One of the things I miss most about being a kid was being small in what seemed like secret little spaces. A funky closet, a strange attic, or a fort built from natural materials like sticks and leaves. It felt awesome being hidden away in a magical space like that. When I saw this magical bean pole tent on the internet, it makes me wish we’d grown something like that when I was young. Not only would I have a cool place to hide, but we’d get fresh beans too!
More parents are picking up on this really simple and fun DIY activity that entertains, and feeds, the whole family. Want something fun to do for the kids? Give this a try.
How to grow a bean pole tent for your kids
There are a few different ways you can grow a bean pole tent in your garden. It really is as simple as creating a teepee like structure and allowing the beans to grow up and around each of the foundational posts. For that type of model, all you need is a few dowels and some twine to rope them together at the top. Here’s one great example:
My personal favorite has got to be this next one though. The gardener who put it together wrapped the teepee structure with chicken wire, which creates a lot more area for the bean vines to grow up. For this one, you’ll want to use twine to hold the tip bits together and probably a bit of baling wire to help make sure that the chicken wire stays properly fixed in place.
One instagrammer pretty much said to heck with anything fancy and used sticks, branches, and other natural materials to put together their bean tent. It’s a perfect size for their youngster, too! That’s gonna be a really awesome place to hide from your parents when they try to make you eat your beans. No one would think to look there!
Last on our list is this adult-sized bean tent! I lamented about not being small anymore, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t build a bean pole tent for myself! This one definitely looks large enough for me to lay down a little blanket and catch and afternoon snooze. Sounds delightful!
However you decide to do it, be sure to pick a sunny spot with nice, fertile, well draining soil. Your beans will appreciate the proper growing conditions. I mean, what’s a magical bean pole tent without the beans? Just…a pole tent? No thank you!
