How To Build a Cattle Panel Trellis

As gardeners, there’s an ongoing list of things we want to grow, but don’t have enough space. But after 5 years of growing our own food, we’ve learned how to use trellises to maximize our garden space by growing our vining plants vertically!

We’ve tried various types of trellis options and found one of the best and affordable options in cattle panel trellises. Discover our tips for creating your own cattle panel trellis below, including trellis design, what parts and tools you need, where to buy everything, how to transport the large cattle panel, how to plan out the trellis location, and how to build the trellis.

Which plants will need a trellis?

tomatoes growing on cattle panel trellis

Growing plants vertically using a trellis is a game-changer because it opens up more garden space for other plants, improves airflow for vining plants on the trellis, and facilitates easier harvesting. Here are vining plants that we like growing on trellises:

Cucumbers (vining varieties)
Melons (honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon, bitter melons)
Winter squash (kabocha, spaghetti squash)
Tomatoes (cherry, grape, and indeterminate varieties that grow upwards of 9 ft tall)
Pole beans (vining varieties)
Green peas (vining varieties)
Gourds (luffas, bottle necks)

Cattle panel trellis vs other types

There are many trellis options available for gardeners, and you can easily spiral when researching which types are the best for specific plants. We’ve tried metal tomato cages, hanging wooden trellises, jute netting, and diy bamboo trellises.

After growing large plants like melons and winter squash on the ground and fighting off diseases and critters attacking the plants, we wanted a heavy-duty trellis with an arch to keep them off the ground and sturdy enough to support the fruit. Unfortunately, many metal arches are very expensive or flimsy. For example, the Vego Garden trellis made for our garden beds retails for $349 (with anchors for $49.95) or Gardener’s Supply Jardin Rose Arch for $299.99.

cattle panel on the ground — cattle panel

As an alternative, many gardeners and farmers make trellises from cattle fencing for a fraction of the cost. Cattle panel trellises are made from heavy-duty, galvanized steel and are durable because they’re made for outdoor animal fencing. These cattle panels are also known as cow fencing, cow panels, or hog panels, depending on their sizing. One cattle panel trellis costs us under $60 at our local Tractor Supply.

Designs for cattle panel trellis

There are different configurations you can make with cattle panels, such as a-frame trellis, vertical trellis, and arch-shaped trellis. Many of these designs are secured into the ground or garden bed using metal T-posts and clips (or zip ties).

An A-frame cattle panel trellis attaches two smaller 8’ panels and two posts on either side. This is best for peas, pole beans, and cucumbers.

A vertical cattle panel trellis is made from one smaller 8’ panel and two posts on either side to secure; this type of trellis is best for peas, pole beans, cucumbers, passion fruit, and vining flowers.

We opted for an arch design with cattle-panel trellises because we wanted more surface area for larger vining plants (melons, gourds, and squash). A cattle panel trellis arch is typically made by bending one 16’ panel into a semicircle and securing it with four T-posts on each side. However, you can make a pointed (gothic) arch with two 8’ panels connecting at the top.

Materials needed for cattle panel trellis

For one cattle panel trellis, you need:

(1) 16’ x 50” galvanized cattle panel
(4) 6’ metal studded t-posts
(12) t-post wire clips (came for free with purchase of our t-posts) (or heavy-duty zip ties)
t-post driver, hammer, or heavy log
durable gloves
level
tape measure
step ladder

Where to buy cattle panel trellis materials

You’ll find materials for a cattle panel trellis at most animal supply and farm stores, like Tractor Supply. While we can find T-posts and T-post clips at big-box stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot, we had difficulty finding cattle panels in stock, so check all these stores, as material availability can vary by location.

When searching for materials, cattle fencing comes in various sizes and names. We recommend measuring the width of the trellis you want to cover. Here are the most popular sizes:

Cattle / cow panel: 16’ x 50” or 8’ x 50”
Hog panel: 16’ x 34”

We do not recommend buying rolled wire fencing because it is NOT heavy-duty enough to hold up large plants, and the trellis may collapse under a heavy load.

How to transport cattle panel

Pay for delivery

One of the biggest challenges in making a cattle panel trellis is getting the materials home. The easiest (but most expensive) way is to pay for delivery. Tractor Supply offers next-day home delivery for our region. The total cost of all materials for one cattle panel trellis is $153, which is more than the panels themselves, but it might be worth it.

If you need to rent a truck to transport these materials, you should weigh that cost, including fuel, and your time spent picking up the materials.

Buying and transporting materials yourself

Vehicles – Since the cattle fencing is very large, rigid, and difficult to roll, we recommend renting a truck for easier transport. We borrowed a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck with a 4 ft x 6 ft bed, which was sufficient to transport 50-inch x 16-ft cattle panels. A moving truck with a fully enclosed loading area is fine too, as long as you can use ratchet tie-down straps (we needed about 4 tie-downs total).

Have two people minimum – Carrying, rolling up, tying, loading, and unloading the cattle panel requires two people minimum because its relatively complex, and is even more dangerous if you’re attempting it by yourself. Each panel weighs over 30 lb. and is very difficult to maneuver.

Since the cattle panel is extremely rigid, it takes careful planning and sequencing of loading it, bending it, holding it at the right places, so you can ratchet it down without it flinging back open. And more tie-downs are needed to secure it to your vehicle and prevent it from flinging open.

Wear heavy-duty gloves – We highly recommend wearing heavy-duty gloves to prevent getting cut on the edges of the t-posts and cattle fencing. There are sharp edges, and sharp weld points everywhere.

If you purchase items at Tractor Supply, their employees are supposed to assist you in loading them into your truck. However, you will need items to tie down the panel. Nobody actually came to assist us so we loaded them ourselves, and it took at least 10 minutes to safely load and secure the materials in the blistering heat.

How to build a cattle panel trellis arch

Before assembling the cattle panel trellis, you’ll need to figure out where to place the trellis and the area for installation by measuring out how far to put the t-posts based on the height and width you want for the trellis.

Here are some things to keep in mind when planning your trellis:

Where – Find a bed with plenty of sun and space to place the trellis. You’ll need at least 4 ft between each side of the trellis. You’ll also want to place them in beds where you plan on growing vining plants. The wider the space between each end of the panel, the lower the height of your arch. We discuss this in further detail below.
Design – You can connect multiple trellises consecutively to make a longer tunnel, but you need additional t-posts at the ends. For example, two cattle-panel trellises require at least 6 t-posts to form a larger tunnel.

Our cattle panel trellises are placed in an area of our backyard that receives a lot of sun (facing Southwest) and at least 2 ft away from any fencing to prevent critters from easily climbing the trellis and eating plants. The trellises are installed inside our 17-inch-high raised garden beds, starting above the soil to provide ample vertical space for growing. This means that with the minimum 4 ft wide spacing, we still get 8.5 ft of height. Due to our mild climate (zone 10B), we’re not worried about challenging wind or weather moving the trellis.

Deciding on trellis width and height

Your decision on the width of the arch also determines how tall it will be. The wider the tunnel spacing, the lower the arch height. The width of the trellis needs to be at least 4 feet wide since the cattle panel is incredibly difficult to bend–you don’t want to force it to bend to a smaller radius. This 4-ft-wide arch will give you a height of 7 feet (if you start your cattle panel on the ground, which can be raised to soil level if desired). If your trellis starts above the garden beds, like ours, it will be significantly taller (see below).

Here’s a basic guide on trellis width and arch height with a 16-foot cattle panel, if you are installing it on the ground:

4 ft width, ~7 ft arch height
5 ft width, ~6.75 ft arch height
6 ft width, ~6.25 ft arch height

Plan & measure t-post locations

Since we decided on a trellis width of 4 ft, we spaced out our garden beds accordingly — so that the t-posts would sit inside the 2 different beds, with a few inches gap between the trellis and the edge of the bed.

Since we know the t-posts will attach to the cattle panel with wire clips, they must align with one of the rows of wire on the panel. For aesthetic purposes, we didn’t want the t-posts at the very edge, but in 2 rows from the outer edge of the panel. So we measured the distance from 2 rows in on both edges of the cattle panel and placed the t-posts the same distance apart in the garden bed.

How to install t-posts without a t-post hammer / driver

Identify the top and bottom of your t-post. The top typically has a different color from the rest of the post (such as white or red), and the bottom is where the anchor plate is connected. An anchor plate has an arrow shape pointing towards the end of the post.

Installing a t-post can be a little tricky, especially if your ground is hard, so we watered the installation area 15 minutes beforehand to soften the soil. You will need to hammer the post into the ground until the anchor plate is fully submerged. You can purchase and use a specific tool to drive the t-post into the ground, called a t-post hammer or driver; however, you can also use a sledgehammer or a very heavy log.

We should warn you that using any tool other than a t-post hammer can be very dangerous and takes a lot of care to prevent injury, so if you’re accident-prone, you really should consider using a t-post hammer. We hammered our posts in using a log, with a person stabilizing the post at the bottom. Wood chips flew out as the log surely got damaged with every hammering. It worked, but we don’t recommend doing it this way.

After measuring where to place the t-posts, position the posts so that the anchor plate is closest to the ground, with the stud side outwards. This task requires considerable labor and is easier with two people. One person holds the post at the bottom, while the other hammers it into the ground. As you hammer the post, keep the post straight and level. Continue hammering each post until it is stable enough, which may vary depending on your soil’s hardness. In our relatively hard clay soil, we hammered the post in about 10-12 inches, and it was very stable.

How to set up the actual wire cattle panel

Carefully bend the cattle panel into a U-shape and place it next to the t-posts on either side. This task is MUCH easier with two people. With the cattle panel lying flat on the ground, have one person stand on top of the panel and lift the short edge, then walk backward to bend the panel until you have an upside-down U-shape. The second person is positioned outside the panel, holding onto the fence to balance the tension during bending and to provide stabilization, especially when the first person needs to bend the panel overhead to make an upside-down U-shape.

We placed the cattle panels outside of the t-posts; however, it may be easier to install them inside the t-posts because you can walk the panel directly in between the posts. Make sure the t-posts lie flat against the panel to make it easy to secure the clips.

Attach the panel to the t-posts with clips

Now that you’ve got your cattle fence positioned, it’s time to secure it to the posts. Some gardeners use heavy-duty zip ties in multiple areas where the posts meet the cattle panel. However, our t-posts come with free galvanized t-post clips that are designed to attach cattle panels to t-posts. They can be a little tricky and may also require a specialized tool to attach them, but we were able to easily use a screwdriver and pliers.

1. Identify the parts of the t-post clip: one curved hook that points downwards (right), on the V-shape center, and one hook that is horizontal (left). Position the clip so that the V shape hugs the T side of the post (the opposite side of the studs), the horizontal hook is on the left side of the T-post above the panel’s wire, and the right side of the clip hooks onto the panel’s wire.

2. Insert your screwdriver through the open loop of the hook, then push the screwdriver down and around in a circular motion away from you until the 2nd hook wraps around the panel wire to lock into place.

pulling the 2nd t-post clip leg around the trellis wire

3. Use pliers to twist the t-post clip ends tighter onto the panels on each end to lock them into place. I used the back of my screwdriver (be careful with that!).

4. The final view of an installed t-post clip. Repeat with all the other clips. We installed 8 clips total for one trellis: 1 at the base of each of the 4 posts, and 1 near the top of each of the 4 posts.

t-post clip leg hammered to lock into place

Final tips for installing cattle panel trellis

Here are some basic tips on making a cattle panel trellis for your garden: