Munty's runner bean frame

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HLS

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #195 on: September 14, 2009, 14:37 »
Am seriously considering an alternative to the Munty frame - how about using an old rotary clothes line? Plant half a doz plants around the upright & train around the top!

It must be worth it just to see the reaction of the neighbours when it first goes in.....  :D


You'd have to stop it rotating, though, or it would chop the tops off on windy days!

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grgh

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #196 on: September 14, 2009, 14:41 »
You could always use a circular raised bed on wheels.
I'm all dirty.

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Lenny59

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #197 on: January 07, 2010, 21:19 »
Call me stupid but do you have to keep twisting the runner bean plants round the string as they grow???? Cheers for any replies in advance....Lenny

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andtiggertoo

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #198 on: February 01, 2010, 20:10 »
OK, think I'm going to join the ranks of munty frame users this year. Really need some advice on what materials to use so would be grateful to share your experiences.

Have read through the marathon 38 pages and decided that bamboo canes are probably not up to the job. As i'm working with a 4 bed raised veg plot ( each bed is 13ft by 4ft4) I want a portable version, so I can rotate. Therefore the sturdy wooden frames I have seen and much admired on here would be a shame to dismantle and reassemble every year.

Have been looking at some aluminium tubing available from gardening-naturally ( am i allowed to mention the company ?). The tubing is designed for crop protection cages. Not sure if they will be robust enough or not, the uprights are 16mm diameter, and cross bars are 13mm diameter. The uprights on the long side of the frame will require extentions to reach the 6 foot height required by the munty frame. This will add some strength as the tubes fit together with 5cm of one pole fitting inside the other pole.

I don't intend to go into mass production on the bean front so I was thinking of a 6 foot maximum length to the frame. But I shall need extentions on the cross bars as well just to get the frame longer than 4 foot.

Think the project is going to cost around £25. Not exactly cheap but if it's robust enough to get a few years out of it I would be OK with that.

So what do you all think ?

Thanks for any advice offered.


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kermit

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #199 on: February 01, 2010, 20:28 »
I got 4 2x2 treated wooden sticks from B&Q - 2m in length.  Cut a couple of feet of two of them for the short side.  Then used other decent bits of timber i had lying around for the two connectors.  Finally, two more pieces of strong timber to complete the square on the short sides (I added these later as the weight pulled the two sides together!).  If you're going for a long munty, you may need 6 of the long poles (ie for the middle) - mine was about 2m in length and since I used strong supports between the poles, it worked fine.

Easily dismantled (just fixed with wood screws) and waiting for use again this year  8)

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andtiggertoo

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #200 on: February 01, 2010, 22:00 »
Thanks for the advice Kermit, I'm not too good at screwing wood together. I managed to make my wooden raised beds by hammering nails in but they aren't going anywhere in the foreseeable future.

I was hoping to avoid screws and nails for this project if they have to be dismantled again. Sorry if that's a bit lightweight, but I suspect if i used wood and screws it would be a very shambolic affair  :blush:- nothing at all like Aunt sally's splendid photo's in page 1 !!

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Aunt Sally

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #201 on: February 01, 2010, 22:10 »
And Aunty fixes her frame together with cable ties - easy peasy :)

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Paul Plots

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #202 on: February 01, 2010, 22:36 »
I used some very old (bean on the plot for years) galvanised steel poles for uprights tied with string and a cheap nylon washing-line to connect the whole lote together.... It worked well.

But.... this year I must plant fewer bean plants as they tangled in places and made a hedge before they grew over the top!!  ::)
Never keep your wish-bone where your back-bone ought to be.

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kermit

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #203 on: February 02, 2010, 20:10 »
Thanks for the advice Kermit, I'm not too good at screwing wood together. I managed to make my wooden raised beds by hammering nails in but they aren't going anywhere in the foreseeable future.

I was hoping to avoid screws and nails for this project if they have to be dismantled again. Sorry if that's a bit lightweight, but I suspect if i used wood and screws it would be a very shambolic affair  :blush:- nothing at all like Aunt sally's splendid photo's in page 1 !!

Its really not difficult, especially if you have an electric screwdriver / drill bit.  Just put at least two wood screws in at each point of contact.  Probably easier than nails!.

you should see my raised beds (pics on here somewhere) - now they were a nightmare, using coach bolts, but well worth it.

Im sure cable ties would work fine though.

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Trillium

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #204 on: February 02, 2010, 20:20 »
I put mine up with woodscrews as they won't pop out in extreme cold. Being either lazy or too busy, I simply leave mine up all year and this is year 3 and they're just fine. I too used 2x2s (spruce), but I also used them as cross braces at the tops, then 2 side braces for more rigidness. Nylon string is their lead line and that stays up year round as well. My cukes discovered them this past year and happily climbed to the top.

Did everyone see Aunt Sally's final pic on pg 3?

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Snoop

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Re: Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #205 on: February 08, 2010, 16:06 »
Absolutely love this frame - thanks Munty! But I have a question concerning the space between plants: I've been longing to try some Merveille/Meraviglia/Marvel of Venice (take your pick - I've seen loads of versions of the name of these beans and have no idea which one is more common) but on looking at the packet of seeds I've got, it says plant seeds 50 cm apart in rows 60 cm apart. I've never grown climbing beans before, but does 50 cm sound right? I'd need nigh on a football pitch to get a decent number or plants on a frame.

Thanks for any advice.

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madcat

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Re: Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #206 on: February 08, 2010, 17:21 »
Mine go in about 4 inches apart...  10 cms apart. Two rows of them, like in the picture. 50cms would be daft!   :ohmy:  Do you think it might have been 5 inches and someone cant do the conversion?   :D
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Snoop

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Re: Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #207 on: February 09, 2010, 12:10 »
Thanks for the reply. I thought it seemed odd. The box is in Spanish and Portuguese, plus there's a diagram, and they all say rows 60 cm apart and 50 cm between seeds in each row. I'll definitely be giving them and Munty's frame a go.

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scabs

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Re: Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #208 on: March 07, 2010, 13:55 »
I've just built my frame, stood back to admire it, shown it off proudly to fellow plot holders... But I'm sitting here looking at it and suddenly realised: the short side is actually a little over 5ft tall. The high side is probably about 7ft...

Have I gone too large?

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madcat

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Re: Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #209 on: March 07, 2010, 14:06 »
That sounds like mine!  How long is it?



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