Garden expansion - alternative to cementing fence posts?

We're expanding our garden. The current fencing is attached to cedar fenceposts that are cemented into the ground. Are there any other ways to secure the fenceposts without using cement? Tapping into the collective intelligence/ingenuity here as I can't think of any alternatives Thanks in advance!

If I were in this situation I would look into Rock Jacks or Gabion Baskets:

https://permies.com/t/39351/rock-jack

https://permies.com/t/1190/gabion-baskets

Anne's suggestions are really helpful. Here is another variation that works for me in the garden.
I use concealed T-posts to support rustic wooden fence posts in a garden that often changes shape. Instead of burying the posts deeply, I first drive the T-post into moist ground, use a level to set vertical, then let the ground harden. Once the T-post is set in the dried mud/sand, I use a 3-tined heavy rake to crumble a few inches of ground then sweep it away to form a shallow depression or bowl around the T-post. I fill the bowl with a few inches of gravel. I then rest the wooden post on top of the gravel and attach the wood post to the T-post. Super stable without concrete.
The T-posts to do the real work. Because I don't like the look of T-posts, I secure the wooden post to the holes in the T-post and basically cover up the metal. Piling up more gravel covers up the base of the post and keeps water away from the wood to prevent rot. The length of the T-post can be shorter than the wood for a garden. The fencing attaches to the wood posts. The look is natural instead of industrial.
This works in my extreme desert climate where wood always dry rots. To change the shape of the garden, I unscrew the wooden post from the T-post, reset the metal 'T's', reattach or add new wood posts, then staple on more fencing.

Bias on the table here....I strongly dislike concrete in fence construction.  Even leaving out the Gick-factor of concrete, it's the fastest path to rotten fence posts.  Concrete holds onto moisture, and moisture next to wood, we all know from hugelkultur, is how you get your wood to break down.

T-posts are great, I use a mix of round logs and t-posts myself.  For setting posts directly, I try and keep as much water away from the post as possible.  When digging the hole, I dig it a bit deeper and lay down a bed of drain rock, or pea gravel, or whatever I have around.  Once I have my post in position, I throw in rocks, the larger the better.  I stop every six inches and tamp them down with a shovel or a breaker bar.  I keep adding rocks until they are mounded above the surface, so I'm limiting soil contact with the post.

I'm 'lucky', I live on glacial moraine...I have all the rounded stones I could ever want.  You can buy drain rock from a quarry if you aren't 'lucky' like me. :D

Connecting aboveground wooden posts to metal stakes is a great method.
I do it to avoid digging through rocky soil.
T posts are not the best shape for connecting to anything, plus they cost money.


I collect the angle iron from bed frames, usually for free.
With an angle grinder I remove excess bits, and cut notches into the edges.
After driving the angle iron into the ground, I set a stone at the base, then clamp a two by four to the angle iron and run screws through the notches into the wooden post.
This is usually plenty support for a given fence post, but if not, it's easy to drive a second bedrail on the opposite corner of the post.
The stone is there to keep the wood off the ground, out of the wetness.

William writes,

T posts are not the best shape for connecting to anything

A secret to securing a T-post to a round surface is to make a shallow cut across the wooden post at the ideal height for the top of the T (just stand the post next to the in-ground stabilized T). I use a pocket folding saw. Then, using a sharp draw knife, just peel back a flat surface with a stroke or two.
Due to limited tools, the pre-drilled holes in the metal T-post are much easier for me to work compared to repurposing metal scrap. Once screwed into the flat portion of the wooden post, the T is concealed. Respectfully, I'm sharing the method that works here with the resources available to me. Every situation is unique.  

That sounds like an excellent solution.
I'm very into reducing the amount of drilling, grinding , sawing, etc, that any given job requires.
Some times the material you chose makes the difference.

'Round here, T posts don't generally come with holes, and the metal is very tough, so when I do use them it's usually with tie wire, hose clamps or even zip ties to securing them to the rest of the structure.
When I have even a short piece of 1.5" PVC pipe, I keep it, because it with readily taken a screw and it slips right over a t-post without much fuss.


I will sometimes use what is called a U post.
They do have holes already punched in them.
They are are strong in one direction, but prone to folding in half  in the other.
As the posts on sides of a raised bed, they are excellent, but as a fence post, not so much.
Two of them, one on either side of of a wooden post, would work as well as one stake made of angle iron, but with less work.
Way more obvious/ugly than we are looking for but it is a strong option.

If you are interested in the many ways of setting a fence post, I recommend you check out this thread..

I hope this helps!