Beanpole teepee
I asked some wise family members (also happen to be landscape architects and avid gardeners) for advice when we got our community garden plot last spring. My two favorite, easy and kid-fun ideas were a beanpole teepee, and potato bags. Check on the teepee for last season, perhaps I'll do potato bags this year.
Here are some pictures of the teepee growing. It proved to be easy to grow, and very low maintenance. I included a hyacinth legume vine- it's edible and very pretty. I probably wouldn't use this again, though, because it took over and the beans don't taste so great. I'd go for beans or peas that are tasty right off the vine. The nasturtium was nice, and the kids loved eating the flowers in salad. They're spicy! My vision of the girls camped on a blanket picking and eating beans was also marred by the insane mosquitoes around the time the pods were at their best. Some very un-pinnable behavior resulted in August;)
Minor fails aside, I think a teepee is a great project for a school or community garden. If built out of very sturdy poles, several kids should fit in it at once. We saw a great one at the fabulous Children's Garden at the National Arboretum.
Here are some pictures of the teepee growing. It proved to be easy to grow, and very low maintenance. I included a hyacinth legume vine- it's edible and very pretty. I probably wouldn't use this again, though, because it took over and the beans don't taste so great. I'd go for beans or peas that are tasty right off the vine. The nasturtium was nice, and the kids loved eating the flowers in salad. They're spicy! My vision of the girls camped on a blanket picking and eating beans was also marred by the insane mosquitoes around the time the pods were at their best. Some very un-pinnable behavior resulted in August;)
Minor fails aside, I think a teepee is a great project for a school or community garden. If built out of very sturdy poles, several kids should fit in it at once. We saw a great one at the fabulous Children's Garden at the National Arboretum.
The gorgeous beans! My three-year-old loved shelling them.
xoLeann
