bamboo/cattle panel trellis

I had an extra standard-sized cattle panel (16ft x 50 inches) when the garden hoops were installed over my raised beds. It occupied space by the fence and I wanted to put it to some use. J. who helped me in the yard sometimes came to pound in four t-posts, and we secured the cattle panel horizontally. I would have wanted some 7ft bamboo poles but only 6ft poles were available locally. The poles were tied to the upper cattle panel with zip ties. The other end of the poles were buried in the soil and secured with angled 6-inch landscape pins.

The idea was to grow beans on those bamboo poles, and they can climb to the top and even go over the top of the panel. In the area between the panel and the buried poles, I planted one row of white onions, and a second row of purple ones. On the other side of the panel, I grew some hollyhocks and single stem sunflowers. I wasn't sure the hollyhocks would flower this year, that's why the sunflowers were planted with them.

Growing the hollyhocks and sunflowers on the north side of the cattle panel made them easy to secure when it got too windy here. But this trellis design had its limitations. First, some of the beans were fast growers and needed more space to run than the 6ft poles and the cattle panel. Also, harvesting the beans was not as easy as I imagined. Second, the onions grown between the beans and the hollyhocks did not appreciate the shade. I harvested a good number of white and purple onions (I am still using them in the kitchen), but their size could be improved some more if they were grown elsewhere.

So the plan right now is to build a separate raised bed with planting space divided between garlic and onions. Perhaps plant chives in each of the four corners to give the raised beds some colors.

I'll be redoing the bean poles, and they will be located in another part of the garden. I am also considering a separate planting of corn-beans-squash, known as the three sisters companion planting next to the cypress grove. The installed cattle panel will remain and provide support for some of the new tomato varieties  I plan to grow next year. We'll see. Too many plans, too little time!

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