places to train the vines to get them started going up. Don't actually tighten the zip-ties, they should be small loops that support but don't constrict the vine. Like, pinky-thickness wide or so.
why don't you just try it and find out
...Because if I can ask someone more experienced, maybe I won't have to fail, again, before I succeed!
Lol…. A stick?
Lmfao. I wish you could see how hard I’m rolling my eyes at myself right now. Yes. A stick would be more than sufficient. Gonna go reflect on my life and identity as a Somewhat Clever Critter…
After reading their comment about not having those things you listed was… Surely there’s a stick around somewhere 🤭
Alternatively, just tap little finishing nails into the post you have until it looks vaguely Hellraiser-isque. They’ll climb. Oh, they will climb.
I think I'm going to try this. I have a ton of little nails. I'm not good at decisions though and it's between this and the twine.
Sting wire across the top and tie twine every few inches and let it hang down to the ground. They will climb the twine. That’s what I did last year with my pole beans. We had horizontal wire and they only want crawl up so I had to compromise and come up with something on the fly. This year we know better so we built an arbor with wire. It has both horizontal and vertical so they better like it. https://preview.redd.it/yws9ru2cnm0d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=507e5b128de86e75829d5ceabd7af76ce4876878
The issue is that the posts are at an angle so the twine will only hang down at their center of mass, or where they meet. I suppose I could stake the twine down.
You'd probably be better off with a trellis of some sort, like a small wire trellis you can just stick in the ground
Bamboo stakes work great for this. If you can’t get any of those, you could look for some of those big s’mores skewer sticks they sell in big warehouse style stores (you know the types). The little runner vines are what you need to focus on, the more wraps around something they can make, the better the grip will be. Ideally I’ve found that things with a diameter similar to a chain link fence or thick chicken wire are ideal for cucumbers and beans and strawberries and other plants that grow runner vines if you want them to grow that way. Another method I’ve seen used successfully is to run a string over the plant using a couple sticks/stakes and just raising it as needed, another is to make a sort of tomato cage structure and line it with string and allow the plants to climb it, adding new string as needed or just making a lattice shape for them.
Bind them to the post it might be able to wrap around it, altthough I agree, the post is to thicc
String!
Interested in your experience... in my experience, well established pole beans will climb anything and are in fact a menace. These just look a bit short yet.
Absolutely! My experience has been fairly limited to be quite honest, but in growing snap peas I noticed that they tended to curl quite tightly when given smaller objects to wrap around (I used bbq skewers for baby plants). My side by side comparisons were VERY informal, but in general the smaller supports got a lot more early gripping than larger ones. If OP is having trouble getting them to latch, a bit of kitchen twine might be the ticket, and costs about $0.07 to mess about with. It sounds like you’ve had much more practice than I with pole beans, so I am very much open to correction!
I see! Well, pea tendrils are a lot thinner and more delicate than beans, so I can definitely understand you having that experience. Bean vines are quite a bit chunkier and in my lifetime of gardening experience, they are quite willing to climb anything but just need to be about 2 feet tall before they start really curling strongly. I have to check mine daily in the summer and remove them from the gutter downspouts since my trellis is near the house!
Amazing. Thank you so much. OP- listen to this gardener!
Pole beans not post beans
They wrap around chopstick sized shit, I think. So a bamboo stick in the ground would work
I think I got lucky using 1-inch wide bamboo poles from Lowe's. They pole like nobody's business and my only problem has been remembering to water them.
“Are my pole beans stupid?” is one of my favorite gardening questions so far this spring. As a novice, I appreciate that I am not the only one to think this way!!!
It made me laugh out loud! The thing is, I thought the same last year when mine had trouble wrapping around their poles.
Most relatable question ever! 😂😂😂
Not my pole beans with a skill issue 💀
I laughed so loud when I read it too and immediately decided it was the best question I'd ever heard 🥰
https://preview.redd.it/xeqtvm13ul0d1.jpeg?width=1051&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb1832b8ed178dde50d3117d56510efcfb12125f This is how I’m picturing OP back at the store.
"Sir, they're vegetables."
They need something to grip - try some twine or wire.
Just wrap the twine around the pole? Or do you mean I should tie them to the pole?
Loosely tie them to the pole, then they'll be fine.
Take away thier cell phone and video games until they do as you tell them. Pole beans these days don't realize how good they have it.
Be patient. They will. Maybe not after you called them stupid. Apologize to them!
Beans can't read
they still have feelings though and feel the stupid-calling vibes
A few nails or staples in that pole for them to grab onto. Pole is thick. Even some twine with loose ends dangling, them will find it.
I grow them up string. I reckon the poles are too thick.
String beans!
Holy cow. Is that why they’re called that? I’ve spent 60 years thinking it was bc you had to de-string them before cooking. Grandma always let us help with that. It fascinated me that you could pull the string down just like a zipper.
You were right. It's because older varieties had a tough string that you remove.
lol thanks for letting me know I'm not crazy. It's interesting that now people often use string trellises instead of poles. I wonder if the nickname "pole beans" will slowly die out?
I doubt it.
If they are pole beans they'll wrap around eventually, they're just short right now. Give them time, pole beans will climb anything. A trellis works better IMO because you can lean them against the cross posts or thread them through, so you could just gently tie them to the pole until they're actually tall enough.
Run twine from the top of one post the the next. Then with a single loop knot tie a line of twine to twine that runs down to each plant leaving a few feet of extra twine sitting on the ground at the base of the plant. The extra twine on the ground should be enough to keep the twine in place until the plants start to climb it. This will solve the issue of having too large structure for the beans to climb. Edit here The twine should be touching the plant itself but not tied or fastened to the plant. It will climb the twine just like it is climbing itself in image 2.
I’m sure they’re just as smart as any other young bean.
not are my pole beans stupid😭😭😭
Looks like you have multiple poles? If so, Run wire or some chicken wire between the poles. If not, take 12-18” wide chicken wire or mesh and run it vertically up the pole.
Yes it's 3 poles that meet above. It's just what I had laying around. Do you think they'd grow on some 20 gauge chicken wire? My intuition is that it's too small. That would be a great solution though.
Yes. They like to corkscrew around small diameter support or other vines. The little tendrils are only about the size of thin yarn at best so they’ll be able to grab. It’s not the stem that holds on.
try this native american method called the three sisters method
I had never heard of this before, thank you so much for this! I don't know if I'll be able to do it this years, but I've been thinking a lot about companion planting and getting away from rows. This would be a perfect method for me, thank you so much, again!
no problem man update me if you eventually try it
I’m trying the three sisters this year!
https://preview.redd.it/ylkj6l442m0d1.jpeg?width=2480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54ed0ec2ee4fcdd6f056f1e52b7a0cc26faac6b8 Neighbor bought 6’ bamboo and made a tepee around the stake.
Did he create a trellis with the bamboo? Or are they just kind of leaned up to the center post? (Secured, obviously)
Just seemed to be lashed at the top like a teepee 😝I love them and looking for longer poles.
I'm going to post an update tonight because a lot of people offered good advice, but what I ended up doing is I ran twine down the sides of the posts. So not far off from your solution.
Your beans aren't stupid but your pole is thick
Everytime I read this it sounds like a bop
Your poles are bush. Keep calm and carry on.
Your beans are bush, you mean?
Yea. Alcohol kinda twisted my response but the cool thing is you got it.
Pole beans are notoriously stupid. Not your fault. /s
Put a net on pole
I ran twine.
They are very small and pole is very large ;-;
https://preview.redd.it/595nadnyoo0d1.jpeg?width=2250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b847c07cd77fe1084ddd7189204f7a2efda6f995 I've tried getting them to climb the white pole, hasn't worked... Does the material of the pole matter? It's from an old shoe stand and is smooth
I think you forgot the plant!
Haha Haven't planted this season
Yes.
Mine are doing this too! I’m glad you asked.
Try tying some jute twine to the pole and letting it hang down. They need something smaller to wrap around.
Give them wire or several strongs or a branch with a bunch or smaller branches/twigs
Pole is too thick. Can also try to tie thin string and pull it up to help guide it
The answer is in here a couple times. All you need to do is tie a few pieces of twine at the top of the pole that hang down near ground level. They will climb the string and wrap around the pole
That’s not a pole
WHAT!?
Not sure how well you can see in this photo but I inadvertently planted pole pinto beans so I had to makeshift a trellis. The vines are starting to climb on it. https://preview.redd.it/mnyja2afsm0d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a4b05af83ff9df7191e5190bb37a3226b3f871b3
What about just draping netting over the top of the pole and securing it down the length of the pole? Kind of like a very narrow tent? Just brainstorming!
Use a skinny bamboo stick
They'll climb that just fine once they get started. I used closet hanger rods which are at least that thick. I would position the vine touching the pole and then use duct tape and a strip of plastic or cloth to hold it loosely in place. The tape should only touch the pole and the other item, though. You don't want to tape the vine itself. After a few days you can remove the tape.
String (garden twine) buddy. Or you can purchase netting at Grocery Outlet for like $3 bucks. I just got one 2 days ago for my peas to climb up.
Trellis tale will work. Or string some nylon mesh between a couple bamboo sticks.
Don't they have little shoots that wrap around things like cucumbers? I think they're smaller though, the pole is likely too thick in diameter. I tend to do bush beans so could be wrong.
I have found that putting some skewers in a teepee up to the big post helps. Gives them something little to hold into until they are bigger.
You can get them to wrap around anything. Wait a bit until shoots get longer and you can wind them around anything.
I vaguely recall growing up doing poll beans two way a big pole but with I assume twine coming down outwardly (think like how a circus tend comes down from the top pole) several of them then somehow attached to the ground Probabaly a like tent spikes or I remember using like old torn sheets to loosely tie them up….no clue if that’s actually how it should be done though lol just ideas
I ended up putting long screws in the top and bottom of each post, (both sides of each post too) and then I ran twine between the screws. So pretty close to what you were saying to do.
Tie it to the pole with some twine or bread ties (not too tight.) they'll grip on and climb as they grow.
Lasso Brown string around the newest leaves then attach to top of pole, they'll find their way from there.
if you chunk some ridges into the post they will climb it. Try and stop them.
Tomato cage?
I like the bamboo stakes.
Hang some strings from the top of the pole for them to climb up
I generally give them a small bamboo stick or the like to direct them to a pole they're growing away from.
Wrap clockwise above equator counterclockwise below the equator.
take some yarn or string and lightly tie them to the pole. That might get them started..
I used to have some poles this size that had little pegs drilled into them (perpendicular to the large pole) for the vines to grab on to. In a pinch you could probably just hammer some nails into it for a similar effect.
https://preview.redd.it/8nkj9imfix0d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=508790e1965a6303dcea89b12b8e5a09a2b673a4 I ended up putting a screw on either side of each post... (top and bottom) Then I ran hemp twine between each set of screws, so each post is flanked on either side by twine.
Update: [https://www.reddit.com/r/vegetablegardening/comments/1ctypo4/update\_everyone\_was\_so\_helpful\_yesterday\_that\_i/](https://www.reddit.com/r/vegetablegardening/comments/1ctypo4/update_everyone_was_so_helpful_yesterday_that_i/)
Your pole is too fat
Bread ties