Has anyone used rolled livestock fence to make trellises....?

[BirdsongNC]

I am planning on using wire fencing as a trellis material for tomato plants. My local hardware store does not carry cattle panels (plus I couldn't fit them in my short bed pickup if they did ). What is available is concrete remesh panels 4ftx7ft and rolled livestock fencing. The remesh is not galvanized so it will be an option of last resort. I have never dealt with livestock fence so I dont know how unruly it will be and if it can be spread flat with out using any special tools. If you have any experience with using rolled fence your wisdom would be greatly appreciated!!!

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by BirdsongNC

I am planning on using wire fencing as a trellis material for tomato plants. My local hardware store does not carry cattle panels (plus I couldn't fit them in my short bed pickup if they did ). What is available is concrete remesh panels 4ftx7ft and rolled livestock fencing. The remesh is not galvanized so it will be an option of last resort. I have never dealt with livestock fence so I dont know how unruly it will be and if it can be spread flat with out using any special tools. If you have any experience with using rolled fence your wisdom would be greatly appreciated!!!

Unfortunately I have more experience with fencing than I care to mention. Although for me it was all those gosh darnoodley post holes and fence posts that were the pain, since my Dad was old school and always wanted wooden posts.

So anyways, what are you fixin to try? Cages? Vertical trellis? Horizontal trellis? Wooden posts? T-post?

[BirdsongNC]

I am going to attempt to make the fence (using T posts) into a straight vertical trellis

[ginger2778]

We are in the midst of that exact project right now. I found field fencing, tripple galvanized at 4 feet tall, which we are cutting into sections to wrap around our earthboxes. there was a learning curve, but my husband and i have got it now to where it takes about 20 minutes to cut the right amount, wrap it around the boxes, and fashion the ends of each cage into hooks to close it around itself. It took some doing to find the field fencing, but it suited our needs perfectly. Most other fencing has either too small openings, or too flexable, or it rusts, and we didn't want to have to make them again next year. We had to have it shipped, so more expensive, but there are many areas around where you have farm supplies and feed stores that you can pick it up from, or will deliver if you are close. It's heavy in a big roll. The specs we needed, large openings for big tomatoes and for spraying, fairly easily bendable, so we got the high tensile field fence, which is rigid on the top and bottom but malleable in between. It is working well, but dont forget to wipe off the oil they coat it with. I did, and had a few leaves with burns before I caught on. Learning curve....
We will have to see about extensions soon, as the plants are starting to outgrow the trellises
We have 11 more to go.
Edited to add mine has 6" square openings except right at the first 2 bottom rows, and you don't need large openings there, just above where there are leaves.
-Marsha

[Doug9345]

My assessment of the 2" x 4" welded wire fence is that the holes are too small. I have short stuff which I bought at a farm action that I use for peas. Its a complete pain removing dead vines from it. If you decide it's the best option for you, then the best way I've found to flatten it is to roll it out upside down from the way you'd normally do it and then walk on it. It's sort of flat then. Stapled to a good frame work it should lay flat anyway, it's not that stiff. Working with any farm fencing isn't exactly one of those jobs that you'll have people lined up to volunteer.

If your only objection to Flat CRW is that it's ugly then I'd paint it. As far as it rusting out, I'd think it would last 20 years at least.

I don't know how far you are from a TSC but they have all kinds of fencing as well as a farm store if you are out in the country. Any of your big box stores have CRW or look for a concrete place.

Depending on how many you need you might be able to get Cattle panels delivered. I have some that must be a dozen years old that don't look bad. I would have to straight then out some to use as a trellis as they've been used as animal fencing more than once.

[Doug9345]

I forgot to add, regardless of what you choose, wear gloves and a good long sleeve work shirt when working with it. The cut ends are sharp and it seems to find ways to bite you.

I've used the fencing material as cucumber trellis for many years. It worked well, but I've realized over the years the holes are to small. I had to cut out large holes with wire cutters to reach through in order to work on both sides of the trellis. I'm always cutting my hands and arms on the little wire stubs left after cutting the wire. I've decided to remove all of the fencing trellis and replace it with the same concrete reinforcing material my tomato cages are constructed of. I may purchase some more reinforcing material to make tomato trellis from as well. I have a lot of extra tomato cages a friend gave me last year which I can unhook to make flat trellis from, but I may simply prefer to go with new panels. I don't worry about how fast it rusts. The rust doesn't seem to hurt anything and the material lasts for many years even with the rust.

Ted

[Rockporter]

Originally Posted by tedln

. I'm always cutting my hands and arms on the little wire stubs left after cutting the wire. I've decided to remove all of the fencing trellis and replace it with the same concrete reinforcing material my tomato cages are constructed of. Ted

You might be able to keep from replacing that fencing if you used a plastic coating on the cut sharp edges called plastidip.


I used this on my pea fence cages I made for my earthboxes. Here is the thread on using this material.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showpost....1&postcount=54

" You want the trellis well up off the ground so you can easily get under it to work on your plants for any pruning, mulch, fertiliser etc...."

A "rule of thumb" I use to set the height of the trellis is "high enough to allow protective covers like 5 gallon buckets or pots to be placed over my tender seedlings". Since I plant out on March 1, I usually have to protect my plants two or three times from late frosts.

I prefer the reinforcing panels because the holes are large enough to allow me to weave the stems back and forth through the panels as they grow. I've found that too be a more effective method than constantly looking for and tying stray stems to the panels. It also allows the branches to droop straight down protecting young tomatoes from sun scald. Since the plants are growing in an almost esplanade fashion on the trellis, it allows me to also stretch shade cloth across the plants/panels and using those big, black binder clips: I attach the shade cloth to the trellis panels.

I use the T posts as Scott suggested by driving them straight into the beds about 18" deep. I use a small carpenters level to make sure they are standing straight up. Since my beds are eight feet long, I buy 1" X 2" X 8' wood strips which I wire to the tops of my T posts. So far, the wood strips have kept the posts equally aligned for three years. While I may change the growth supports on the posts, I never pull the posts. I purchased T posts many years ago long enough that I have to stand on a ladder to start driving them into the soil. It doesn't hurt if the panels extend above the posts about one foot if the panels are well secured to the wood strips and posts at the top. The top of my panels are usually about eight feet above the soil. Many of the tomato plants grow over the panels and extend downward almost to the soil.

All the structures in my garden are secured with wire. It makes everything easy to erect and disassemble. I purchased a five hundred foot roll of stainless steel electric fence wire a few years ago and I keep a pair of wire cutters in the garden with the roll of wire.

Since I change many things almost yearly, everything in my garden is erected as temporary and easily changeable.

Rockporter,

I've never heard of the "Plastidip". I'll have to check it out. Thanks!

Ted

[Redbaron]

OK Here is what you do. First set your T-posts (use a string to keep the row straight), but not as deep as you would if making a fence. You want the trellis well up off the ground so you can easily get under it to work on your plants for any pruning, mulch, fertiliser etc..... Makes it easier to pull the posts next fall too. Tomatoes can grow at least a few feet before needing bracing anyway.

Next you need to brace your ends. For trellises I like to stake it one way with wire line tied to the top of the other T-post making an X out of the panel. Twist the wire part of the X to tighten it. This is so you don't pull over the t-posts when stretching the fencing. But if your trellis is small the you could tighten it with just twine or light rope instead of wire line.

Next roll out the fencing. Have one person stand on the end (or peg it) so it doesn't roll back up on you. Then cut the fence to length. Tie one end of the fence to the braced T-post at the far end by sliding the horizontal fence mesh into the nubs and giving the cut horizontals a wrap and a twist around the T-post. (maybe use a bit of wire tie to hold it into place) On the other end of the fencing insert a bit of pipe or a bar threading it through the mesh. Attach your fence stretcher or come-along to the bar and something that won't move (like a tractor or car bumper) and give it a few cranks until the fence is tight. (don't get carried away, it doesn't have to be too tight, we are not holding back 2000 pound cattle ) Then attach the fence to the other braced T-post on the near side. Then walk down your row and attach your trellis to all the T-posts in the middle by sliding the horizontal into the nubs and a few wire ties. Then cut the middle horizontal wire mesh at the near end and wrap the ends around the braced t-bar giving it a twist on itself so it doesn't slide when the stretcher is released. Release the stretcher. Cut the top and bottom and also wrap those ends around the T-Bar with a twist at the end.

Fencing is one of those simple things that sounds much harder than it is to do.

PS Cattle fencing has larger openings than the welded mesh type fencing the other people posted about. You shouldn't have a problem there.

[dice]

You can get hog wire some places with bigger holes. Not as big
as Concrete Reinforcing Wire, but bigger than 2-inch by 4-inch.

It is usually flexible and galvanized, but only 3 feet to 4 feet tall.
You probably need two horizontal lengths of it for indeterminates.

One could use automotive hose clamps in galvanized or stainless
for a secure attachment to the post. (Only requires a screwdriver or
nutdriver to fasten.)

[ginger2778]

Here's a link to a fence supply company where the field fencing is very similar to concrete reinforcing wire but triple galvanized, so no rust. Spacing is 6" square except the very bottom 2 rows, and you don't need the wide holes there anyway. They also have deer fence which is 6 ' tall, but the bottom several "rungs" are not wide, but it still might be wide enough where the leaves are, higher up.

http://www.louispage.com/fences/farm-field/
-Marsha

[ginger2778]

This is the field fence. I have some store bought cages inside too.
-Marsha