Why Grow Upwards?

Give climbing beans, sweet peas, nasturtiums or morning glory something to scramble up and they will reward you twice over. Vertical growing saves precious ground in a small plot, keeps pods and flowers clean and easy to pick, and turns a bare corner into a living screen. The plants themselves do most of the work, but a good support makes the difference between a tangled heap and a handsome, productive column of green.

You can buy a metal or plastic frame, but there is something quietly satisfying about a support you have knocked together yourself from a few lengths of timber. It costs very little, it looks at home among the borders, and when it finally gives up the ghost you can chop it up and compost it or burn it.

Choosing the Right Timber

The golden rule is untreated timber. Pressure-treated or tanalised wood is fine for a fence post, but it is not what you want next to edible crops, and the chemicals leach slowly into the soil. Untreated timber will rot within a few seasons, which sounds like a drawback until you remember that a climbing bean crop is usually done and dusted in a single summer anyway.

Good options include:

• Hazel or willow poles — the traditional choice, beautifully rustic, and often free if you know a hedge that needs laying.
• 50mm x 50mm (2in x 2in) sawn timber — sold in 2.4m lengths from any timber merchant or builder's yard.
• Bamboo canes for a lighter, cheaper version, though they will not last as long outdoors.

You will also need a reel of natural jute twine or garden string, a saw, a mallet or lump hammer, and a pair of secateurs. A cordless drill helps if you want to make a neater job of the joints, but it is not essential.

Building a Simple Teepee

The teepee is the quickest support to make and the most forgiving, because nothing needs to be perfectly straight.

• Choose six to eight poles of roughly equal length — around 2.4m is ideal, giving a finished height of about 2m once they are in the ground.
• Mark out a circle roughly 60cm across where you want the support to stand.
• Push each pole about 20–25cm into the soil, spacing them evenly around the circle and leaning them inwards so the tops cross.
• Gather the tops and bind them together tightly with twine, wrapping several turns and finishing with a secure knot.
• Add a second tie about 45cm below the top to stop the poles splaying when the plants gain weight.

For extra rigidity, tie a horizontal ring of twine around the poles at roughly half height. This also gives wandering side shoots something to grab.

Making a Square Obelisk

If you want something a little more architectural, build a four-sided obelisk instead. It suits a large patio pot or a formal border far better than a wigwam.

Cut four uprights to 2m. Cut four horizontal rails to about 45cm and four more to 30cm. Lay two uprights on the ground, 45cm apart, and fix a long rail near the top and a short one near the bottom — screws are neatest, but stout twine lashing works well too. Repeat with the other pair, then stand both frames up and join them with the remaining rails to form a tapering box. Sink the feet 20cm into the ground or into the pot, and cross the tops with two short spars.

Tying In and Planting Up

Plant at the base of the support as soon as the soil has warmed in late spring. Water the seedlings in well, then help them on their way by winding the first few tendrils gently around the nearest pole or rail. After that, they will find their own route.

Check the ties every fortnight through the growing season. Twine stretches and slackens in wet weather, and a heavy crop of beans can bring a whole structure down if the binding at the top works loose. Keep a ball of string in your pocket for quick repairs.

Sweet peas appreciate a little extra help — pinch out the growing tips when plants reach about 20cm to encourage side shoots, and tie in the leaders every week or so.

Getting a Second Season

At the end of the year, cut the plants down at soil level rather than yanking them out, which disturbs the roots of anything growing nearby. Leave the structure standing over winter if you like the frosted outline of it, or lift it and store it somewhere dry.

Untreated timber will usually give you two or three seasons before the feet soften and snap. When that happens, simply shorten the poles, drive them in a little deeper, and start again. It is the cheapest, kindest and most quietly handsome way to grow upwards.