I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, crafter, and blogger living in rural New England. As seen in Martha Stewart Living, Food Network Magazine, and more! | Tutorials, DIY, crafts, parenting tips, recipes, money saving tips, product reviews, local product features, New England living, intentional living, and more! |
Last summer Pinterest blew up with DIY Cattle Panel Trellises and I decided I was going to jump on this bandwagon next season… And so here we are - it’s spring and I’m excited to get this set up and document my garden’s progress this year. | This post contains affiliate links |
- This post will show how we built our Cattle Panel Arch and I will also add progress photos to this post as our garden grows -
To make a Cattle Panel Trellis, you really only need a few things. We picked up most of our materials at a local Tractor Supply store but you could find these materials at other farm/garden centers too or order online. The trickiest part was getting everything home since the cattle panel is fairly large. Thankfully my father-in-law has a pickup truck and was able to pick up the items for us.
First, figure out where you want your arch to go. For us we put it just inside our garden gate to frame the entrance. It’s also on the north side of our garden so it won’t shade the other veggies too much.
Once you have it laid out and square, drive the t-posts in with a hammer or post driver until they’re deep and sturdy. This was easier-said-than-done with our rocky soil here in NH, so one post couldn’t go in quite as deep as the others but it was sturdy enough still.
Next gently bend the cattle panel into a “rainbow” and set it inside the square you made. (Next year we might move our t-posts out a little wider to get a more gentle and less-tall arch, but this worked fine for us too as-is.)
Once you get it in place, secure it with hose clamps, heavy duty wire, or some rope so it stays in place.
Now you can plant! We planted ours with vining cucumbers, but you could plant just about any vining plant on these - including peas, squash, ornamental gourds, flowers, etc.
The vines do a great job climbing the arch on their own, but it’s a good idea to check them daily and gently guide the vines where you want them. There’s always a rogue vine that will try to go the other way! They will especially need some help being trained to follow along the top of the arch since their natural inclination will be to continue growing straight up rather than bending around the curve at the top.
And that’s it! Overall it was a very easy project and one we will definitely continue with in the future. I also noticed a huge benefit for our pollinators too - the bees were able to reach the flowers easily and we had a bumper crop of cucumbers this year. They were also very easy to pick hanging down from the arch.
Good luck on your cattle panel trellis adventure!
From earlier in the season, before the vines reached the top.
Since we moved into our home several years ago we’ve been trying to establish more pollinator-friendly areas in our yard. We planted perennial flower beds wrapping around our house which are now well established, and we also have a veggie garden we plant every summer. One item that we’ve been wanting to add has been a solitary bee house to help make our space even more bee-friendly. Thankfully Kind Bee Farms was kind enough to send me one of their all-inclusive bee kits to try! | This post contains an honest review of product provided by Kind Bee Farms |
Kind Bee Farms is unique in that it's an all-inclusive bee experience - you don't just get the solitary bee house, but you get baby leafcutter bee cocoons to hatch too!
The whole kit is well packaged and thought out and comes with everything you need to get started. Since our kids will be home this year remote learning/homeschooling, we thought this would be a great project for science enrichment too.
Once you open your kit, you have the choice whether to let your cocoons start the hatching process inside or outside. We opted for inside so our kids could get to see them come out their cocoons - and don’t worry, letting these bees hatch inside your house isn’t as scary as it sounds! The cocoon box comes with a breathable window so you can see the process and keep them contained. Once 1-5 bees have hatched it’s time to bring the box outside, take the lid off, and put it in the loft of your bee house.
Once our bees started to hatch, we moved the cocoon box out to the bee house. We loved how the bee house looked on our potting bench but realized the afternoon sun was too intense here so we ultimately decided to hang it on our garden fence. This worked out well so our kids could keep a good eye on the bees too. These bees are non-aggressive so I’m personally not worried about our kids watching them up close.
Hello little bee friend!
We’ve had a few bees hatch over the last few days and I’m excited to see the rest of them hatch, move in, and pollinate our fall flowers and veggie garden!
End of Season Update: Ultimately we only had a few bees hatch and then they stopped… I was worried maybe a brief cool spell we experienced had done them in but after hearing back from Kind Bee Farms I found out that they unfortunately had some warehouse and processing delays due to COVID restrictions which affected their cocoon timing. They were kind enough to offer those who didn’t have a great hatching experience free cocoons next year which I thought was great customer service. I’m really looking forward to trying again next year and am sure we will have great results next time!
- I received this item for review from Kind Bee Farms but all opinions expressed are my own. Please see our full Disclosure Policy for more information -
So our garden isn’t magazine-worthy (and it definitely could use a good weeding - the spot by the gate gets so over-run with crab grass I can never seem to keep up) - but it’s been doing really well this year and I thought I would give a quick tour and share some things we’ve been doing in our Victory Garden. New England, Zone 4-5. | This post contains affiliate links |
Our garden is approximately 12x24 feet. My husband built the enclosure seven years ago with split-rail fence lined with garden wire fencing (to help keep critters out) and then designed and built the gate himself - the gate is absolutely my favorite part! At the front of the garden I inlayed bricks and pavers (all of which we had on our property left over from the previous owner years ago) to create a little stepping stone walkway leading up to the entrance of the garden and a small flower bed on each side.
Inside the garden everything was planted from seed and directly sown into the ground mid-May with the exception of the Rhubarb plant (it’s a perennial) and the Tomato plants (I purchased them as seedlings from a local garden center).
For fertilizer we put a few bags of composted cow manure in before rototilling in the spring, and then after planting the seeds I sprinkled a small amount of 10-10-10 Fertilizer across the garden.
In each of the front flower beds I planted Catmint which is a perennial and a great pollinator plant! The blooms attract lots of bees and butterflies and help encourage pollination in the vegetable garden. I also just love how wild and cottage-y they look. They’re also very drought tolerant and hardy - a great no-care plant once they’re established.
Soon I would like to also get some type of Mason Bee House to add to the garden to further ecourage pollinators to come to the garden.
Just inside the garden, along either side of the front, I planted Snap Peas against the fence so they would have something to climb. I also planted Carrots along this front area on each side as well.
When I directly sow the seeds into the ground, I usually stake the empty seed packet with a twig (seen above for the Snap Peas), to mark where I’m planting and so I can reference when the seeds should start to sprout, mature, etc as they grow. Now that my plants are mature I could take all these out but I haven’t just yet.
The Zucchini plants are huge this year! Right up to the top of the fence… though I do need to thin out some of the lower leaves on the ground soon for better air flow and access for pollinators (it also can help keep your plants from getting disease/mildew from the ground too).
Here are my Summer Squash plants, which are a bit smaller than the Zucchini ones but doing really well overall. I also need to thin out some of the lower leaves on these as well.
Spinach are cold weather plants and these ones pictured above are sadly done (I actually pulled them out after I took these photos). Once it starts getting hot they tend to “bolt” or grow upwards really fast and flower. Once they do that the leaves are bitter and don’t taste good. This spinach crop is done for now - though I will try to plant more Spinach late summer/early fall to get another harvest in the Fall.
Cucumbers are doing well too. It's a bit hard to see in this photo but I made a small trellis out of Bamboo Stakes and twine for them to grow on. The trellis may look flimsy, but bamboo is actaully really strong (and eco-friendly) so it's great to use in the garden to help support plants.
Along the back I have several Tomato plants growing, both cherry tomato and slicing tomato varieties; behind these along the fence I also have some Sunflowers growing too.
Now for the “showstopper” of the garden - our Rhubarb plant! This is definitely the plant that gets the most interest and questions about in our garden because it’s so big. Rhubarb is a perennial and will come back each year - so make sure to plant it somewhere out of the way where it will have room to grow. We planted this one in the back corner of our garden and marked the area with a stake so we don’t rototill over it in the spring.
While I’m honestly not a huge fan of Rhubarb myself (it’s very sour), growing it is a tradition in our family… when I was growing up we had a very large garden with at least 16 Rhubarb plants. We had so much Rhubarb that we would pick literally garbage bags full of it to give to neighbors and people at Church.
I transplanted this Rhubarb plant from my parents’ garden so I’m not sure on the variety… though from reading around online I’m guessing it’s some type of Canadian or Siberian variety. It can get very large with thick stalks and leaves over two feet across. If you decide to grow Rhubarb, make sure to read up on how to harvest it - you don’t want to over-pick the plant and the leaves are inedible (they’re actually somewhat toxic), it’s just the stalks that can be used.
Across the yard we also have some wine barrels that we’re using for an herb garden. Some of the more hardy herbs (Chives, Garlic Chives, Peppermint, Oregano) come back yearly, despite the fact the wine barrels freeze solid in the winter. I bought the blank slate garden markers on Amazon (and here is the how-to post on how I made them).
This year we also added two blueberry bushes to our landscaping since we didn’t have any fruit trees or bushes yet. It’s recommended to have two different varieties of blueberry bushes to encourage cross-pollinating and better fruit production, so we planted two different kinds near each other. We are already getting a few large berries from them which is very exciting! Here’s hoping they continue to do well in the years to come.
And that’s our little garden tour - thanks so much for following along! I’m no expert by any means, but if you have any questions please let me know.
I’ve been wanting a potting bench for a while now - something by the back door to display some decor, use as an outdoor work station, and double as a place for UPS to leave packages. After looking around online and at local stores, I couldn’t find anything that I liked that fit the narrow space - so I did what any #woodworkingmom would do, I decided to build it myself. | This post is not sponsored but does contain affiliate links |
{ Note: The plans I worked from were from Ana White and can be found HERE }
I came across these Ana White plans for a Simple Potting Bench on Pinterest and thought it was perfect! It was exactly the simple, rugged style I was looking for and easy to tailor to our space too. Most of the wood needed were 2x4’s, which are sturdy and cheap - and thankfully between our garage and my father-in-law’s garage we had all the wood scraps I needed to piece together this project. Since I used leftover wood we already had, this project cost me nothing which was pretty amazing!
Since I only used what wood we had on hand, I had to make do - some of the wood was pressure-treated, some was not, some had knot holes or gashes, and not all of it was “true” (straight). But that was fine by me as this was to be a rustic piece for outside.
Before I started building, I followed Ana White’s “cut list,” cutting and making piles of all the wood in the dimensions I would need to build the project. I carefully chose the lumber for each section to minimize how the knot holes, gashes, or crooked pieces would be seen in the final piece. For our potting bench I made it 4 inches narrower so it would fit against the small wall next to our back door and because of this I had to adjust my cut list and refigure some of the overall dimensions.
The next step was constructing the shelves individually - attaching the outer planks first, checking for square, then spacing out the middle planks and attaching them. To build this whole project I used an Impact Driver, which made the entire project go much quicker and easier.
To attach the legs, I laid the project on it’s side and carefully measured the distances between the legs as well as up the legs before attaching the shelves to makes sure everything would be as level and as square as possible.
Finally to make the project look more “finished” I added some wood scraps to the sides of the project to conceal the butt ends of the shelves and make it look a little more polished.
I also decided to add some 1x3”s to the front of the shelves to make it look a little more polished from the front as well. (I did not counter-sink these screws, but I should have as they were more noticeable than I was expecting in the finished piece.)
Then came time for painting - I chose to paint the whole potting bench in several coats of my favorite Valspar Stainblocking Bonding Primer/Sealer. This stuff has great coverage and really covers and seals well. My one regret was not giving all the wood pieces a single coat of paint before assembling - as once everything was assembled it was a huge pain to get in all the nooks and crannies.
Finally I finished the project by adding a few little hooks underneath the shelf (very similar hooks linked here), from which I can hang tools or decor. I’m really happy with how this came out and how quickly it came together. I can’t wait to decorate it with some plants come next spring!
PS - I’m thinking this potting bench would also be great for parties and BBQ’s! It would be perfect on a patio or deck as a makeshift buffet table.
UPDATE: Spring, 2020
Just wanted to give a quick update after I made the potting bench last Fall: Over winter we decided to store it in our shed, just so we wouldn’t have to snow blow and shovel around it all winter, but as soon as the threat of snow passed in early Spring we brought it right back out. It’s been wonderful to have for planting and working on outside this spring, and due to the current Pandemic situation we’re getting more packages than ever so it’s great to have a designated spot for deliveries (and right in view of our security camera too).
For decor right now I'm keeping it very simple, especially since the potting bench is utilized daily for mail - there's just a garden rock, a metal barn star (hung from a special hook that doesn't damage vinyl siding), and a small potted lavender plant with an American flag - all items we already had around our house.
Summer, 2020 - sharing another little decor update for the potting bench:
I found this weathered piece of wood in our scrap bin and thought it would make a cute sign for the potting bench. I used my Cricut Machine to design and cut a stencil that said "Fresh Cut Flowers 5¢" and used it to paint the sign. I think it looks cute and it's a great finishing touch!
Here in New England we seemed to have a very late start to spring this year… after all the snow didn’t even melt from our yard until May 2nd! The rest of May has been generally cool and rainy and didn’t give us a chance to rototill and prep our garden until now. I finally planted the garden with our older daughter today and fingers crossed it does well this year! Last year our garden was a bust… we inadvertently overdid it with adding woodash the year before and nothing grew. But thanks to soil testing with UNH we have since re-set the pH and other imbalances and things should be off to a better start this year!
I've been eyeing slate garden markers for our herb garden for awhile now, but buying pre-made ones are soooo expensive and they never have all the varieties I want. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own. Because I have the world's worst handwriting (it's true, ask anyone) I used a Cricut to cut the text for me, but if you have half-decent handwriting you could easily do this project with a paint marker too. | This post contains affiliate links |
1. If using your Cricut to make the text, measure your garden markers and make each "label" in Design Space the appropriate size. I chose a font with a handwritten feel, but you can use whatever font you prefer. You may need to play around with the scale of the lettering to get it to fit. Use 651 Permanent Vinyl to cut your text.
2. "Weed out" your text, removing any pieces of vinyl you don't want to be in your final design. I find a dental explorer to be super useful here to get rid of the pieces inside of letters, but it's not necessary. The finer-point text was definitely a lot harder to weed (which is why you'll notice the dot on the "i" in garlic chives isn't in the right place).
3. Next use contact paper or transfer tape to put over your final vinyl design and rub well to make sure it's on there good. This will "carry" the vinyl once the backing is removed.
4. Carefully peel the backing off your design.. this can be tricky. My advice is to go slowly and have your dental explorer handy if you have one! It can help hold letters down as you peel off the back.
5. Once the backing is removed, carefully place on a clean and dry slate marker. Rub the design on well (I use an old gift card like a squeegee). Once it's on there good, carefully peel off the contact paper. Alternatively: If you don't have a Cricut or want to do this project by hand, you can skip steps 1-5 and just write your text freehand with a white paint marker and allow to dry.
6. To make sure the vinyl doesn't peel or come loose, I use a spray acrylic sealer to seal them. Just put the markers on a scrap piece of cardboard, give a light coating of the spray sealer, and allow to dry (make sure you're in a well-ventilated area). If you used a paint marker instead I would also suggest sealing them.
7. Hang your new garden markers! You can buy special hangers for them if you like, or use sticks and some twine or wire. In my case I wanted them on the barrels in our herb garden so I simply used some thin copper wire and "flossed" it through the slots in the barrel, tying it off with a large washer at the back so they don't pull through.
It has been SOOO abnormally hot in New England these past few weeks that my herb garden isn't looking too wonderful at the moment (hence the limited "after" pictures). We have six wine barrel planters on a small patio; four of the planters have perennial herbs (chives, garlic chives, sage, and peppermint) that come back each year and the other two planters I switch up each summer. Currently my poor plants are a bit sun-stressed and I'm far behind on weeding, but I hope you'll get the idea of the final install below. I think it really helps finish the space and I love that things are finally labeled.
EDIT Spring, 2020: Just wanted to hop on here and add that I’ve left these up year-round on our herb barrels since 2018 and they still look great! No fading or peeling with the sun or snow. The slate with the permanent vinyl labels and sealer have definitely held up wonderfully.
I recently made this custom herb planter as part of our wedding gift for some close friends and I just love how it came out! I'd love to add something similar to the Etsy shop but not sure how to ship it... hmmmm.
PS - Congratulations again to the happy couple!! We're so happy for you both!
You might remember a previous post where I reused a repaired coffee mug as an herb planter in the kitchen. Well this year I decided to transform that mug one more time into a little bird feeder for a focal point in the flower garden.
Supplies & How-to:
The supply list really couldn't be more simple - all you need is a mug, bowl, or plate, a wooden dowel, a rubber cap, and some super glue! That's it!
I had my husband paint the wooden dowel with a couple coats of white outdoor paint first (normally I would have painted it, but the outdoor paint isn't recommended to be used by pregnant women). I wanted it painted to give a bit more of a finished look and to help make sure the dowel lasts longer outdoors.
Then with a little bit of Super Glue, I attached the rubber cap to the bottom of the ceramic mug.
By having the mug be removable from the dowel, you can easily pound the dowel sturdily into the ground with a small mallet or hammer then add the feeder once the dowel is in place. It also makes it easy to clean out the feeder regularly.
Since we've had bears frequent our neighborhood lately, I will just be filling the mug with water for now for birds and butterflies to drink from. Once the bears go into hibernation again I will be able to safely fill it with bird seed for our feathered friends.
Overall I'm happy with how this simple project came out - it adds the perfect touch to our flower bed!
