For yardlongs, the best spacing seems to be somewhere between 12-18", depending upon the variety. I use 15" as my default spacing, when growing a new variety. If you space them closer than 12", it begins to reduce the size of the vines - which can be a good thing, if using a shorter support. At 4-6", few runners exceeded 4-5 feet, and the majority of the yield was borne close to the base.

My best results for trellised cukes have been at 24" spacing.

I am planting one panel arched for cucumbers and one arched for yardlongs, the seed package says only "asparagus bean".

Each panel is about 4' 1/2 wide by 8' 1/2 to top center of the arched panel. It just seems like a wide spacing of 12", thus you are saying on 4 1/2 wide panel I will only plant 5 seeds per side, or 10 per whole panel?

thanks,

Dean

When I experimented with spacing for yardlongs several years ago, they proved to be very sensitive to crowding. At the spacing that I recommend, they will climb vigorously to their full height & branch heavily, with multiple runners.
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Yardlong beans, at 15" spacing on a 6.5 foot trellis. As you can see, it is not as open as you might expect.

At the closest spacing I used (3-4") there was only one main runner per plant (which climbed to 4-5' with few branches) and the plants reverted to a half-runner habit, with the majority of the branches (and the yield) borne close to the ground.

The yardlongs at the closer spacing bore very heavily initially, but tapered off toward the end of the season. Those at the wider spacing began more slowly, but increased steadily until the approach of near-freezing night temps.

Optimal spacing can, of course, vary... soil fertility, climate, cultivar, and spacing between rows (or other crops) can be other influences. Dean, although we are very close geographically, you get about 25% more summer heat than I do... and since yardlongs love heat, they may grow more vigorously for you than they do for me.

I'm trying to visualize these cattle panel arches - although I have read of their use here on GW, I have never used or seen them personally. You say they will be 8.5 feet tall at the center? I'm assuming that since they are "arches", that there is an opposite side - how far apart will the two sides be? Any chance of a photo?

To get vines to reach the full 8.5 feet, you would probably need the wider spacing. But to get the heaviest yield for the area, you could certainly plant them more closely... in fact, if you are planting on both sides of an arch, this would allow more sunlight into the center. The best compromise between height & plant density might be to interlace two rows (_-_-_-_-_-) on each side of the panel, with at least 12" between the rows (though with 12" between plants, I would recommend 24" between rows).

Zeedman,

Thanks for the advice. Just seems tighter spacing is required but I will be taking your advice doing min 12" spacing.

A nice picture of a cattle panel is at the link below.

thanks,
Dean

Here is a link that might be useful: Cattle panel picture

How long after planting does beans start to set. My beans are about 7' tall. Thanks.