Activity Overview
Get the kids excited about gardening by engaging them in building and growing a Bean Fort. Children of all ages will enjoy being a big part of the growing process and caring for the plants that they are growing.
In this fantastic project, you can build a magical shaded fort for your children to enjoy all summer long, complete with its own healthy and plentiful snack to munch on and to harvest. If you live in an area where deer graze on your gardens, you may want to add a temporary fence around your bean fort to deter munching or else your fort will be gobbled up and you will only be left with a teepee of sticks.
Materials Needed
- 6 garden poles that are each 8 feet in length
- Twine or duck tape
- Pole climbing bean seeds
- Flat ground
- Garden soil
- Garden shovel
How to Make It
- Select an area of flat ground that gets a good amount of exposure to the sun.
- Purchase a packet or two of pole climbing bean varieties.
- Gather six garden stake poles approximately eight feet each in length to create the frame of your teepee that the beans will climb.
- Lean the poles against each other to form a circular base on the ground.
- Now spread the bamboo poles so that there is a small opening for the entrance of your teepee.
- Gather the top ends of the garden poles and tie the poles together at the top firmly with twine or duck tape.
- Dig up a little bit of dirt around the base of each bamboo pole and pack soil around each one to secure it to the ground.
- Weave twine between the poles at one foot intervals, giving the vines something to grab onto as they climb.
- Plant two or three seeds at the base of each pole where you have loosened the soil to secure the poles.
- As your bean plants grow you may have to gently help adjust the vines so that they will climb up the poles and twine.
