Garden Projects For Kids: How to Build a Bean Teepee

When Monkey Boy and The Girl Who Thinks She’s a Bird were young, I would build them a bean teepee every summer.  Back then, we lived on a .25 acre lot and because there was not an abundance of trees, I would purchase 6 foot bamboo poles at Home Depot.

These days, we live in a more wooded area.  Earlier this spring, when we were clearing the back of the property to make room for the new greenhouse, I made sure to save the saplings we had to cut down to build my now teenagers, their own teepee.

If you have never built a bean teepee {or even thought about building one} for your kids, and you have the space, you should give it try.  Not only will your kids think you are the coolest parent ever… But if you space the poles far enough, your children will be about to walk into the teepee, giving them a unique summer “clubhouse.”

Lets get started.

First, you’ll need to decide how wide you want the inside of your teepee to be. I spaced my poles far enough apart so there was about 4′ of open space in the center, which is plenty of room for a child and their friend to sit down and enjoy a picnic lunch.

Next,  gather {6} 1o’ wooden poles and secure them together with twine, both at the top and the bottom.  Make sure you push the poles deep into the soil so they don’t fall over if it gets a little windy or Fido walks by.  Most pole beans grow about 6′ tall, so don’t feel like you have to haul 10′ poles home from the hardware store.  6′ poles will work just fine.

Once you have your teepee poles in place, rake the soil from the center of the circle to build up a nice mound of dirt around the teepee base.

Then, plant a generous amount of pole beans in the mound of dirt surrounding the teepee, and water as necessary.

Wahooo!  You should have a fully covered teepee in about 60-70 days.

If you are interested in learning about the history of teepees, check out Tipis, Tepees, Teepees: History and Design of the Cloth Tipi by Linda Holley.  Amazon currently has the book on sale for $11.55.