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Store-bought trellises and arbors can be pricey, and they come in limited sizes. But you can make your own simple, yet sturdy, trellising system or garden arch that’s completely versatile and adaptable using some cattle panel fencing and a few easy-to-find supplies. Here’s a step-by-step walk-through on how to create a cattle panel trellis arch for in-ground or raised bed gardens—plus a list of the best climbing plants to grow on a cattle panel trellis.
What Is a Cattle Panel?
Also known as livestock or feedlot panels, cattle panels (and the similar-looking hog panels) are flexible, grid-like panels of welded, galvanized wire that are typically used to create a livestock or cattle fence. However, with a bit of ingenuity and the right supplies, cattle panels can be installed either flat or bent in gardens to create a cattle panel archway or trellis for climbing vegetables and flowers—and extra garden privacy.
Cattle panels are typically sold in 8- or 16-foot lengths at farm supply stores and usually cost between $30 and $50 per panel. Considering that a single panel can support multiple climbing plants, cattle panels can be one of the most cost-effective ways to create a vertical garden fence or trellises for vegetable gardening.
Location and Sizing Considerations
There are a number of creative ways to work a cattle panel arch or trellis into an existing flower or vegetable garden layout. If you’re planning raised garden beds, you can run a cattle panel straight down the center of your beds to serve as a trellis, or position a cattle panel arch trellis between two raised beds to form a tunnel-like walkway. Large in-ground gardens will give you even more options, as you can bend flexible cattle panels into trellises of different shapes that will hold all the climbing plants you want to grow.
A single cattle panel arch can support about four to five vining cucumber, melon, or squash plants or up to 20 pole beans per arch side. But you can give yourself even more planting room by linking multiple cattle panels together to form a larger trellis or extended arch. Just keep in mind that most veggies require full sun to grow, so cattle panels should be installed in a sunny spot and, if possible, in a north-to-south direction to allow in more light.
How to Build an Arched Cattle Panel Trellis
Cattle panel gardening can help you corral veggie plants and make smart use of limited garden space. But first you’ll need to install your cattle panel trellis! These trellises can be installed in a straight line down garden rows or shaped into a simple arch using the following step-by-step installation tips.
Project Overview
Working Time: 30 minutes to 1 hour
Total Time: 1 to 2 hours
Skill Level: Intermediate
Estimated Cost: $75 to $150
Tools & Materials
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Step 1: Transport cattle panel.
Bringing a cattle panel home can be the trickiest part of installing a cattle panel arch. Cattle panels are deceptively heavy and unwieldy and you’ll likely need two people and a truck to get one home. Wrapping a blanket or tarp around the panel while transporting it can help protect vehicle paint from damage.
Step 2: Find a good location.
Select a sunny spot for your cattle panel arch that’s either in an in-ground garden, around a garden walkway, or sandwiched between two raised beds. If possible, orient the arch in a north-to-south direction to maximize light exposure. Remember, most vegetables need well-draining soil and at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sun per day to be productive.
Step 3: Install posts.
Bend the cattle panel to create the arch form—this is a two-person job. Then, mark where the base of the cattle panel is going to touch the ground and install a T-post at each of the four corners of the cattle panel arch base using a post driver. Make sure the T-posts are sunk to the same depth in the soil and that there’s about 5 feet of space between the bottom sides of the arch so the arch doesn’t sag and is easy to walk through.
If needed, use a level to check that the T-posts are plumb. If the posts are leaning, pull them out and drive them in again.
Step 4: Add the cattle panel.
Once the four T-posts have been installed, reposition the cattle panel in between the posts so that the top of the panel is bent into a rounded arch. The base of the cattle panel should touch the ground and be positioned on the outside of the four T-posts. Again, this is a two-person job!
Step 5: Secure with zip ties.
Attach the cattle panel to the T-posts by wrapping zip ties around a horizontal wire on the cattle panel and a T-post. You’ll want about six zip ties per T-post, although this can vary depending on how deep the T-posts were driven into the soil.
Step 6: Plant.
Feel free to plant seeds or transplants around your cattle panel arch as soon as it’s installed. For best results, amend the soil with compost before planting, sow your vining plants first and then tuck smaller plants, like lettuce and radishes, in between the vines to fill in empty soil space and increase harvest yields.
The Best Plants to Grow on Cattle Panel Trellises
Mary Lou Barker, the co-chair of the community garden in Sullivan, Maine, grows a wide variety of climbing plants on the cattle panel trellises in the town’s community garden.
“After years of stringing our own trellises, we’ve found that cattle panels are much sturdier and much easier to deal with for pole beans, sugar snap peas, cucumbers and anything that climbs,” says Barker. “The size of the grid spaces makes it easy to slip your hands through the trellis, and ensures vegetables — such as cucumbers – don’t get cramped and misshapen.”
However, beans, peas, and cucumbers aren’t the only climbing vegetables that grow well on cattle panels. If you’re ready to garden trellis vegetables, here are some of the easiest veggies to grow on cattle panels:
- Vining cucumbers
- Squash
- Pole beans
- Malabar spinach
- Small pumpkins
- Morning glory
- Melons
- Gourds
- Grapes
- Peas
- Climbing nasturtium
- Moonflower
Tips for Training Plants
Whether you’re a beginning gardener or just looking for some cattle panel trellis ideas to take your garden to the next level, here are some tips for planting and training plants to grow on cattle panels.
Follow proper spacing guidelines. Cattle panel trellises can help you squeeze more plants into your garden—but it’s still important to space plants properly. Growing veggies too close together can restrict airflow and allow diseases, like powdery mildew, to spread.
Plant seeds and transplants close to trellises. Plant climbing plants just a few inches away from the sides of cattle panel arches so tender vines don’t need to stretch far to find support.
Use twine to help plants climb. Some vining plants don’t need any help climbing trellises. But other plants, like zucchini, may need to be loosely tied to cattle panels with twine or plant clips to get them started.
Add support hammocks for heavy fruit. Make sure plant vines don’t break by supporting melons and other heavy fruit with DIY fruit hammocks made from old nylon stockings or mesh produce bags.
Check plants regularly. Throughout the growing season, check veggies as needed and secure wayward vines to cattle panel trellises with twine. Harvesting zucchini, cucumbers, and other produce regularly will keep plants productive and limit weight on plant vines and trellises.
Maintain trellises. If needed, pound T-posts deeper and replace zip ties every year or so to keep cattle panel trellises in tiptop shape.
Final Thoughts
Cattle panel trellises are sturdy, easy to make, and budget-friendly. But they can be so much more. Once plants start growing on cattle panels, these trellises can look quite attractive and add extra privacy to gardens and yards. For even more interest, try growing eye-catching plants like birdhouse gourds or tromboncino squash on cattle panels. And don’t forget to refresh the soil around your cattle panel arch with an annual application of compost and mulch to support growing plants and keep weeds from creeping in!
