If you’re a parent, you may find that your well of entertainment resources has run dry lately. It can be so hard keeping kids entertained for the two months of summer. Even worse, this year, summer was extended with a) no notice and b) activities like playdates, the zoo, water parks, and other summer staples taken off the table. 

Well, if you’re wondering what to do, take a leaf–pardon the pun–from the book of this new internet trend! Make a bean pole tent with your children. They can play in an edible fort, and you can teach them about gardening (and have a few seconds to yourself).

A Note About Terms

To start off: many of the articles you’ll find call this a teepee. Don’t call it that. Teepees are important First Nations spaces and, however cute, your garden structure does not qualify. With that out of the way. . . 

The Bean Pole Tent

A bean pole tent is a great way to both grow your beans and provide a natural fort for your children to play in! The trick, of course, is to make sure you’re selecting pole beans, not bush beans. Pole beans will climb, and so will shimmy up the stalks of your tent to, well, make the tent shape. A bush variety. . . well, that will just end up a bush at the base of your structure. 

You can also add in, or substitute, climbing flowers instead of beans to provide variation in your tent’s appearance.

Even if your kids are too young to help with the construction of the tent, this can be a really great way to get them involved: have them research climbing plants and pick their favorites to adorn the tent! (1)

What You’ll Need

• String, twine, or wire.
• Climbing plants, like pole beans. 
• 6-8 bamboo poles (wood poles, sticks, or timber can be substituted). 
  • Each pole should be 6’-10’ long (All the same approximate length, of course)

Assembly

1. Find a sunny location, and stand your poles up in the tent shape, holding the poles at the top.
2. Adjust the poles so there is a gap for the entrance to your tent. 
3. Once you’re happy with the shape, tie the tops of the poles together.
4. Push each pole 4”-6” into the earth.
5. OPTIONAL: to provide additional support for your climbing plants, you can use your string to create a network in the frame of your tent. 
   1. Attach the string to one side of your ‘door’ frame. 
   2. Wrapping it once or twice around each pole, bring the twine around to the other side of your door. 
   3. At this point, you should have one row of string around the frame of your tent.
   4. Repeat in the opposite direction.
   5. Repeat steps b-d until your tent is covered with rows of string.
6. Plant 4-6 of your climbing plants at the base of each pole.
7. Keep them watered according to the directions for each plant (which should be found on the packaging)
8. Enjoy! Your kids now have a bean pole tent to play in! (1,2)