Spacing plants on a cattle panel

[halleone]

I am going to experiment with using a cattle panel (as opposed to my usual Florida weave) on one of my beds this year, and wonder what spacing would be appropriate for the plants. The bed I will use is 7' long, and I am pretty sure two plants is just fine, can I get away with putting three plants in, if I alternate the plants on both sides of the panel?

[TexasTomat0]

I've got 5 plants in a small 6.5'x3' bed. I'm banking on being able to utilize the entire plane of the cattle panel to maximize sunlight. I think you could easily get 3 plants in 7 feet. Mine are staggered 3 on one side of the panel and 2 on the other in the gaps from the first 3.
X X
X X X - Like this

[Cole_Robbie]

I'd say 3 would be no problem, too.

[SQWIBB]

Will the two outside plants be closer to the edge of the bed?
I can get 4 beefsteaks in a 10' bed but the two plants on the ends start at 12" in on each side and are spaced 36" apart.

So for your bed at 3 plants, starting at 12" on both sides spacing would be 20" apart.
Tighten the outside plants to 6" from both edges and you have 24" spaced plants
Does that make sense?

[bjbebs]

If you split a 16 foot panel in half you will have a section that extends a few inches over each end of your bed. A plant on each end and the middle gives you plenty of room. It's also helpful to mount the wire 10-12 inches off the ground to get more height. My panels are 25 plus yrs. old and 52 inches high. Not sure what size newer panels come in but every inch counts. Hog clips, bailing wire or even zip ties will support the wire on a 7 foot fence post. The panel can go well beyond the top of your posts. If it's wired tight it won't flop. I'm assuming your beds don't have a bottom and support posts can be driven into the ground.

[halleone]

Thank you all for your replies and thoughts, it's always so nice to be able to get help here.

I'll go with the three plants in that bed. Bjbebs, I also have my panels cut in half, and I up-end them to get the added height, as in they become 8' tall. I don't remember how tall they were to begin with, but that height now becomes the width, and I just add/overlap as needed to fit the bed I am using. My beds are raised berms, varying in length from 6' to 10'. Pounding in T-posts is no problem (other than I am not too tall and the 7 footers can be hard to manage, so out comes the ladder). I think this looks like the way to go this year, and I'll most likely go buy one more panel and just forget about the Florida weave.
Thanks again everyone, and Cole_Robbie, I sure like your Shepherd.