Well, I sort of did this year. I also had a fair amount left over from fencing, so when I made my bean trellis this summer, I used it as the top strand from which ran the verticals (twine). It did stretch and sag, but no worse than twine, which I've had actually break under the weight of the beans. The beans twined around it the same as any support. It is a bit harder to knot, but I think it could be wound on a peg just as well as string for tightening purposes. I didn't use it as the whole trellis because I like to just chop my vines free at the bottom and top and toss the bulk of the trellis onto the compost heap. Also, I used a bamboo pole in the middle of my trellis and I think if I had gone with all T-posts I could have put more tension on the wire to have less sagging. The bamboo broke during the hurricane what with the weight of fully mature bean vines being flung about on it. So I will probably experiment with it again next year. I am assuming that we are both talking about the braided stuff, not the high-tensile wire, right? Well, that's what I have anyway. Hope this helps!

Cheers!

Sunni

"I am assuming that we are both talking about the braided stuff, "

No it's not braided, just small wire, probably 16 or 18 gauge, the tag was rotted off and I haven't measured it with my calipers yet.

I know it would handle the weight, but I would probably get cut up picking beans!:)

I used aluminum electric fence wire for beans last year. Worked fine for me. I used a strand every 12" high and spaced tomato stakes every 6 feet apart. I did have problems with the sagging once my half runners reached about 6ft. + high. I fixed that by anchoring a steel rod at each end of my rows and tying off each end stake down to the rod and tight lining it. After that i had no problems. Also removing the spent vines were a piece of cake compared to string or fencing. The old vines slip right off.

I use electric fence wire for the top and bottom strands of my bean trellis. I start with 8 ft T-posts on roughly 25 ft centers and run a wire 1 foot above the ground and another at the top of the posts. I put in a mobile home screw in anchor at each end and tie the top wire off to the anchors. Then I run zigzags of hay baling twine from the top to the bottom. It is a very economical and easy to put up way of supporting beans.

DarJones

I've used it and installed turnbuckles so I can tighten it.

Turnbuckles! That's the name of those things! I was thinking yesterday that I wanted to try them next year, but couldn't think of the name. And "little screw thingies that you can tighten both ways like the thing on the screen door to help keep it from sagging" just seemed too confusing to write. Thanks, Shebear.

Now I have to go look up what a mobile home anchor looks like, 'cause Dar's setup sounds a lot like where mine has been heading. Glad you asked your question Wertach, it's helped me plan my next year's garden and I wasn't even thinking about it yet! ;)

DarJones, did you tie the hay baling twine at every loop or just wrap? I have plenty of 6' T-posts, I'm thinking of putting them 10' apart. I know the beans will outgrow the height,but I'm a penny pincher.

Wertach, I stretch the wire from one end of the row to the other and tie it off to the top of the end posts. Then I take short pieces of wire about 16 inches long and double loop them to tie the main wire to the posts in between the ends. Then I put in end anchors and run a short wire about 6 feet long from the anchor up to the top of the post. Once the top wire is in and the anchors are holding the tension, I install the bottom wire by stretching it from end post to end post and similarly tying it with short wires to the middle posts. The bottom wire should be about 12 to 16 inches above the ground so you can hoe beneath it. When both top and bottom wires are in place, I then run a coil of hay twine from top to bottom in zigzags so the beans have something to climb. At the end of the season, it is all easily taken down and composted, the wires are stored for next year, and the posts are removed so I can cultivate the soil.

There is a long structural strength reason why I do it exactly this way as compared to some other ways you can think up. I've considered all the alternatives and decided this is the one that gives the greatest strength. My bean trellises have withstood 100 mph winds with no problems.

I strongly (pun intended) recommend using 8 ft T-posts. Any pole bean worth its name will outgrow a 6 ft post. You could use 6 ft posts with half runners.

DarJones

I have a spool of electrical fence wire. Not sure of the gauge.

I use it single thread for things like beans. I double strand it (and twist it) for heavier things like blackberry vines.

For those who might have concrete remesh wire but not have the extra electric fence wire... Attaching remesh to T-posts also works great. The remesh can fit sit on top of the T post cleat with the post angled slightly and just barely above ground level. (keeps the remesh wire from rusting in the soil.) Only issue besides first having the remesh is that an extension might be needed as the remesh trellis would only be 5 ft tall. If so, extensions can be wired to the remesh using smaller posts placed at intervals to brace the extension. I use a 7 ft tall trellis with 5 ft tall base (as remesh), and 3 ft extension as 2X4 fence wire with 1 ft overlapping the remeash.