The Quickcrop Pea and Bean Frame
The Quickcrop Pea and Bean Frame is a support system designed for growing your own climbing garden peas and beans. Freshly picked home grown peas are one of the most delicious treats in the vegetable garden whether they are grown to be eaten immediately or set aside to be dried and stored. Like many bean varieties they are simple to grow, with a high success rate, and require very little effort to produce a healthy crop. are perfect for any gardener who wants to make the most of the space available in their vegetable plot.
Pea and bean plants are very productive and will need a little help to maintain and support their bushy growth. Over the course of the season they will climb upwards and when carrying pods will become increasingly top heavy. Dwarf varieties will get by with a few canes or twigs for support but larger varieties of peas, climbers and runner beans will require a sturdy structure capable of holding the plant steady up to a height of 2m, often in windy weather.
Peas can be sown outdoors or germinated in pots to be transplanted when the conditions are suitable. They are preferably planted in two drills with supports placed in between. The Quickcrop Pea and Bean Frame is placed over the seed drills to provide support at the base for the seedlings as soon as tendrils appear, preventing them from flopping onto the ground.
Seedlings that have flopped over at this stage will continue to flourish but will never produce a high yield. The tendrils will take hold of the framework, holding the plant securely while winding the growing vines around it. The plants will cling to heavy string, canes, wire or mesh and netting, all of which can be fixed easily to a frame structure. Peas prefer a net or mesh with spacings of 5-10cm, tied or stapled to the frames to provide a strong, taut web. Runner beans and other climbing varieties can be trained up netting but will benefit from the use of heavy wires or canes fixed vertically 15cm apart.
The Quickcrop Pea and Bean Frame is built around an A-frame shape to provide greater stability under a heavy load and proven protection from winds. Manufactured from wide profile construction timber with lateral bracing and fitted with weatherproof stainless steel fixings it is capable of supporting a full crop of peas and beans with the added weight of plant stems and foliage. As the plants grow taller they will naturally grow away from the angled frame, tending towards a more vertical path preventing a tangled mess and making it easier to identify and harvest the pods.
Climbing plants in full flower are a beautiful feature in any vegetable gardens, but providing strong supports for these plants is essential. With the addition of trellis, canes, netting or wires the frame system can be adapted and modified according to your choice of vegetables and your garden. The Quickcrop Pea and Bean Frame is portable and easy to assemble enabling it to be taken apart or moved from one bed to another in keeping with your crop rotation system.
By introducing climbing vegetables into the vegetable plot gardeners can make the best use of the space above the soil. With this purpose built support system you can make efficient use of your beds and garden plot, successfully growing strong, healthy vegetables.