Trellising green beans is actually quite easy compared to tomatoes and cucumbers. One thing is sure, you have to trellis the plant. Although it is labour intensive and must be done weekly, the advantages are far greater than the disadvantages. Trellising green beans plants have the following advantages:

  • Increases yield per square meter
  • Reduces the risk of disease development
  • Allows for higher plant densities
  • Easier picking
  • Mature fruit are easy to spot

Beans are trellised from a single stem. The side shoots are not removed. As soon as the plants reach the top of the wire (± 2.4 m high), the pods should be ready for picking. If the pods have not matured, the top growth points are allowed to grow horizontally along the main trellising wire.

 

trellising green beans hydroponic bag culture greenhouse

Beans are trellised in hydroponic production systems but the secondary side shoots that develop are not pruned since they contain pods that can be harvested.

Pruning

There is no need for pruning. In any case, the plants grow so fast that one would never be able to keep up with the pruning process. After a couple of months the beans will reach the top of the main trellising wire. The growth points are left to grow over the path or over the trellising wire of the plants in the next row. One might feel at a certain stage there is no method in the madness as the plants grow madly, but that is normal. Remove the yellowing leaves at the bottom of the plants.