# Whatcha think about this trellis??



## Boonehillbilly (Aug 31, 2009)

Picked up 7 cattle panels yesterday to build a larger version(30 foot) of the picture of the trellis below. Would you think I will need some type of support in the middle? I woudl lie to be able to grow melons with the beans, cukes etc... ThankS!


----------



## Horse Fork Farm (Jan 3, 2006)

Love it..... bean vines are HEAVY!


----------



## farmerstac (Mar 16, 2005)

Looks Great I think you would be fine with beans and cukes. Melons I would go with some extra support just to be on the safe side. Also that green house looks good too. I have to get my butt in gear now that its a new year and get one up for myself


----------



## gobug (Dec 10, 2003)

I think it is interesting that you used the cattle panels in the garden. I have done so for many years now.

I do not understand 30 feet. I guess 4.5 feet X 7 is fairly close to 30. Is 30 feet the diameter of the arch, or the length of the path beneath the arch? It will not support anything (perhaps not even itself) if the diameter of the arch is 30 feet. That would then require a support for the cattle panels.

Your boxes are small and fragile. They will not last long. Hence, the cattle panel arch in the photo will not stand long unless you provide additional support. I used metal salvage yard shelf verticals and U bolts to attach cattle panel to the verticals. The arch itself was only 4 foot in diameter. The verticals were bolted onto the 4 foot garden boxes so the arch was only above the pathway between the boxes.

Most of the harvest was not from the top of the arch, but from the sides. The end of the summer had vines growing to the top, but our season in CO was not long enough for many vegetables to grow there, just the vines and leaves. Your climate may be better, but I still think you should narrow the diameter.

You could use just about anything (like a 2x4...) for the corners of your arch.

I used cattle panel to make an A shaped tomato support (5 foot high x 4 foot wide x 4.5 foot long). It sat upon the top of a box and was moved every year. 

I also used 1/2 a panel for a trellis to support melons, squash, and cukes. This was just a flat sheet (4.5 feet X 8 feet) with a 3 wooden legs (2x2) (one on each end and one in the middle). Cukes and melons had to be assisted a bit in their growth onto the trellis.

I used a cattle panel lined with a bird mesh to make a compost bin. 

I also used a cattle panel to construct a 13 foot x 3 foot garden box using thin shell cement. This was a prototype. I am now in the process of assembling 4 new boxes improving on the design of box 1. My goal is finish them prior to spring planting. I plan to have 3 or 4 cattle panel arches in the pathways between the boxes. 

I will try to learn how to post a photo. 

I couldn't figure it out, however I do have a link to free photo site showing some related photos. http://community.webshots.com/album/181559487ndFNIS?start=12

I hope the "insert link" icon above worked. (IT WORKS) There are also a few photos of cement box 1.
good luck


----------



## gobug (Dec 10, 2003)

I have spent some time now trying to figure out how to just copy a photo onto the reply as you did in your initial posting. Please help.
Thanks, Gary


----------



## Kazahleenah (Nov 3, 2004)

gobug said:


> I have spent some time now trying to figure out how to just copy a photo onto the reply as you did in your initial posting. Please help.
> Thanks, Gary


you upload the photo to a place like Photobucket.com

then copy the IMG link to your post here.


----------



## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

If both ends of the panels are on the ground and there is no seam in the middle, you won't need support in the middle. Those panels don't have a lot of bend and the weight of plants isn't going to bend that down.


----------



## Kazahleenah (Nov 3, 2004)

oregon woodsmok said:


> If both ends of the panels are on the ground and there is no seam in the middle, you won't need support in the middle. Those panels don't have a lot of bend and the weight of plants isn't going to bend that down.


true.
I anchor the ends with T-posts to secure them to the ground as they do need a pretty strong anchor.


----------



## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

Neat,

I would anchor all 4 (at least) corners with re bar.. In my mind I see those raised beds catapulted, If it happens you'l need a big butterfly net to catch the watermelons LOL


----------



## copperhead46 (Jan 25, 2008)

Thats pretty much my tomato set up. the panels are on the ground with rebar stakes holding them down and my raised beds are 4ft by 2 ft and I put two tomatoes in each bed. It works great and the cow panel doesn't take up any of my bed space.
P.J.


----------



## gobug (Dec 10, 2003)

[/URL][/IMG]

thanks Kazahleenah, my photo site is hopefully similar, so I followed the steps on it and will now see if I have posted a photo of my cattle panel cold frame


it worked, but


----------



## salmonslayer91 (Oct 10, 2010)

i think it looks Great and if there is no seem in the middle as another has said then i think the strenth of the cattel panel should hold up though i do agree it may need more anchoring


----------



## Boonehillbilly (Aug 31, 2009)

I found the pic in my original post online somehwhere. My boxes will be 2x8's and only be 2 panels per box (3 in one) then have another box butted up against the next. I was thinking a 2x4 ridge style beam in the middle attached to 2 more 2x4's like an upside down "V".. Shuodl be rock solid.. I dunno why the guy in th epic used 1bys??


----------



## gobug (Dec 10, 2003)

If you narrow the diameter of the arch, the cattle panel is harder to bend into a good arch; however, it is not that bad. A narrower arch would make an upside down "V" up higher and easier too. You could even use an "X" instead of a "V".

For 2x? wood (?=any size from 4 up) my experience says use nuts, washers, and bolts, not nails or screws. Angle iron, door hinges, or aluminum angle rod with holes for the bolts will last a lot longer. 

Also, line the inside of the wood box with a layer of thick plastic (just bring the plastic from slightly below the box to slightly above the dirt level). My first raised wooden boxes lasted 5 years before repairs or replacements were needed. The second set (as described above and pictured on the photo site link above) lasted 20 years with zero repairs. They still looked good 6 years ago when I sold the house.

I am making my new boxes 3 feet across so they can be gardened from a single side. A 4 foot wide box is too wide and both sides must be worked.

My cement box 1 is 18 inches deep x 1/2inch thick. That is too heavy for it to be easily moved. Boxes 2-4 will be 1 foot deep and not so long. One of my design criteria is to be able to construct the box in Denver and assemble it on my mountain property. Hence a 13 foot 18inch wall is too big and too heavy.

My wooden boxes also bowed in the center. I bowed them in and anchored the sides with a piece of rebar so they would not bow.

Finally, place a drainage tile in the bottom of the box (below the box sides) so it does not get water logged soil.


----------



## Boonehillbilly (Aug 31, 2009)

Yes bolts and fender washers are a must.. I want to be able to take the ridin mower under and walk under the center of the arch....


----------



## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

i have used those for a temp greenhouse for a few years. they seem to be sturdier if they are narrower and higher versus wider and shorter. my one deck is six feet wide and when i had them on the deck i could hang pots from them with out them bending, i think i had eight good size pots from them. i have also had them in the garden and have used t-posts on the four corners--i have grown butternut squash on them without them bending. they work super for peas and beans, its nice to stand up and pick instead of kneeling. as far as the pic goes i dont think you need support in the middle but i would worry about where you have them in the base--i would leave them inside the beds but i would have them on the outside edge.


----------



## fetch33 (Jan 15, 2010)

See the pics of my bean cattle panel trellis in the other trellis thread. It did lean towards the end of the season so I will have to devise a method of stabilizing it this year. I can't put T posts in the ground because the garden is over my leech field.


----------



## The Bunny Ranch (Nov 3, 2010)

We also use cattle panels for tomato supports. We use fence post for the support on the ends. They are easy to remove. The only thing bad about it is we always rotate the tomatoes each year so we have to dig post holes every spring. I'm lucky I have a man that actually likes doing it.


----------

