[lottieheaven]

Hi,   Im a new allotment holder althrough have grown veg in my garden for a while.  I love the munty frame and will be getting hubby to make one soon.  However because of the aspect and raised bed construction the frame would ideally have to be east/west facing.
Ive read alot on this forum about the frames but are there people on the site that can let me know how successful their beans have been facing this way ?

[JayG]

I think it partly depends on your particular "take" on the Munty frame design - mine has about 3' uprights and 5' diagonals which gives a large proportion of beans hanging down nicely and also room underneath to grow other crops, so is positioned with the high end facing south to even out the illumination, and because the sun doesn't get that high even in mid summer here, it improves the illumination underneath too.

Some people go for much longer uprights than diagonals, so there is little room for growing anything underneath, so east-west would probably be fine, with the higher end facing north so that the beans get the best of the available light.

I have to add though that I don't really think the advantages of a Munty frame are maximised with short diagonals - if you go with long diagonals and an east-west orientation I'd have the high end facing West, because the afternoon sun is stronger than in the morning.
Hope this helps, as I'm beginning to feel a bit confused myself! 

[lottieheaven]

thanks - so west facing short end.........sounds sensible.    Im also going to try to find a way to make concrete insets for the wooden frame to keep it from rotting

[BabbyAnn]

for the past 3 years I've had a version of the munty frame going north to south because I've been working my way up the beds alongside the communal path, and I've not seen any difference in whichever direction a frame goes.  Don't forget that in summer, the sun is quite high in the sky, days are longer, and most growth is devoted to the vine bit working it's way up the cane/twine so all plants get just as much sunlight as its neighbours by the time they start to flower and fruit.  I grow dwarf french beans under the frame and again, heavy yields unaffected by the frame or orientation of bed 

[richyrich7]

to stop posts rotting in the ground dig your hole deeper than you need it fill with gravel to about the right level pop your post in and back fill, I prefer to use stones and soil rammed hard in rather than concrete to hold posts. they seem to rot slower IMHO than those in concrete. Also cheaper and easier to move if needs be
If your using concrete make sure to "shoulder" a little of the mix up the post so rain runs away from the wood rather than pool around it

[JayG]

thanks - so west facing short end.........sounds sensible.    Im also going to try to find a way to make concrete insets for the wooden frame to keep it from rotting

Oh dear, seems as if I have confused you! 

Short end east, high end west, but only if you are going for long diagonals and want to grow stuff underneath it (makes the most of the stronger afternoon light.)

Others may come along and say that theirs is completely different and still works well, in which case I'm going to run away and hide (oh, it's started already!) 

[Trillium]

If you read through Munty's original posting, he found that a slight southeast facing gave him the best production primarily due to the early morning sun. Logic would seem that either a due south or west facing sun would be the best, but he didn't find it so. The slightly southeast facing gave the beans the best daily kickstart.

I would have preferred east-west myself but I went with north-south and haven't regretted the yields.

[devonbarmygardener]

What sorts of plants do you grow under this frame.

_{had to G**gle munty frame to find out what it was!}

[mumofstig]

First posted on here by muntjac 
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=50801.0

courgettes are popular, allowing room for your my 2 left feet when picking 

[devonbarmygardener]

Very interesting!

Hmmmm