Cow panels are made of heavy galvanized cable and therefore are traditionally 16 feet long and and 52 inches high. There are two chief forms: one has constant spacing between the wires and the other has spaces between the wires that get broader from the ground up. If the latter is used for tomato crops, it is ideal to flip this panel above with the larger spacing on the underside to allow access for plant maintenance.The panels may also be used for cucumbers, green beans or melons.
Purpose
Using supports when growing tomatoes and other vine vegetables is to maintain the produce from the ground to prevent decay and provide additional space for air circulation between maturing plants. It helps the gardener in making more vegetables each square foot. Cow panels are perfect structures to implement on your garden plot as facilitates. They are hardy, may be cut down to different sizes and are extremely flexible if they will need to be flexed to match in a specific place or choose a new form. Cow panels have been capable of holding an abundant harvest of the heaviest tomatoes, keeping the produce from settling on the ground where they can decay or develop diseases from the soil. The very best wires provide a safe place for birds to perch while they observe for damaging insects to devour.
Structure Set-Up
Usually cow panels have been used in pairs to create tomato cages. They are set up side-by-side over tilled and ready soil, wired together in the very top and firmly secured to steel T-posts. They may also be used as one unit backed by T-posts, contrary to a wire fence or bent into an arch. They are weather resistant, are easily transported and stored and will last for years of garden usage. If necessary, they can double as boundary markers or fence lines.
Other Alternatives
Cow panels may also be rolled into tubes to operate more like the cylinder version tomato cages found in garden supply stores and home improvement centers. Permit the plants plenty of room to grown; typically about one foot throughout the cylinder is necessary. The panels are a lot sturdier than many tomato cages and may be used indefinitely. Storage can be considerably simpler; only stack the panels on top of each other.
Training Seedlings
Tomato plants don’t naturally develop and wind their way through the wires of any type of vegetable cage. They need to be guided by hand till they earn their way to the peak of the structure. Be very gentle with the plants to make sure that the delicate stems don’t break.
