Bean wigwam

[Garbo]

To save space I would like to grow squash or pumpkins under my French bean wigwam but not sure about light or competition for water. Any advice please

[JoaoLeaftide]

I tried this a couple of years ago and the squash ended up swamping the base of the wigwam, made it a nightmare to pick the beans. If you go for it, a smaller trailing variety like a patty pan might work better than a full-size pumpkin. They still compete for water though so you end up having to drench the whole area in dry spells.

[ChingfordHarry]

the squash ended up swamping the base of the wigwam

I had the opposite problem! The beans cut out all the light from the squashes and they never took off - just looked sad and wilted until I dug them up in the autumn...

It might be worth growing the beans up vertical poles/canes (replacing the corn in a three sisters bed, so to speak) so that they can get the light and don't shade out the squash - I've never tried this, so if you do I'd be very interested in the results!