One of the key characteristics of an avid homesteader is repurposing worn out junk or finding multiple purposes for an item on the homestead. An item we find extremely beneficial on the farm is the galvanized cattle panel. You may be asking yourself, “I didn’t think Red Tool House even had cattle?” You would be right!

I am thrilled with the addition of cattle panels to our garden these past couple of years! Many of our fellow homesteading YouTubers have them working on their farms as well and I am just amazed at the many different ways they are putting them to use. They really are so versatile. 

Here is a list of just a few of the many ways they can function:

  1. Arched trellis
  2. A-frame trellis
  3. Vertical trellis
  4. Animal fencing
  5. Decorative fencing/railing
  6. Greenhouse
  7. Chicken Coop
  8. Plant spacing grid
  9. Heavy duty, long lasting tomato cages
  10. Compost bin
  11. Shade cloth support

I am totally enjoying the aesthetic diversity they offer to our garden this year, as we added a few more cattle panel functions. Last year we simply used them for vertical support for our tomatoes, which we’re doing again this season. But this year we added 4 arched trellis cattle panels & a new “permanent” decorative outer fence for our garden. It was actually very simple to set up the arched trellises using 2 T-posts per panel for support, but quite comical for the 3 of us to maneuver among the other trellises already in place. You can see our install in the video below. For the decorative critter-deterrent fencing, we actually painted one side of the cattle panel black thinking it would give it even more of a finished look & framed it with wood – mostly to give the panels more support. I think the sentiment is true, the more appealing your garden is to you, the more inspired you are to get out there each day to work. Which is one of the reasons I added flowers this year, too. And as each plant grows higher up the trellis, I get excited to see how far it has reached the next day. (I’m telling you, it’s little things.) Go ahead & google cattle panel uses or search cattle panel on pinterest like I did and you will be amazed at how many more uses there are that I haven’t even mentioned. 

Locally, we have paid around $21/panel and lately they have been pretty sparse in stores. Everyone else is jumping on the cattle panel bandwagon, too! It seems COVID-19 has helped to inspire many newcomers to growing their own, penning livestock, cooping chickens, or simply fencing spaces. And of all the outcomes of this virus, we don’t think this one’s a bad thing! It just makes sense.

I will tell you that cattle panels can be tricky to transport with them being 16’ long, if you don’t have a trailer. But in my online search, I’ve seen several pictures of people getting those suckers into the beds of their trucks in a couple of curved, latched down ways. 

So, if you have not yet given cattle panels a try, but you have garden space, I’m quite certain they can be of use to you, too (even if you have a small garden area)!