Runner bean frame

Go green this summer and grow your own runner beans on this easy-to-build bean frame.

You will need: 14 runner beans (or seven seedlings), 50mm x 50mm treated timber (approx. 5.6m), 75mm exterior screws, coarse sandpaper, drill with 9.5mm drill bit, exterior PVA glue, galvanised staples, green sisal rope 4.8mm x 15m (available from Mitre 10 Mega), hammer, paint stirrer, paintbrush, pencil, Resene Lumbersider tinted to Resene Citron, Resene Quick Dry, saw, scissors, screwdriver, tape measure.

Top tip: When your runner beans reach the top of the frame, pinch out the tops to prevent them growing any higher.

To get the look: Mark painted the background shed with Resene Lumbersider tinted to Resene Vermont.

Here's another idea: Here’s another idea Space the sisal further apart and use the frame to support tomato plants.

Step one
Measure and mark two 1800mm lengths and two 1000mm lengths of 50mm x 50mm timber.

Step two
Use the back of the saw and a pencil to rule perpendicular cutting lines.

Step three
Using the pencil lines as a guide, cut the 50mm x 50mm timber to size, as shown.

Step four
Smooth any rough edges with sandpaper.

Step five
Take the two 1000mm lengths of timber and make seven marks along the length of each, 150mm apart, beginning 50mm from one end.

Step six
Drill 9.5mm holes at each of these marks.

Step seven
Fix the 1000mm and 1800mm lengths of 50mm x 50mm timber together to form a rectangular frame. Fix at each corner with PVA glue and 75mm screws, drilling pilot holes first. Allow glue to dry.

Step eight
Carefully stir the Resene Quick Dry.

Step nine
Apply one coat of Resene Quick Dry to the bean frame and allow to dry.

Step ten
Carefully stir the Resene Lumbersider tinted to Resene Citron.

Step eleven
Apply two coats of Resene Lumbersider tinted to Resene Citron to the bean frame, allowing two hours for each coat to dry.

Step twelve
Fix the bean frame to a wooden shed wall or fence using 75mm screws, drilling pilot holes first.

Step thirteen
Tie a knot in one end of the sisal and thread it up and down through the holes in the top and bottom rails of the bean frame, ensuring the sisal is kept taut. Tie off the end and fix with a galvanised staple. Cut off any excess sisal with scissors.

Step fourteen
Enrich the soil along the bottom edge of the bean frame with well-rotted compost and plant two runner beans at the base of each string (this is in case one bean fails to germinate).

Step fifteen
When the plants have germinated and one of them has reached a height of approximately 150mm, remove the weaker of the two seedlings

Finished project

Words & photos Mark Rayner

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