Cattle Panels! What on earth are you talking about Annie? Cattle panels are wire panels intended to be used to corral bovines, but they have a myriad of other uses. Here are some of my favorites!
Here is Jim’s latest coop design. We lovingly call it the “Super-coop”!
It will house all the birds I am taking to the new homestead. It must be lightweight (to be moved to fresh pasture) yet entirely predator-proof as there is an excellent variety of vermin lurking in the woods. At the heart of the structure are wire panels that are arched. Please use caution when bending the panels to prevent injury. These are sheep panels as the openings are smaller to avoid predation from dogs, raccoons, foxes, owls, hawks, etc. The panels will also be wrapped in hardware cloth (which is a small gauge wire) for added protection.
I love using panels in the garden to trail peas, melons, cucumbers, and especially tomatoes up their lengths. I cut up old jeans to use as ties and leave ample wiggle room for the plants to grow. But when it comes to storing them at the end of the season, that’s when they shine. Instead of having to find space to save 20 to 40 tomato cages you can take them off the stakes and just lay them flat or store them against a fence.
I left some cattle panels in place last year and had a ready-made trellis for my spring peas and a draped windbreak for my tender broccoli starts. When an early heat wave hit, I secured old sheets over the panels to create shade to prevent sunscald.
Jim took over the composting duties last fall and welded cattle panels into sturdy compost bins. They will last many years, well worth the initial investment of time and materials as organic compost is the life-blood of the garden.
Here are some of the ways we use the cattle panels we purchased on sale at Buchheit but I bet that it’s just the tip of the iceberg and you have tremendous ideas too. I can’t wait to share more about homesteading with you! I always glean so much from all of you!
Be blessed. Annie May
