I grow mine on farm fencing or cattle panel. Both are 4' high. I line the north side of the garden with the fencing. They'll find their way along the 4' high fencing.

Have your friends come and help, seein' as how they'll be getting the benefit of your graciousness. (I'da volunteered to come and help pick,but...that's me.)

This year, I used a 6' trellis and planted dozens. It really does take a long time to pick the beans because they hide. I can look over the same spot 30 times and never see the bean, but move over a foot and there it is. Luckily I love beans and think the search is kinda fun--reminds me of easter egg hunting.

Next year, I plan to try a bean arbor using PVC pipe and some sort of wide fencing mesh. I was thinking it might be fun if I could walk under the vine, and the beans would hang down and be found easier. This is all theory for me as I haven't tried it yet. With my luck, they'll probably all rest on top and I'll have to get the ladder out to get them down.

forpityssake, I also use 4 ft wire panel for the pole bean. But being a smart ax I thought I was, I raised the top railing of the trellis to 6-7 feet and added twine from the wire panel to the top. I've learnt my lesson. Next year, back to the 4ft panel for me, or maybe 5 ft. And nah, I can't picture my friends picking beans every day. They may not enjoy the work as much as I do.

loribee, the bean arbor is actually a great idea. I can't picture your design yet but it makes sense.

Right now, I'm picking standing on a stool anyways. I would pick a handful, step down, drop them into the bucket on the ground, get up on the stool, and repeat. I too always miss a few in the bean forest until they're too big for fresh eating.

I know there must be more efficient ways. People who grow more beans can't possibly do this every day. They'll have no time left to feed the kids (or dogs and cat) if they work as slowly as me.

I pinch them off below the stem. Fastest way.

The way apple pickers do it would work for pole beans - a sack hung around your neck by a strap.

bluebirdie - Here's a simple way to construct a wire trellis for the beans to grow on using T-Posts and Field Fencing. It's only 5 foot tall and it would be easy to reach the beans. I use my fencing (below) for tomatoes - beans - peas - etc.

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loribee and bluebirdie:

Telling you to grow the beans lower won't help you for this year.
You need an apron, pins and a stepstool.

Take the apron and fold the bottom end up. Pin along the two outside edges and put a couple of pins in the center so it doesn't gape. You now have 2 pockets to pick into from your perch on the step stool.

I have 1 that I have sewn. It comes in handy for picking lots of things in the garden. I also made 1 to hold my clothespins--much easier to reach into a front pocket than a clothespin bag. The germ of this idea came from my MIL. She always wore an apron and used it for everything from holding veggies to wiping a childs eyes.

Oilpainter, great idea! I think I'll sew some pickin aprons to sell at the farmers market next year!
Sandhill- how much did you spend on WOWs!!!!!!!???????>?
Worth it????

I also pinch them off right below the stem, near the top of the bean. It's faster and easier than trying to maneuver with scissors.

nancyjane - To be honest with you I don't recall what I paid for the WOW's as I've had them for years. I don't even recall where I purchased them. As far as being worth it I would say that they are for me. Living where I do our planting times are way different than the rest of the country. I'll start my tomato plants in late December and get them in the ground by late February or the first of March. We can still have a freeze or two then so the WOW's help-out a bunch in keeping the frost from destroying the plants as well as heating the ground. They just give a person a head start on the season. Yes, they're worth it, I have about a hundred of them in boxes. I'll be using them for my hot chili peppers after the first of the new year.

Greg
Southern Nevada

LOL I was thinking the same thing about the WOW's And they're a lot bigger than I thought they would be. Your photo would do a much better job selling the things than the ones I see on the Internet or in catalogs.

Love the idea about the picking apron. NancyJane, what Farmer's Market do you usually attend? (If you don't mind my asking). I'd love to drop by and say hi next summer. I'd buy one for sure.

The apron is a good idea - anything to keep both hands free for picking.

oilpainter, I love you and your MIL's idea of using a pinned apron. But I only managed to find an clean old short. I borrowed your idea, sewed off the short bottom, added an over the shoulder belt, and used it today. Boy, was it a life saver. I was able to pick 2 lbs today in just 10 min (yesterday I spent 20 min to pick only 1 pound). Armed with oilpainter's secret weapon, I'm thinking of growing a little more beans next year so i can freeze some. Love them beans!

sandhill_farmer, wow on the WOWs! That's impressive! My trellis is similar to yours, but at a much smaller scale and a few feet too tall. I am definitely going lower next year. But somehow my trellis looks completely adhoc, while yours look really neat. Now I'm really embarrassed of my garden!

ltilton and vikingkirken, when you guys said to pinch them off below the stem, did you mean to break the beans off without the stem? Will the cut off point darken after storing? I like the idea of picking with one hand. But because I give them to friends who may not use them right away, I need to make sure the beans will stay fresh for a few days after picking.

Thanks for all the great ideas. I think they'll not only help me with beans, they will be great for other harvest too!

Picking apron! On my list for next year, FOR SURE! What a wonderful idea! I make full length "cooks" aprons (strap around neck, bib, straps around waist, "skirt") for wedding gifts. I'm thinking I might like that with a double deep front, just turned up with a seam in the middle for stability. Then just finish off all the raw edges with quilt binding. What do you think, oilpainter? Is your apron one that just goes around your waist? Do you think one style would be better than the other?

bluebirdie - yes, just below the stem. I never have any problems with the beans, doing this. It also saves time in prep when cooking them, you don't have to remove the stems then.

ltilton, you're right. I remove the stem before cooking anyways. This will help especially this year if I can harvest with one arm as my other shoulder tires easily now. I tried a few this morning and broke them into half. Guess this will take a little practice :-)

Now if only someone knows of any way to help find these beans in the bean forest! I need to find them in time coz I don't know how to cook those overgrown old bean.

Yes donnabaskets I think a full length apron would be better. Mine are just the waist kind and I find sometimes they sag on my waist, with the weight. I have a few so I can wash them and still have one to use.

I use a cloth/canvas nail apron. :) Usually free at lumber yards.

I keep telling myself I'm going to plant yellow wax beans just so I can find them. It works with yellow zucchini.

Will yellow wax beans as tasteful, tender, and productive as the more common greens pole such as Blue Lake? I tried the purple italian ones this year, but somehow alphids love them so they went to the compost real early (not one alphid on the blue lake). If there's any variety of yellow beans that meet these criteria, I'm going to grow some next year too!

No lumber yeards around here. I guess I'll stick to my adhoc version of the oilpainter bag.

Well, that's why I always end up planting green beans, varieties I know how they'll taste. But I should try it.

Hi there.

I've gardened on and off for years but..............

If I called someone and asked if I could buy WOW's, would they know what I was asking for? What's a WOW ? =:)

They're called "Wall Of Water".

Here is a link that might be useful: my blog

"Walls of Water"

BTW, Loribee. I go to the SR farmers market, but don't sell there. Actually I also will go to the RP and Cotati ones if they're convenient. They are actually closer than the SR one, and held during the week. Nancy

I use a wire cutter to cut stems of beans, strawberries, etc. The throw is very short, and the cutter does a great job on stems. You can probably get a cheap one for a few bucks at Home Depot. A small cutter will fit easily into a pocket, and won't easily injure you. It's perfect. For thick stems, like squash or eggplant, a small hedge pruner is good.

Here is a link that might be useful: wire cutter