Bean Ladder

After reading a book on “vertical gardening” I decided to add some of their ideas to my repertoire.

Having a bad habit of salvaging way too much stuff and keeping it all way too long, I actually put this all together for zero cost.

And with “a thing” about an idea I believe I picked up in Geology class called “the appearance of age”, it conforms to too many of my other projects in that it looks much older than it really is.

Having decided ahead of time to make an Instructable, I remembered to take photos along the way. Most of the way.

Disclaimer: I will be intentionally sparce on details. And I’ll tell you at the end what I would not do again, and what I may still add. This is intentionally imprecise; legs are different lengths, most dimensions “close”. It’s going in the garden, and mine is neither flat nor level, or solid. Legs may end up being buried a bit.

Feel free to use your own bill of materials, dimensions, details, etc.

Materials: old boards… “barnwood”… from a neighbor’s fence, and a deck…

1” x 2” x 5’s 1” x 3” x 5’s and a 1” x 6” x 6’

Tools:

• screwgun (or cordless drill with Philips bit)
• circular saw
• square(s)
• clamps
• measuring tape

the picture includes a hammer, prybar, vicegrips to remove screws and nails from the used lumber.

I found a pair of hinges that I'd salvaged from something. i screwed them to the ends of the two longest 2" x 4"s, squaring them up with both "legs" so as to fold properly.

After attaching both, I folded them "closed".

Unfortunately, i forgot to take pictures of attaching the crosspieces.

As you see in the final pictures, they are irregular in width and length. I spaced them evenly, based on the straightest side of the board, and a bit closer at the bottom. The bottom crosspiece and the next to the top were shorter, so I spaced the verticals by the length of those. The horizontals extend beyond the verticals to make it look a bit more rustic and minimize the appearance of any one being too short. I put those 5' apart and the first one about 1' from the top.

The 1" x 6" board i had for the top was split, so I used the circular saw to rip it to a more even width. I used the larger, 4" piece as a header (for appearance) and the remainder to keep the back legs more solid. I happened to have 4 narrower boards about 3" to 4" wide so I spaced them on a 9" spacing at the top, 8" on the bottom.

This project was titled "Bean Ladder", but it is much more likely to support Butternut Squash next year.

The goal was to use what I had to make something I could use. I knew i had 4 8'-ish 2" x 4"s... Knew I had a stack of privacy fence "slats" and was going to rip them in thirds. In the end I didn't need to. I wanted a way to grow vertically, then fold the trellis and store it for the winter.

LESSONS:

• It is HUGE 7'-7" tall, 5"-10" wide. it's too big! the next one(s) will be smaller. 6' x 4' ?
• It may or may not get "steps" added to the back.
• It may get planter boxes added to the front, back or both. here in Kansas the wind is an issue and more weight might help it resist the urge to fall over.
• I may add a brace between the front and back legs to keep them from moving. Not sure just yet how far apart to set them to.
• DO NOT plan this project for the middle of a week of "weather alert days" when you've broken heat records three days in a row, one going back nearly a century!

THOUGHTS:

• The back legs are shorter than the front ones. I could have made them the same length, but thought this would lean it back just a bit. "design choice"...
• As a matter of fact, they don't NEED to be hinged at the top. the front could extend beyond the back. I chose this.
• I've offered to build more for a couple other gardeners in my family. they will be smaller.
• We'll see how my plants do on it, but I should probably have researched my spacing between horizontals.
• I have another trellis that I grow cherry tomatoes on. It's permanent and goes N to S. debating whether to orient this one that direction or E to W facing S.
• Feel free to adjust anything or everything on this. My hope is to spark a bit of creativity.
• Size... height, width and lumber sizes. (Considered making it from landscape timbers. Glad I didn't)
• Materials
• salvage
• redwood or cedar
• pine... whatever... treated or not. just know untreated will offer the option of replacing it sooner.
• reinforcing mesh... heavy wire. with or without a wood frame.
• You could make this "three-legged" instead of 4. I've thought of at least two ways.

Last fall I found that the "ladder" was too big and unwieldy. one of the legs broke and required a "splint".

I saved Castor Bean and Sunflower stalks over the winter and made "teepees" for my pole beans. I had zip-ties, so, I used those. buried one of the legs 6-8" in the ground. Next time I'll bury all of them. will probably trim them next time. one is 10-11' tall !

Last picture is my squash vines heading for the top. Chose to orient it N-S, against the fence and my compost pile. Planted lettuce underneath, for shade, but it didn't seem to germinate. Maybe next time.