Double cattle panel trellis

Csross · February 5, 2016

Hi everyone. I moved to Maryland and bought a house last summer, so I'd love to get some advice on planning my first garden here. I built a 4'x8' raised bed this fall and filled it with compost, and now I'm trying to figure out my plant spacing and trellising scheme. The bed is in full sun and the 8 foot long axis runs East-West. I'd like to grow peas, pole beans, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, etc.

I've been reading about various types of support structures, and would like your opinions on my current plan. I plan to get a cattle panel (16' long by 50" tall) and cut it in half (4'x8'), and use metal fence posts to support the 2 panels across the back (north side) of the bed. I've read about using a single panel, suspended directly above tomato plants, and weaving/tying the plants through the mesh. Instead, I'm proposing 2 parallel panels, 12-18" apart, 'sandwich-ing' tomatoes planted in a row down the middle. I figure I can get a row of 4 plants in an 8' bed (24" between plants). I understand I'll still have to do some tying and weaving, but I'm hoping that it'll be less work than constantly weaving them back and forth through a single panel. Does this sound reasonable, and how far apart should the two panels be?

I will install them in March, so I can plant peas along the back panel. Will peas or pole beans readily climb a cattle panel with a 6"x6" grid? I'm hoping to get a good crop of them before the tomatoes get too big and shade them out. Then I'll have peppers, squash, lettuce, etc. in front (south) of the trellises. Any advice you may have would be very welcome!

Thanks!
-Chris

jmsieglaff · February 5, 2016

You've touched on a subject near and dear to me, since cattle panels are what I use for my trellis system. Your solution with fence posts will work fine I believe. I used electrical conduit and 'snaked' the conduit through the panels, using elbow connectors on the joints and slipped the electrical conduit/panels over rebar that is pounded 18-24" into the ground. But mine are 4' lengths, not 8', so you would need center support(s) as well (mine look like this: http://www.tomatoville.com/showpost....92&postcount=8)

I have grown peas, beans, cucumbers, and squash on the cattle panels. I never tried tomatoes. The aforementioned crops will certainly climb them, sometimes the peas need a little encouragement to start but then will take off once they grab hold. I currently grow peas, cukes and squash on them. I like to grow my squash and cukes on them since they hog so much space on the ground and fruits grow off the ground.

As far as your plan with tomatoes, I think it would work logistically, I lean toward 18" spacing on the panels, but can't speak from experience. What I would be concerned with is leaf fungal disease at your proposed spacing. I moved to more tomatoes in a single bed with 24" spacing and had Sepotria leaf spot issues worse than I ever had. Yes the weather was part of that, but I believe I'd have years where the weather is even more favorable. And you're in MD--which I know is a more humid summer place than me in WI. I am rearranging my garden (I have 4'x11' raised beds) where I put the tomatoes 6 per bed (4 in each corner and 2 in the middle) and put smaller veggies in between the tomatoes. I will not be able to rotate my tomatoes this way, but where I live I don't contend with soil borne disease, only annual fungal disease and I'm hoping the increased airflow will help out.

Have you considered growing your squash on the cattle panels and tomatoes in the beds with cages/supports? It depends on what you're growing, if you're growing bush zukes, then that's not option. I've grown winter squash and vining summer squash on my panels (I only grow vining summer squash now since high quality winter squash can be found at reasonable prices and you only need to buy once since it keeps for months).

Nothing I said here is proven gospel, just my $0.02. I hope it helps and would say experiment and don't be afraid to change it up if things aren't working.

Patihum · February 5, 2016

I use cattle panels for my tomatoes and it really doesn't consume much time to weave the plants in - I do it each day as I check them. (35 plants) With only 4 plants I'd think the double panel is a wee bit of overkill. It's also going to restrict easy access for pruning. Something you'll need to do with the plants that close together

zeuspaul · February 5, 2016

I use the sandwich method although not with cattle panels. I run two rows of t-posts 18 or 24 inches apart with 1/2 inch electrical metal conduit with 14 inch vertical spacing spanning the t-posts. I have tried 12 inches and 3 feet and 4 feet but have settled on 18 inches or 24 inches for the sandwich width. 24 might be my favorite because I can crawl through the length of the row for maintenance at the end of the year.

I don't tie the tomatoes. I slip a 1 x 2 inch piece of wood about 3 feet long through the sandwich. I tried pvc but it rolls so I prefer the flat sided wood. It takes fewer pieces of wood than I originally anticipated because the plants form a hedge and support each other. When the plants are 12 to 18 inches tall slip the wood in.

kath · February 6, 2016

I have cattle panels along 4 rows in my garden and rotate different crops each year. I agree with Patihum that using 2 would be overkill, especially in a small be and would make tending the area and crops grown on them more difficult. I'd use the other half on another raised bed.

When I plant tall peas, that crop isn't be ready to pull out until some time in July and I'm often able to put my tomatoes in by mid-May, so I wouldn't grow those 2 crops in the same space. I follow my peas with late corn. Beans can't be safely planted until your tomatoes go in and will take some time to get established as the weather warms and will produce until frost, so I see those 2 competing as well.

Maybe you could plant a couple pole beans at the west end and try to train them to stay on their end (good luck!) and plant your tomatoes 18" apart along the rest of the north row. They're easy to weave or to tie or clip to the panel. I'd suggest you try Sugar Lace II or another self-supporting pea that will stay low and would fit in a row in front of where the tomatoes would be. Lettuce will grow in the shade of any of the plants you listed. Peppers in the south row would provide shade for lettuce later in the season and be far enough away from your tomatoes that they wouldn't crowd each other as much. You'll find that a 4' x8' bed will fill up really quickly once your plants reach maturity.

Just some ideas...best of luck with your garden!

kath

Csross · February 8, 2016

Thanks for all the replies, everyone! So far, I've only convinced my wife to allow one raised bed, so I don't have another use in mind for the 2nd half of the panel, which is why I thought about the sandwich method. And I won't be able to tend the garden every day, either, so I'm looking for something low maintenance.

Zeuspaul, that sounds like what I'm envisioning. Maybe I'll try it with three plants this year, and I can remove one of the panels next year if it's too much.

Kath, it's great to hear from someone in a similar climate. Yes, I'm realizing that I don't have enough real estate for everything I want to grow! If I go with only 3 tomato plants, that'll give me some room on the western end of both trellises to plant pole beans. Thanks for suggesting short peas, and planting lettuce in the shade of peppers in the front.

Lots to think about!

February 5, 2016	#1
Csross Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Bel Air, MD Posts: 28	Double cattle panel trellis Hi everyone. I moved to Maryland and bought a house last summer, so I'd love to get some advice on planning my first garden here. I built a 4'x8' raised bed this fall and filled it with compost, and now I'm trying to figure out my plant spacing and trellising scheme. The bed is in full sun and the 8 foot long axis runs East-West. I'd like to grow peas, pole beans, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, etc. I've been reading about various types of support structures, and would like your opinions on my current plan. I plan to get a cattle panel (16' long by 50" tall) and cut it in half (4'x8'), and use metal fence posts to support the 2 panels across the back (north side) of the bed. I've read about using a single panel, suspended directly above tomato plants, and weaving/tying the plants through the mesh. Instead, I'm proposing 2 parallel panels, 12-18" apart, 'sandwich-ing' tomatoes planted in a row down the middle. I figure I can get a row of 4 plants in an 8' bed (24" between plants). I understand I'll still have to do some tying and weaving, but I'm hoping that it'll be less work than constantly weaving them back and forth through a single panel. Does this sound reasonable, and how far apart should the two panels be? I will install them in March, so I can plant peas along the back panel. Will peas or pole beans readily climb a cattle panel with a 6"x6" grid? I'm hoping to get a good crop of them before the tomatoes get too big and shade them out. Then I'll have peppers, squash, lettuce, etc. in front (south) of the trellises. Any advice you may have would be very welcome! Thanks! -Chris

February 5, 2016	#4
zeuspaul Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: North County, San Diego Posts: 419	I use the sandwich method although not with cattle panels. I run two rows of t-posts 18 or 24 inches apart with 1/2 inch electrical metal conduit with 14 inch vertical spacing spanning the t-posts. I have tried 12 inches and 3 feet and 4 feet but have settled on 18 inches or 24 inches for the sandwich width. 24 might be my favorite because I can crawl through the length of the row for maintenance at the end of the year. I don't tie the tomatoes. I slip a 1 x 2 inch piece of wood about 3 feet long through the sandwich. I tried pvc but it rolls so I prefer the flat sided wood. It takes fewer pieces of wood than I originally anticipated because the plants form a hedge and support each other. When the plants are 12 to 18 inches tall slip the wood in. Last edited by zeuspaul; February 5, 2016 at 06:24 PM.

February 5, 2016	#2
jmsieglaff Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Southern WI Posts: 2,742	You've touched on a subject near and dear to me, since cattle panels are what I use for my trellis system. Your solution with fence posts will work fine I believe. I used electrical conduit and 'snaked' the conduit through the panels, using elbow connectors on the joints and slipped the electrical conduit/panels over rebar that is pounded 18-24" into the ground. But mine are 4' lengths, not 8', so you would need center support(s) as well (mine look like this: http://www.tomatoville.com/showpost....92&postcount=8) I have grown peas, beans, cucumbers, and squash on the cattle panels. I never tried tomatoes. The aforementioned crops will certainly climb them, sometimes the peas need a little encouragement to start but then will take off once they grab hold. I currently grow peas, cukes and squash on them. I like to grow my squash and cukes on them since they hog so much space on the ground and fruits grow off the ground. As far as your plan with tomatoes, I think it would work logistically, I lean toward 18" spacing on the panels, but can't speak from experience. What I would be concerned with is leaf fungal disease at your proposed spacing. I moved to more tomatoes in a single bed with 24" spacing and had Sepotria leaf spot issues worse than I ever had. Yes the weather was part of that, but I believe I'd have years where the weather is even more favorable. And you're in MD--which I know is a more humid summer place than me in WI. I am rearranging my garden (I have 4'x11' raised beds) where I put the tomatoes 6 per bed (4 in each corner and 2 in the middle) and put smaller veggies in between the tomatoes. I will not be able to rotate my tomatoes this way, but where I live I don't contend with soil borne disease, only annual fungal disease and I'm hoping the increased airflow will help out. Have you considered growing your squash on the cattle panels and tomatoes in the beds with cages/supports? It depends on what you're growing, if you're growing bush zukes, then that's not option. I've grown winter squash and vining summer squash on my panels (I only grow vining summer squash now since high quality winter squash can be found at reasonable prices and you only need to buy once since it keeps for months). Nothing I said here is proven gospel, just my $0.02. I hope it helps and would say experiment and don't be afraid to change it up if things aren't working.

February 5, 2016	#3
Patihum Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Southeast Kansas Posts: 878	I use cattle panels for my tomatoes and it really doesn't consume much time to weave the plants in - I do it each day as I check them. (35 plants) With only 4 plants I'd think the double panel is a wee bit of overkill. It's also going to restrict easy access for pruning. Something you'll need to do with the plants that close together

February 6, 2016	#5
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	I have cattle panels along 4 rows in my garden and rotate different crops each year. I agree with Patihum that using 2 would be overkill, especially in a small be and would make tending the area and crops grown on them more difficult. I'd use the other half on another raised bed. When I plant tall peas, that crop isn't be ready to pull out until some time in July and I'm often able to put my tomatoes in by mid-May, so I wouldn't grow those 2 crops in the same space. I follow my peas with late corn. Beans can't be safely planted until your tomatoes go in and will take some time to get established as the weather warms and will produce until frost, so I see those 2 competing as well. Maybe you could plant a couple pole beans at the west end and try to train them to stay on their end (good luck!) and plant your tomatoes 18" apart along the rest of the north row. They're easy to weave or to tie or clip to the panel. I'd suggest you try Sugar Lace II or another self-supporting pea that will stay low and would fit in a row in front of where the tomatoes would be. Lettuce will grow in the shade of any of the plants you listed. Peppers in the south row would provide shade for lettuce later in the season and be far enough away from your tomatoes that they wouldn't crowd each other as much. You'll find that a 4' x8' bed will fill up really quickly once your plants reach maturity. Just some ideas...best of luck with your garden! kath

February 8, 2016	#6
Csross Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Bel Air, MD Posts: 28	Thanks for all the replies, everyone! So far, I've only convinced my wife to allow one raised bed, so I don't have another use in mind for the 2nd half of the panel, which is why I thought about the sandwich method. And I won't be able to tend the garden every day, either, so I'm looking for something low maintenance. Zeuspaul, that sounds like what I'm envisioning. Maybe I'll try it with three plants this year, and I can remove one of the panels next year if it's too much. Kath, it's great to hear from someone in a similar climate. Yes, I'm realizing that I don't have enough real estate for everything I want to grow! If I go with only 3 tomato plants, that'll give me some room on the western end of both trellises to plant pole beans. Thanks for suggesting short peas, and planting lettuce in the shade of peppers in the front. Lots to think about!