I have used galvanized pipe tied together at the top with twine ~ a pretty hap-hazzard approach overall ~ and they have never toppled over under the weight of Kentucky Runner beans, so I think the pyramid shape is pretty sturdy. I've never tried them for cukes, but cukes will climb anything, so you ought to have good luck.

I always dream of buying some cedar obelisks, but so far have not had any climbing veggies I thought quite that highly of! If they were closer to the house, perhaps I would. I use galvazined wire "pea fence" from Burpee for my cukes, because I think it has a neat tidy look.

I use teepees in my potager. They are made of bamboo and will collapse for storage. I leave them out all year round to keep vertical interest. I grow sugar snap peas, snow peas, pole beans and cucs on them. I have not had any problems with them. I love gardening but I also want my garden to be pleasing to the eye too.

First year for me, not a true potager cause no flowers but here are my tripods for peppers, we'll see if it works...

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Wow! Thanks for the photos. I think I finally got some real info on the teepees. I had posted questions in the pea forums (under the vegetable heading) but nobody knew what I was talking about.

I am trying to grow sugar snap peas this year. I'm having my new (much bigger) garden dug and it's already costing 1500 just for the sod removal and the enriched dirt delivery. I priced the collapsable teepees and they ranged in price from 30 to 50 depending on their size. I wasnt sure I wanted 3 or 4 of them this year for cost reasons so I read you could tie poles together (like Harleysilo's photo) for litterally a few bucks per tripod, and get the same pyramid-looking result once the plant fills it up.

But I sure liked the way a row of teepees looks. I imagine if you dont get them deep enough into the soil they will simply blow over. Maybe that's true of all the supports.

So I am still deciding. For my first year in the new garden, a row of collapsable teepees for $150+ or the stakes twined together? I have yet to understand how twining the wooden stakes together at the tops, could hold together. Do you twine them before you pound the legs into the ground or do you pound the legs into the ground first, then twine them together at their tops? What kind of twine do you use?

The photos are pretty. Thank you.

I use the green garden twine which is lighter weight than hay bale twine, but natural fiber unlike your typical household string. It will last all year, maybe two years.

Bundle 5 or 6 poles together, and tie them securely about 6-8 inches from the top. I don't think you could get the string too tight. Make several wraps around.

Then, go out to the garden, and start spreading and propping. I push mine in the ground about 3 inches. You can pull them and respace them until you have a symmetrical tee-pee. If the string loosens up too much, tie a second time after you have the poles placed.

Then, I plant the beans or peas in a ring around the base of each pole per the recommended spacing.

I've used teepees for pole beans and peas. I like the height of the ones I created with 6' bamboo poles better, and I was able to push them into the ground further so that they seemed more secure. Neither style ever blew over though, especially once the vines started growing.

Another thing I do for aesthetic reasons is to take 2'x8' sheets of wood lattice, attach them to stakes at the ends and middle, and put them in the ground so that the lattice is standing upright. I plant cukes next to it, and they vine all over and through the lattice and look nice. I've also used them around the zucchini/squash areas to keep those vines somewhat enclosed in a specific area.

check this link to learn how to tie the knot
http://www.ropeworks.biz/reader/tripod.pdf

My spouse made two teepees like this one about 10 years ago, when our daughters were small. They started as as way to get the girls interested in gardening. He used his table saw to rip 8' 2x4s. Each pole has a hole drilled in the top and they are threaded together with copper wire.

I am still using them. Typically I plant them with scarlet runner beans and painted lady runner beans. Hummers love them. My daughters love them. And so do I. :-)

Becky

I like odd things in the garden, so I went to the local palm tree nursery and they gave me very large palm fronds that had been pruned from the palms. We stripped any vegitation from them and tee-peed them up! They worked great!
The only problem was the beans grew too tall for me to reach! The tee-pee was 7-8' tall and the beans grew right to the top!
This year I am making out of wire, 2 side walls with a ceiling for the green beans and maybe the cukes. Under this I will plant the cooler weather plants such as lettuce. This way I'll be able to reach the beans. HTH Nancy

This is great info and I decided on the regular stakes twined together at the tops. Now I have to find out how tall the stakes should be. I spotted 3 or 4 foot stakes at Home Depot yesterday but I figured I had another week or so to decide on the size. Common sense tells me that these wouldnt be tall enough. At our local Ace they have assorted stakes last year so I suppose they'll have them again this year.

Well the 35x27 ft garden got constructed & tilled yesterday. My gardener said the soil was beautiful so I didnt need the extra load of enriched soil delivery and that saved me more than $400. That alone was fantastic news!

We sure are spending alot of time, energy and money on this garden. I had no idea it would so involved. Wait til the weeds arrive. Hah! I still need a wheel barrel or garden cart and will make that decision next week. I bought the stakes (10 inch nails)& flouresent string to mark off the beds & walkways. 250 foot of hose from Sears (black) is ready to be laid out. We're not putting it underground this year, but will run it near a fence line so it's somewhat hidden. I still need connectors for the hose. That timer sure looked cool. Soaker hoses---I cant decide if I want to buy them but I have plenty of time until the bulk of the plants go in. Plus I have to measure the beds, I have no idea how much footage of soakers I'll even need. I understand it's alot of work to get them situated.

Here in PA we are having super cold weather right now. To get out there and make some beds so that I could put the beans in, and the teepee poles, seems like a giant job. I'll have to dress warm. First I have to measure some walkways and mark off the beds. I didnt plan on the urgency of putting the beans in but everyone is saying they should be in already. That will probably be on the top of my agenda. The Easter holiday is cutting into my gardening time!

The fencing is going up Monday. We are using regular metal fencing for cost reasons. I guess 4 feet high, the kind with the tiny square holes so the rabbits dont get in. Once I am certain the size of the garden is permanent, only then will we install pretty picket fencing and then boxwood all the way around the perimeter. We'll paint the fence chocolate brown, the same color as the house. Anyway, that's to worry about for next year. Maybe then I could call it a potager.

Sorry I got "off post" about the beans.

Wow, sounds like you are going to have a nice little garden! Can't wait to see pics, as a matter of fact why haven't you posted any?

Yes, please post pictures!!!

harleysilo, i have been reading how to post photos. this site doesnt seem to be very modern to that regard. i still havent figured out how to do it.

i got out there in 40 degree weather yesterday, and while the guys installed another access gate to the newly dug garden, I decided to form some beds hoping to get the peas and the stake teepees in soon.

Now that is some back breaking work. I pushed the rake and dug and lifted and threw soil onto 17 foot beds. I raked paths and pushed some more. I was able to do about 5. I have blisters even though I wore gloves. This morning my chest hurts, my back muscles hurt and I cant bend that well. My lower back is taxed.

Meanwhile the guys tamped down the soil because they walked back and forth over it to work on the gate installation. So that has to be tilled again. I have to loosen the dirt with the tiller to form more beds. It's not easy using the rake and shovel alone. I think to use the tiller and work on sections. Once a section is tilled, rake the loose dirt onto a bed. Then do the next section.

I called the master gardener in our county to ask questions Friday. She told me to plant the bare mininum the first year. That was sort of disappointing news. I was planning on filling each bed with various plants. Her idea was to concentrate on pulling weeds the first year. Once the space was weed free then go to town with the plantings. So there are new considerations each day. I did not come this far with my new garden to let it lie empty this year, not even half empty. I'll cover everything with straw and grass clippings then hope for the best.

If today wasnt Easter, I'd be out there making more beds...

I think your master gardener is full of it!
Fill up that garden! If things don't work out you can always compost them for next year!
You are already spending WAY more than you should for a vege garden, so go ahead and spend what you have for veges!
In future years you will figure out how to do it a little more frugally. You will have your garden in place and not have to spend that $ again.
I'm NOT being critical, just frugal! LOL Hell, I'm CHEAP!
I just LOVE LOVE LOVE my garden! Just ask my Chiropractor! LOL Nancy

Oh I am gonna try my best to fill up the beds.

Two days later (after I formed 5 15 foot beds) and it still hurts when I cough or sneeze. My ribs hurt, my stomach muscles, my wrists, my forearms, my upper arms, my shoulders, my back muscles and lower back and even my left nostril and even the hair on my head. I dug those beds like such a trooper. I hope to fire up my old tiller today and make some more beds....I gotta figure out what kind of fuel to put in it. It might require a mix of gas & something else....

It's official. Five (5) teepees have been erected. 1/4 pound of sugar snap peas went in today. I had just enough to sow around the five (5) teepees. Water source is now in place at the new bigger site and I watered the peas for the first time today. Yippee!

Making the teepees was easier than I thought. We took four 6 foot tomato stakes at $2/each and twined them together. First we twined two, then added a third and twined some more, then added the fourth and twined and tied a knot. Each held two legs and positioned them nicely into the open raised bed which was about 3 foot wide. We pounded out hearts out until the legs were in about 10-12 inches deep.

After the teepees were pounded into the soil, their height looked to be only about 5 feet. The packet of peas says the vines will grow to 6 feet so that's 1 more feet of growth than the height of those teepees allow. That's the only potential error I made.

I think my fiancé and I did pretty well this afternoon. Anyone who wants to see the teepees please email me at marial5511@rcn.com and I'll respond with a photo.

It's happy hour, I've earned my glass of chardonnay for the day...............

salute!!

A suggestion for those using bamboo/wooden stake teepees. Using an electric drill make a row of holes along one side of each pole. Five holes in each pole should be enough. Now, screw cup hooks in each hole. Set up your teepee and then wind nylon string, starting at the top, around the outside of the teepee giving it several wraps around each cup hook and secure the string to the bottom of one pole. This process strengthens the teepee, gives tendrils some climbing support and allows you to secure errant vines/tomato branches firmly with whatever you use for tying purposes.

>>>marial1214 i have been reading how to post photos. this site doesnt seem to be very modern to that regard. i still havent figured out how to do it

Put your pics on photobucket. Use the GENERATE HTML AND IMG CODE button on the bottom of the page, then paste in the code to your posting. Use the first code for gardenweb, gives you a nice click able image.

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I am trying to post a couple photos of the teepees. I pasted the code from the first box above. This is a test.

sorr that is a poor photo. I'll take some more as the plants develop.

the soakers run through the middle of the beds. for the peas, the water only soaks the very middle of the bed. will the roots travel underground to this water?

Clicking on the pictures enlarged them. The teepees look great!

In Williamsburg, they use branches and forsythia for teepees, and it has a wonderful rustic feel. It doesn't interfere with the landscape and looks like it has been part of the garden forever! (I just love the potager at Williamsburg.) The nice thing about making your own is that you can just walk around your yard and collect all the stuff! With my teepees I use large branches to stabilize, then use the wispy branches as twine to tie it together.

I use what I have. Happen to have old EMT pipe laying around so that's what I put together. Made a crazy pattern of some jute around it. Plopped the beans right into the middle of the flower garden because we are on watering restrictions and putting food in any flower garden (we can water food) saves the flowers :)

GGG

I used a bunch of old ladders that my brother got me for free from the roadside on garbage day. $2 for a can of spraypaint, and a rebar stake driven into the ground to stop it falling over. Colorful, easy, and very cheap. I used them to support gourds and cucumbers. You can run twine from top to bottom if necessary for some climbers.

Very nice! Your garden was very lush this year.
The ladders make interesting trelises.