Growing Together: Open Forum

Hi everyone!
I work as an elementary school garden coordinator in Fredericksburg, VA. The local boy scout troop has offered to help us build a bean/vine teepee in the garden that can be used as a functional trellis, shade hideout for the kids, and will also provide some fun visual interest in the space. I'm wondering if anyone has built one before?

If so, what materials did you use? Did you add raised beds along the bottom edges for planting or did you plant directly into the ground (ours will be located on a grassy area with poor soil so I'm thinking raised beds bordering the teepee will be best.)? What were the dimensions of your teepee? 

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this! I will post pictures of the completed project this spring!

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Alicia Rodriguez
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Hi Alicia,

That sounds like a really fun project! I build a temporary (typically one season only) vine/bean structure most years with our kids (they somewhat resemble a teepee...). They always look different, but the basic structure is 4 hefty (>4" diameter) poles sunk about 3ft in the ground at an angle to create the "corners" of our structure. Other poles/branches are piled and woven on top of these main poles. I typically use poles made from young beach and hemlock trees that are being thinned out of our forest. The beach has much better lasting power, but I still don't plan on having it up for more than a year. If I were going to build a permanent structure, I would use pressure treated wood or maybe black locust poles if I could find some. 

Our trellis has about a 4.5ft diameter, which is big enough for a couple kids to stand under or maybe one or two kids to sit under. We build ours directly in a garden bed and direct sow nasturtiums, morning glory, and/or scarlet runner beans. One year we did a single indeterminate cherry tomato along with nasturtiums, which was wonderful because kids could hang out under there and discover bites to eat. 

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Sydney Treuer
413-625-9503
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Thank you for your reply Sydney! I really appreciate you mentioning the teepee measurements, plant suggestions, and including pictures. Wow, your two teepee versions are both gorgeous! I can't wait to see the kids enjoying ours next season!

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Alicia Rodriguez
Conway Elementary School
Fredericksburg VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-07-2022 09:11:46 AM
From: Sydney Treuer
Subject: Bean/Vine Teepee

Hi Alicia,

That sounds like a really fun project! I build a temporary (typically one season only) vine/bean structure most years with our kids (they somewhat resemble a teepee...). They always look different, but the basic structure is 4 hefty (>4" diameter) poles sunk about 3ft in the ground at an angle to create the "corners" of our structure. Other poles/branches are piled and woven on top of these main poles. I typically use poles made from young beach and hemlock trees that are being thinned out of our forest. The beach has much better lasting power, but I still don't plan on having it up for more than a year. If I were going to build a permanent structure, I would use pressure treated wood or maybe black locust poles if I could find some. 

Our trellis has about a 4.5ft diameter, which is big enough for a couple kids to stand under or maybe one or two kids to sit under. We build ours directly in a garden bed and direct sow nasturtiums, morning glory, and/or scarlet runner beans. One year we did a single indeterminate cherry tomato along with nasturtiums, which was wonderful because kids could hang out under there and discover bites to eat. 

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Sydney Treuer
413-625-9503
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Thanks Michelle! I'll check out Monticello's versions. We are close enough, I'm tempted to take a drive down there and see for myself.

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Alicia Rodriguez
Conway Elementary School
Fredericksburg VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-07-2022 11:15:35 AM
From: Michelle Zupan
Subject: Bean/Vine Teepee

Hi Alicia,

The best vine/bean tipis that I've ever seen are at Monticello in Charlottesville. 

Theirs are in the ground.  Here in the South where we have silly long growing seasons, a raised bed would cause toppling over (had it happen). 

https://monticello.gardenexplorer.org/map.aspx

--

Michelle Zupan

Curator 

Hickory Hill & the Tom Watson Birthplace

502 Hickory Hill Drive

Thomson, GA  30824

706-595-7777

FAX: 706-595-7177

Visit us at www.hickory-hill.org or on Facebook.

Follow us on Twitter: HHEducation

Historic homes of the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc. 

Hi,
We have a teepee shaped/trellis structure. It was first made of bamboo. It is now rebar.

The bamboo we used was definitely not strong enough.

The rebar trellis sits in an area with a bee house, near a flagpole and is surrounded by native and seasonal pollinator friendly plants.

We have raised beds but not near the trellis.

We teach companion planting to third grade students. The three sisters garden is planted in the trellis. We harvest the vegetables, donate to food bank and save seeds for planting in the late spring.

In the winter we place an evergreen 🌲 tree in trellis and decorate with nature friendly ornaments for the winter birds.

Hope this helps.

If you are interested you can see some photos on Facebook page:
Bellefonte Community Children’s Garden


A PSE Master Gardener project
Centre County, Pa
Sent from my iPhone

Wow Cynthia, I just spent about 30 minutes checking out your Facebook page. Your children's garden is incredible! 

I love the idea of incorporating the three sisters garden around the trellis, and the evergreen tree in the winter is perfect. Thanks so much for all the ideas! 

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Alicia Rodriguez
Conway Elementary School
Fredericksburg VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-07-2022 06:38:41 PM
From: Cynthia Van Druff
Subject: Bean/Vine Teepee

Hi,
We have a teepee shaped/trellis structure. It was first made of bamboo. It is now rebar.

The bamboo we used was definitely not strong enough.

The rebar trellis sits in an area with a bee house, near a flagpole and is surrounded by native and seasonal pollinator friendly plants.

We have raised beds but not near the trellis.

We teach companion planting to third grade students. The three sisters garden is planted in the trellis. We harvest the vegetables, donate to food bank and save seeds for planting in the late spring.

In the winter we place an evergreen 🌲 tree in trellis and decorate with nature friendly ornaments for the winter birds.

Hope this helps.

If you are interested you can see some photos on Facebook page:
Bellefonte Community Children's Garden


A PSE Master Gardener project
Centre County, Pa
Sent from my iPhone

Hi Alicia,
Thank you for your kind words.

So happy to share. Glad you were able to take a look at our FB page.

As an FYI, the trellis is in the ground.

We grew red noodle beans because they are very long, delicata squash grows well for us and painted mountain corn since it’s kernels are very colorful glasslike kernels.

If you have any other questions or thoughts please just ask,

Cynthia
Sent from my iPhone


Original Message:
Sent: 12/7/2022 7:12:00 PM
From: Alicia Rodriguez
Subject: RE: Bean/Vine Teepee

Wow Cynthia, I just spent about 30 minutes checking out your Facebook page. Your children's garden is incredible! 

I love the idea of incorporating the three sisters garden around the trellis, and the evergreen tree in the winter is perfect. Thanks so much for all the ideas! 

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Alicia Rodriguez
Conway Elementary School
Fredericksburg VA
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Hi everyone!

At a recent garden build in Chicago, we used thick bamboo, rope, and garden stakes to create our bean friendship fort. You can see some pictures and read about the garden installation here. We also have two related KidsGardening resources on how to build a friendship fort and plant a sunflower house, both of which might be helpful to you in your planning.

In the spirit of sharing what we have learned, KidsGardening has come to understand that using the term "teepee/tipi" in regard to a conical playfort can be seen as cultural appropriation, as this physical structure is special and sacred in some Native American cultures. Instead, we have chosen to use the term "friendship fort," "sunflower house," "garden hideaway," or "bean structure." We feel these terms are inclusive and welcoming to all!

What terms are the rest of you using?

Thanks,
Sarah

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Sarah Lane
KidsGardening
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Thanks for sharing your ideas and links Sarah! I will check them out tonight. And I appreciate you also sharing what you've learned about inclusive terms and wording. That makes so much sense and I feel embarrassed that I didn't realize it on my own.  I'm so thankful that I realized this before advertising for our fort at the school garden!

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Alicia Rodriguez
Conway Elementary School
Fredericksburg VA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-08-2022 04:14:20 PM
From: Sarah Lane
Subject: Bean/Vine Teepee

Hi everyone!

At a recent garden build in Chicago, we used thick bamboo, rope, and garden stakes to create our bean friendship fort. You can see some pictures and read about the garden installation here. We also have two related KidsGardening resources on how to build a friendship fort and plant a sunflower house, both of which might be helpful to you in your planning.

In the spirit of sharing what we have learned, KidsGardening has come to understand that using the term "teepee/tipi" in regard to a conical playfort can be seen as cultural appropriation, as this physical structure is special and sacred in some Native American cultures. Instead, we have chosen to use the term "friendship fort," "sunflower house," "garden hideaway," or "bean structure." We feel these terms are inclusive and welcoming to all!

What terms are the rest of you using?

Thanks,
Sarah

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Sarah Lane
KidsGardening
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Hi! I just read this email from Life Lab (hope you can see it!) and they have a couple images of "garden trellis structures" that I thought would be great to share here. I love that they show students participating in a small-scale trellis engineering lesson building prototypes - could be fun way to involve many students in the project if they won't be building the final product. @John Fisher might have more tips for you. 

And speaking of the terminology that Sarah mentioned, I love "The Bean Tunnel" for this pathway trellis (image from the Life Lab email).
​

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Amelia Dupuis
Kids Garden Community Manager
KidsGardening
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Thanks for sharing Amelia! I love the idea of having the students build small scale structures as we discuss plans for the large bean tunnel/fort. What a great way to incorporate them into the process!

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Alicia Rodriguez
Conway Elementary School
Fredericksburg VA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-27-2022 10:53:27 AM
From: Amelia Dupuis
Subject: Bean/Vine Teepee

Hi! I just read this email from Life Lab (hope you can see it!) and they have a couple images of "garden trellis structures" that I thought would be great to share here. I love that they show students participating in a small-scale trellis engineering lesson building prototypes - could be fun way to involve many students in the project if they won't be building the final product. @John Fisher might have more tips for you. 

And speaking of the terminology that Sarah mentioned, I love "The Bean Tunnel" for this pathway trellis (image from the Life Lab email).

​

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Amelia Dupuis
Kids Garden Community Manager
KidsGardening
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It's great to be able to design/build your bean tunnel with help from the Scouts.

For anyone looking for a quick, easy, sturdy tunnel, I recommend the Titan Squash Tunnel offered by Gardeners Supply Company. It held loads of beans and tomatoes for us last season and it still looks terrific. Light-weight, solid construction and nice height/length for kids to walk through.  

https://www.gardeners.com/buy/titan-squash-tunnel/8596276.html

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Amy Cody
Parent Volunteer / Coordinator
Latimer Garden & Outdoor Classroom
San Jose, CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-29-2022 08:51:50 AM
From: Alicia Rodriguez
Subject: Bean/Vine Teepee

Thanks for sharing Amelia! I love the idea of having the students build small scale structures as we discuss plans for the large bean tunnel/fort. What a great way to incorporate them into the process!

------------------------------
Alicia Rodriguez
Conway Elementary School
Fredericksburg VA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 12-27-2022 10:53:27 AM
From: Amelia Dupuis
Subject: Bean/Vine Teepee

Hi! I just read this email from Life Lab (hope you can see it!) and they have a couple images of "garden trellis structures" that I thought would be great to share here. I love that they show students participating in a small-scale trellis engineering lesson building prototypes - could be fun way to involve many students in the project if they won't be building the final product. @John Fisher might have more tips for you. 

And speaking of the terminology that Sarah mentioned, I love "The Bean Tunnel" for this pathway trellis (image from the Life Lab email).

​

------------------------------
Amelia Dupuis
Kids Garden Community Manager
KidsGardening