Hot Cattle Panel

bonnie0128 4/9/2014, 4:31 pm

So I was having a conversation on FB today with someone about using cattle panel to make an arch for vertical growing and a third person chimed in that if the cattle panel got hot from direct sun that it would burn the plant vines. I've been doing quite a bit of reading about using cattle panel and haven't seen this mentioned anywhere. Does anyone have experience with this idea? There are so many pictures of "successes" that it doesn't seem like it'd be an issue.

GWN 4/9/2014, 4:38 pm

I have been growing tomatoes and other plants up cattle panels for several years now and that has never been a problem
It does get pretty hot in this area in the summer.

GWN 4/9/2014, 4:39 pm

in fact we have hops and grapes growing up them as well and no problems Smile

ETNRedClay 4/9/2014, 5:46 pm

Cattle panels get hot in the sun. So does chainlink. And any other metal.

My brother has grown grapes on 100 feet of vertical cattle panels in a fence formation for 10 years -- they thrive, so maybe they LIKE hot metal.

My 6 arched cattle panels last year grew cukes, toms, watermelons, cantaloupes, winter squash, and beans.... if they are somehow inhibiting their growth, thank GOODNESS since I was run over with all those veggies.

**llama momma** 4/9/2014, 6:21 pm

I have cattle panels 8 ft. tall with tomatoes and there was 100% heat tolerance, or zero heat damage, and these panels sit in 15 hours of sunlight. I've also read that the metal attracts static electricity in the air. Makes me wonder if it actually contributed to my tomatoes producing wonderfully. Whatever the reason is, I personally give cattle panels 2 thumbs up.

slimbolen99 4/9/2014, 6:33 pm

I know that the large, typically red tubular cattle panels get VERY HOT in the summer, as growing up on a farm taught me; however, are you talking about the thin (maybe 1/8") steel square grid panels getting hot? They might get warm, but not "burn your skin off because you didn't wear gloves while feeding the cows" hot.

slimbolen99 4/9/2014, 6:35 pm

Red cattle panels:
http://www.siouxsteel.com/images/uploads/product-images/CattlePanelWeb.jpg

Thin 1/8" steel square grid panels:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6KRo-dmHHWA/S-xaT2aW1TI/AAAAAAAAAMY/1EuNXiikIt4/s400/cattle+panel+arch.jpg

GWN 4/9/2014, 6:54 pm

I spend a lot of time pruning and attaching the tomatoes to the cattle panels and I never really noticed it getting that hot either
I can see why one might think so ... perhaps it is the type of metal used.

**llama momma** 4/9/2014, 7:00 pm

I use the skinny cattle panels shown in the second photo in the above post. Stand them up straight anchored to green u-posts. No problems.

jmsieglaff 4/9/2014, 9:42 pm

I've grown peas, beans, cucumbers, winter and summer squash on the trellis and never have had a problem.

bonnie0128 4/10/2014, 8:45 am

slimbolen99 wrote:I know that the large, typically red tubular cattle panels get VERY HOT in the summer, as growing up on a farm taught me; however, are you talking about the thin (maybe 1/8") steel square grid panels getting hot? They might get warm, but not "burn your skin off because you didn't wear gloves while feeding the cows" hot.

Maybe that is where the discrepancy is coming in! I hadn't thought about that. Yes, I meant the thin steel square grids.

Thank you everyone for the input. I figured they'd be fine since everyone seems to use them here, but didn't know how to address the question since I have no personal experience yet. flower

tagyourit 4/10/2014, 12:02 pm

for those of you that have cattle panel, how did you get it home? I have looked at them in the store and they are so long and don't bend that easily so I don't know how to get them.

Boz 4/10/2014, 12:21 pm

This will only be my second year with a cattle panel. Last year the tomatoes, beans and watermelon that I had on it thrived, no problem with hot metal.
I borrowed a pick up from a friend, bent the panel to fit the bed and tied it in place.

jmsieglaff 4/10/2014, 12:32 pm

Boz wrote:This will only be my second year with a cattle panel. Last year the tomatoes, beans and watermelon that I had on it thrived, no problem with hot metal.
I borrowed a pick up from a friend, bent the panel to fit the bed and tied it in place.

+1 bent and tied into the back of a pick up. Be careful when removing it from the truck--that bent metal has quite a bit of energy stored up in it and will want to spring open. I cut mine into the sizes I wanted using a metal cutting blade on a recip saw.

**Turan** 4/10/2014, 12:33 pm

tagyourit wrote:for those of you that have cattle panel, how did you get it home? I have looked at them in the store and they are so long and don't bend that easily so I don't know how to get them.

They bend into a U shape in the back of a pickup truck. Put the bend at the top of the bed. The bed walls will hold them but make sure you tie them as well. Be careful unloading that they do not sprong out and hurt some one. I unload one at a time to control that.

**walshevak** 4/10/2014, 4:28 pm

Turan wrote:
tagyourit wrote:for those of you that have cattle panel, how did you get it home? I have looked at them in the store and they are so long and don't bend that easily so I don't know how to get them.

They bend into a U shape in the back of a pickup truck. Put the bend at the top of the bed. The bed walls will hold them but make sure you tie them as well. Be careful unloading that they do not sprong out and hurt some one. I unload one at a time to control that.

+1

**llama momma** 4/10/2014, 5:53 pm

Do you possibly know someone with a commercial type van with an extended bed?
We have one. Our local tractor supple store cut the 16 footers into 8 then it fit inside the van.

**jimmy cee** 4/11/2014, 10:31 am

I'll be picking one up soon, when I do I will have measurements of what I need and cut them, all sizes I'll need will fit in my SUV or on top..

tagyourit 4/14/2014, 11:19 am

I bet we could do the u bend thing!!!! Thanks y'all!

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