Bean Teepee!

One of the perks of beginning a new life is that you get to do what you want.  More and more, I am motivated by my own likes and desires.  I have always wanted to build a bean teepee so that is what I did today. 

I started with some inexpensive bamboo stakes that I got from the local home store.  I really wanted some longer ones, but 6 ft. stakes were the longest ones that the store had available.

 

Then I gathered some coffee filters and some rocks.

 

 

I chose the three largest terra cotta pots I still had.

 

 

Then, I lined the pots with the coffee filters and added the rocks.  The coffee filters keep the rocks from falling out of the bottom of the pots and the small layer of rocks at the bottom of the pots keeps the plants' roots from getting water logged - at least that's the theory. 

 

 

Then, it was time to pick a spot for the bean teepee.  I decided to use one of the places that I had cannibalized previously for topsoil.  The spot was already cleared so I didn't have to excavate a new spot or fill in the old one (two birds, one stone).  All I had to do was clean up the edges of the circle a little bit. 

 

 

I have heard that newspaper can be used to deter weed growth.  So I gathered some old newspapers.  As you can see, I am not a big sports fan.

 

 

They say that if newspaper ink is soy based it is safe to put around edible plants.  Well, this newspaper uses soy based ink.  The only problem is that the majority of the soy crops in the US are genetically modified.  I don't want genetically modified anything in my garden.  But once again, I was faced with making the best of the situation or not moving forward.  I decided to move forward and lined the floor of the teepee with newspapers.

 

 

I put in a wood, a.k.a. old sticks, edging and added some rocks that I had lying around for good measure.

 

 

Now it was time to erect the "poles" of the teepee.  I found some old twine and went about trying to figure out how to tie three stakes together so that they would stay in place - even in the wind.  I had no idea how to do that.  I have never been a boy scout or sailor so knot tying is not my forte.  I decided just to wing it and see what happens during the next storm.   I think it came out well!

 

Finally, I took the seeds that I had soaking overnight.  (It is said that soaking seeds overnight before planting them makes it easier for them to germinate.)  and planted them.  If all goes well, I will be harvesting cowpeas, a.k.a black-eyed peas, dark red kidney beans and Blue Lake bush beans in no time at all.