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Suggestions for climbers to cover shed (cool climate)

 
steward and tree herder
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Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year
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I've just finished my shed build (see here) and am now thinking about growing scheme for around it. The shed is covered with fine fish netting (about 1/2 inch holes) which will give a climber some support.
It is next to my growing area, where I am experimenting with a simple farming system, but the soil where it stands is yet unimproved turf. This means it is heavily compacted formerly grazed mainly grass, but with vetch, cinquefoil, buttercup, pignuts etc. The soil is very acidic and silty and my climate is cool, getting above 20 degrees Celsius (70 F) in summer is rare, but mild - penetrating frosts are also rare. I would say we're climate zone 9 except for the cool summers which warm climate plants don't like. It is also rather wet - rain at anytime of year, driest in spring when we can get cold winds and bright days. Windy too (salty from the sea), but hopefully the shed will provide a bit of shelter.
I'm thinking now I have vertical space, I have the opportunity to have some climbing plants. I'd like ones that will enhance the pollinator habitat, especially for my fava beans, but edible parts would also be nice.
One thought I had was hops - if I can find a good Northern variety, but am looking for other suggestions - particularly for the more shady side (which would also be more sheltered).
Thanks for any experience you can share.
 
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i think hops sounds like a good idea; another one that might work for you is scarlet runner bean. It tolerates cold well, seems to not get the mildew that kills the other beans, pollinators love it, and it's pretty. It will die back in strong cold but in your climate might live a few years. I grow mine in part shade (needs must) and they take quite a bit to get started.
I like to eat the dry beans but am not a fan of the immature pods, prefer normal snap/string beans instead.
https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/phaseolus-coccineus-scarlet-emperor/
 
Nancy Reading
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Ooh, I had forgotten runner beans! Usually they have struggled for me, but unlike you I love the green pods. Maybe I can find a short season variety that copes with a bit of exposure. I don't think they would cope with the damp over winter, but definitely worth a try again even as an annual though!
 
steward
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I will second the suggestion of Scarlet Runner beans as I feel they are so pretty.

I am only familiar with vines for hot climates so I as Mr. Google who suggested vines I am not familiar with except "Clematis".

I knew immediately how pretty Clematis was.

I found this that you or others might enjoy:

https://permies.com/t/222207/Medicinal-Shrubs-Woody-Vines-Clematis
 
Nancy Reading
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Hmm, clematis might be an option I do love the flowers - I know spring flowering ones can do well here, which would give earlier flowers for pollinators. I'll bear that in mind, thanks Anne!

spring flowering climbers
Clematis montana - likes it here

source
 
Posts: 144
Location: Western Kentucky - Zone 7
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I would recommend either hardy kiwi or maypop passionfruit. The primary difference between them is kiwi will take a lot longer to bear fruit for you, and maypop dies to the ground each year. However, both are excellent plants. If you choose to raise kiwi try Issai hardy kiwi as it is self fruitful and bears much sonner.
 
Nancy Reading
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Great suggestions, thanks Kevin. I think Maypop might need hotter summers to ripen? I was thinking of trying some in my polytunnel, but haven't managed to get a seedling to survive yet. Hardy kiwi is an interesting idea and definitely worth investigating further, thanks again.

Here's a picture of the shed; you can see it needs a bit of camouflage!
IMG_20231114_135016.jpg
Shed viewed from the North side
Shed viewed from the North side (in the rain)
 
Kevin Goheen
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Maypop grows nearly to Canada, so I think it would be fine for your area. Even if the fruits don't ripen, the leaves are excellent for a calming tea.
 
gardener
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I wonder if a true yam of some sort would serve your needs.
Plat into bottomless buckets or raised beds for easy harvesting.
 
Nancy Reading
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William Bronson wrote:I wonder if a true yam of some sort would serve your needs.


Hmm...I have got some Dioscorea japonica (hardy Japanese yam) that I have been growing in my polytunnel. It does prefer the warmer climate in there, but has been surviving the last couple of years minus cover. It would be good to have more of it. Maybe more of a stone base to the shed would act as a thermal store to create a microclimate to get it going in spring - even in the tunnel I don't see them till quite late in the season. I could build up a dwarf wall on the South side of the shed.
The other climber I grow in the polytunnel that may do well outside is Apios (Hopnis). That likes it damp and again has been surviving nicely without the cover on the tunnel. They maybe would grow a bit slower without the heat, but being perennial I can just leave them for several years before harvesting to build up the size - Nitrogen fixing too I believe!

Plat into bottomless buckets or raised beds for easy harvesting.


I've said previously that my soil isn't very deep - I literally hit rock (Skye!) at about 18 inches, so not much digging required! Raised beds however would also make the soil warm more quickly for the yam - I think a (bottomless dwarf raised bed with stone sides and a bit of a taller wall at the back to catch the sun might help it along.
I'll definitely give both these plants a try outside and see if I can get the microclimates to suit. I know I like them both to eat and would like more of them. The Dioscorea may have to wait till the tunnel cover is replaced and I get a supply of aerial bulbils. It doesn't get big enough during the growing season outside to set any (although hopefully is putting on tuber growth underground). I've got some hopniss already growing in a pot ready to transplant. I'll check where the gutters aren't catching the rain off the roof well, since they are supposed to thrive in damp soil - again with stones to give them shelter and captured warmth to help the growth a bit....
 
William Bronson
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.How hard do you find it to  harvest the yams when they are grown in ground ?
I have a source for the yams and I was thinking to try them as a shade vine for my north facing porch.
Both true yams and  ground nuts are said to grow deep and unpredictable roots, which is why I suggested raised beds, but you have eeal life experience with both that might suggest otherwise.

BTW, I love that no one has suggested grape vines!
I'm not sure about their requirements, but given my own experience in a hot place with lots of precipitation, I would imagine they would be prone to fungal infections in your environment.
They do give great shade and lots of biomass, even if you don't eat the leaves and never get fruit.
 
Nancy Reading
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It's been a few years since I harvested my yam roots, but I remember they were quite far down, maybe about 8 inches. They were pretty small (at one year) and maybe they get deeper year on year? I harvested them in the winter when the vines had died back. One got a bit damaged with the digging implement, they weren't quite where I thought they would be from the top growth, and it is difficult to follow the vine string.
dioscorea yam root digging
more discussion here
They were a bit small and I was going to try and put them on a longer term rotation - dig every 4 years, but the polytunnel losing it's lid had put paid to that for the moment.

Grape vines would be awesome. I can grow them outside (the ones in my tunnel are still very happy) but they don't even have the energy to flower, so no chance of fruit. OK if all you wanted was vine leaves I suppose. Maybe too much of a good thing for a small shed though.
 
William Bronson
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Nancy, after following that link I had to laugh-you answered most of my questions a year ago!
 
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