[Murdo]

I have five low-raised beds with paths between them. Has any of you had success with Munty frames over paths nd if you have ( great!) ...how much of the frame do you need in the bed to grow the beans up.....i mean how far from edge did your frame start.
My beds are 2m wide, so wondering how close I can put Munty frame close to edge....so possibly it a crop in front of it....as can plant under as path is paving

Thanks!

[mumofstig]

The frames I've seen are built over the bed so you can plant under the beans.



It seems to me that if you build one with the short uprights near the edge of the bed, the lowest part of the roof frame would be over the path and difficult to walk under.

[Hampshire Hog]

I don't have a Munty planned at present but in the past I grew salad crops underneath the frame using the shade provided by the beans in the heat of the day.

Cheers HH

[Murdo]

Sorry, Ive been ambiguous I was thinking of making it taller, so the shorter length is about six foot.....so like an arch.

Or am I better doing an arch and lower yields?

[mumofstig]

If the shorter length is 6ft it's about the size of most peoples ordinary bean frames - Munties are quite low one side and higher the other, if it was nearly flat on the top the beans wouldn't really grow along the rods/strings.

If I were you, I'd just make a straight frame in the bed on either side of the path, with some cross bracing, like a simple pergola, and grow the beans up canes/strings as normal.

[arh]

I thought of doing this, until I realized that anything growing behind the frame would be in the dark, so to speak.

[sunshineband]

If it helps to know this, I have grown climbing beans on a high arch made of canes and blue water pipe very successfully, either side of a path.

Leaving about 50cm between the canes means the inside of the arch is nice and light, and anything else being grown in the bed can be reached from the path under the arch reasonably well too.

Last year I had broad beans in the bed on one side (as well as the climbing beans of course!) and courgettes on the other, and it worked well

[snowdrops]

I always grow my beans on the Munty  frame over one of my paths, the paths are 2ft wide. I plant the beans about 1ft from the edge of the path, I sometimes plant dwarf beans or lettuces underneath, then behind I usually have my squashes on their lasagne bed through membrane, although in the picture below I've gift more beans



You can see the the Munty frame to the right of the picture, the path in this photo was weed membrane but they are all slabs now

[RJR_38]

I don't think I've got any pics (will have a look)  each year I grow my beans up 2 wigwams that are joined together over a path. I put a wigwam on the end of each bed close to the path (the remaining 60% of the bed can be used for anything). I put another thick cane at the top of each wigwam joining them together. The beans happily grow up the wigwams that are about 6' tall and any tall ones grow along the bar at the top as well. I get a huge crop from my 8 plants (4 per wigwam).

[Murdo]

Thanks so much to you all. I will take pics of how we do. We will definitely try a munty over one path now  and other methods over other  beds and other path.



Ps am I right its usually about 1.5 increase in yeild with

MUmofstig...nice Pergola...I have a fair bit of stout hazel...got ne thinking now!

[JayG]

Ps am I right its usually about 1.5 increase in yeild with

Hard to put an exact figure on it given all the other factors affecting yield, and I'd be very surprised if anyone has done a serious side-by-side comparison. All you can really say is that a well-designed Munty frame avoids the plants getting in each other's way, so should give you the best possible results in any given year, plus of course making the harvesting considerably easier than with the likes of inverted 'V' structures or wigwams in particular.

[snowdrops]

Before I did the Munty frame( which suits the way I have my plot) I used to make an X shaped frame so that the beans still hung down after where the canes crossed, one year it got very top heavy so I looped a piece of string from the top of one cane to another, then they pulled against each other. Worked quite well, Fay better than the wigwam style, plus the leaves irritate my arms when I'm picking the beans that way but not the x or Munty way