The Ultimate Tomato Cage in 5 Simple Steps

[Beekissed]

Thank you! It does look neater than any other garden I've ever had, mostly due to the wood chips and permanent trellis cattle panels. Usually my gardens are a hot mess, particularly when everything is in full growth. I got tired of sagging tomato stakes and trellises making the garden look bad, so took this route to keep things looking and performing as they should.

Around here one can get cattle panels for $18-$20 per, so we tend to buy them a couple at a time and use them in multiple ways. I'll be building an arbor for my son's garden from cattle panel and wood this week, weather permitting.

I'm also using cattle panels split lengthwise to form rings around my apple saplings and later around the mature trees, to hold wood chips, straw, grass clippings, leaves, etc. so I can keep a constant compost at the foot of my trees.

 

[MoonShadows]

Yes, one of the neatest and organized veggie gardens I have seen.

I was at TSC yesterday, and their 16' panels are $19.99. I want to make an arbor to put at the gateway leading out of the immediate backyard to the greenhouse and shed. I was thinking of using pt wood and a piece of panel cut to size. I want to cover it with climbing roses. Only problem is I don't have a way to transport the 16' lengths now that I don't have a pickup anymore. I can buy 8' ones, but 2 are more expensive than 1. I have our van, so I will bring bolt cutters with me and cut them in half in the parking lot.

 

[MoonShadows]

While we at it, I found an article: 18 Creative Ways To Use Cattle Pen Panels
Some would be obvious to most of you, but there are a few creative ideas, too.

1. Wall Trellis
Use cattle pen panels to create a vertical garden trellis on a wall in your garden.

http://www.penick.net

2. Contemporary Trellis Screen
Assemble garden trellis screens using a fine wire screen sandwiched between two sections of cattle pen panel that are attached to steel posts.

Photo by: altereco.net

3. Garden Greenhouse
Build an inexpensive greenhouse using standard cattle pen panels, PVC pipe, and wood and other materials. Get the material list and instructions from Gardening Green.

Photo by: gardening-green.blogspot.com

4. Cattle Pen Panel Fencing
Create sturdy and attractive fencing using wood and cattle pen panels. The wood is drilled for the wire, and the wire is cut to size. Add wood caps to the posts for added decor.

Photo by: deckmastersnw.com

5. Chicken Tractor
Build a hoop style chicken coop or chicken tractor using galvanize step and cattle pen panels to form the hoop. This design is sturdy, yet easy for one person to move. View detailed instructional photos from raincreekpottery.com.

Photo by: raincreekpottery.com

6. Dog Run
Use cattle wire as fencing to make an attractive and affordable space for your dog to romp.

Photo by: Rose Peck

7. Shelter For Farm Animals
Make a quick shelter for farm animals using wooden pallets and cattle pen panels. For instructions, visit thefreerangelife.com.

Photo by: thefreerangelife.com

8. Cattle Pen Panels Moveable Goat Pen
Here’s an example of a moveable goat pen made from 16’x4’ cattle pen panels that are joined in the corners with rubber tarp straps.

Photo by: noble.org

9. Super-Sturdy Tomato Cage
Make your own square, ventricle tomato cages with these instruction from Rodale’s OrganicLife.

Photo by rodalesorganiclife.com

10. Rounded Garden Trellis
Add beauty to your garden with these arched trellises. Grow beautiful flowers or edibles. Plant seeds inside the archway and guide them to grow up the trellis to create full shade. In this photo, the gardener has loffah gourds growing in the front and cucumbers in the back.

Photo by: thinds.com

11. Triangular Garden Trellis

Photo by: Phil Windley via flickr

12. Squared Garden Trellis

Photo by: Chandra

13. Circular Garden Trellis
And another example where the cattle pen panels are pulled in more at the bottom to make the trellis more circular.

Photo by: rawfoodrehab.ning.com

14. Raised Bed Garden Trellis

Photo by: myurbanfarm.net

15. Balcony Trellis
A smaller trellis option for those space-challenged balcony farmers.

Photo by: lifeonthebalcony.com

16. Privacy Fencing

Photo by: Lauren Jolly Roberts

17. Gabion Retaining Wall
Use cattle pen panels to create custom gabon walls or gabon styled fencing.

Photo by: harrisonburgarchitect.wordpress.com

18. Never-Forget-Anything Clip Board
This photo shows how an old crib spring was used to create this board, but cattle panels easily could be used for this. This is a great way to display holiday cards, to pass memos and reminders to family members, and to organize an office.

Photo by: homeroad.net

 

[Denim Deb]

Some really neat ideas there.

 

[Mini Horses]

They are so versatile. I have used in the style of the greenhouse, etc with a tarp for "temporary" sun shade in a pasture that has no permanent shelter. Fast/cheap. Works!
Not as good for goats because they think that they must jump on top. Side walls needed there. But my mini horses love it.

I must have 75-100 of them here & move them around.

These panels are great! The pig ones are shorter, more small areas at bottom....cost more, sadly. My 2x4 space opening ones are 5' tall...very costly but I got mine 2nd hand yrs ago.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I wouldn't know how to do anything on the farm without panels! We've got the big ones, the shorter ones, ones with graduated openings and ones with big openings. I move and change things all the time and besides being a little heavy, they are easy to work with. The hard ones are the 20' long ones with the 4 x 4 openings. They are a booger - but I like 'em anyway.

 

[Beekissed]

Love the looks of those nice fences done with the panels...that last idea was a bedspring, not a cattle panel, but very cute all the same. When I think of an old timey bedspring like that one, it would make an excellent, funky trellis in a garden...not sure why more folks don't use them. Probably hard to find nowadays.

 

[Mini Horses]

My Tsc --
Catttle 21.99
Goat 57.99
Hog 24.99

Still, I buy -- just last forever and so very, very versatile.

 

[Denim Deb]

I've bought several of the cattle panels. They work for my goats as well as for my garden.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

My Tsc --
Catttle 21.99
Goat 57.99
Hog 24.99

Cattle panels here are 19.99
Goat - 59.99
Hog 22.99

Guess I should go pick up some more!