BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine

STEP BY STEP

How to make a wigwam for your climbing crops

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1 Choose a sunny site for your climbers, add compost to the soil, and push canes into the ground.

2 Add more canes, spacing them about 20cm apart and pushing them into the soil until they feel sturdy.

3 Finish inserting canes (seven is more than enough) to complete the wigwam. Add a cane support ring.

4 Place the ring close to the top of the canes and clip them into the ring (these ones can hold up to 10 canes).

Dos and don’ts

✔DO choose a sheltered site for your climbers if possible. Protection from strong winds will result in the plants cropping quicker and producing a harvest for longer.

✔DO tie gangly young stems of climbing French beans to their canes with soft string in the early stages. Once mature they will wind themselves around their support.

✔DO prepare the soil for planting by mixing three spades full of compost or well-rotted manure into the soil before planting.

DON’T use wigwams for vigorous, long-term climbing fruits such as blackberri­es or kiwi fruit. They need a wall or wooden structure.

Key points

Climbing vegetables all need lots of sun to produce a heavy crop. Avoid shady spots.

Twist the new growth of runner bean plants around their canes as they grow. Turn them in an anti-clockwise direction and they will cling to their canes

Plant climbing beans when frost has passed.

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