How to Build a Greenhouse on Wheels

mini greenhouse on wheels
  • 2-4 hours
  • Intermediate
  • 200-500
What You'll Need
Lumber
Drills
Hammer
Jigsaw
Measuring tape or ruler
Nail gun
Pencil
Safety gear
Level
T-square
Utility knife
Work gloves
What You'll Need
Lumber
Drills
Hammer
Jigsaw
Measuring tape or ruler
Nail gun
Pencil
Safety gear
Level
T-square
Utility knife
Work gloves

Unpredictable weather can be a significant source of frustration for people who enjoy gardening. Luckily, this doesn't have to be the case. Any person can garden year-round with a greenhouse, no matter the weather. Moreover, they can grow plants that need a longer growing season than their growing zone usually allows.

For a home gardener, purchasing or building a greenhouse could be a significant step. How do you choose what you need, positioning to size? The fundamental concepts underlying how greenhouses operate are simple to comprehend, and once you know how they work, you can move on to building your own.

Furthermore, today we will walk you through the process of building a mobile greenhouse, which can benefit even more than the traditional one.

What Are the Benefits of a Mobile Greenhouse?

Bramber mobile greenhouse

This mobile greenhouse made by Revised is called the Bramber.

Conventional gardens and greenhouses are hard to move or transfer if necessary because they are typically built as stationary fixtures in your yard. Furthermore, if you move to another house, you cannot pack up these gardens and take them with you.

You may also transfer your garden to the appropriate location whenever you need to, whether moving, conducting yard work, or finishing a landscaping project. Just wheel the mobile greenhouse to another area, complete your work, and move it back!

How to Build a Mobile Greenhouse

Today's guide will be for building a wood frame mobile greenhouse with plastic sheeting and a polycarbonate roof. Adjust your measurements and components if you choose another version for your mobile greenhouse.

Step 1 - Plan

Preplan how large you want your mobile greenhouse to be. This sizing will determine how large a space you have, how many plants you want to grow, and how much money you are willing to spend.

Once you have that, you will need to take all the measurements and get the wood cut to size for your project. You will need enough wood to create a floor frame, four wall frames, and flooring.

Step 2 - Build Floor Frame

Next, you will want to create the frame for the floor. This frame should be rectangular, and you'll want to ensure that each edge is flush before screwing each corner together.

Repeat this step with smaller pieces of wood to create an inner frame within the outer floor frame, joining each corner to the outer frame. Once you have the entire floor done, you can then flip the bottom frame over and screw in the caster wheels to each corner.

Step 3 - Build Front Frame and Door

Make a rectangular frame that will fit on the front edge of the floor frame and join them together with the framing gun. Measure out how large you want your door to be and mark out where you want your studs to go.

Build the door using these measurements and another simple rectangular frame.

Step 4 - Build Side Frames

Create three more side frames using the simple rectangular shapes. You will have one longer side for the pack and two narrower frames for each of the sides. Note that you will not have to add a door to any of these sides.

Step 5 - Adding Plastic

It's time to wrap your frames in plastic now that you've finished making them. With the help of the foil fixers and a hammer, make the plastic as tight as possible.

Use a utility knife to cut off any extra plastic. Repeat this for each of the four sides.

Step 6 - Attach the Door's Hinges and Bolts

Incorporate the door hinges into the side studs you already built, then fasten the bolt. Attach the pad bolt to the door and screw the bracket into the head. Install the door, ensuring it can swing open and shut entirely without any problems.

Step 7 - Attach The Frame to the Base

The best way to do this is with the assistance of a second person, who can hold up each side and ensure that everything stays flush as you attach each side to the floor frame to each other.

Attach the base frame and the sides, back, and front to one another. Once more, before fastening, confirm that every frame is flush with the edges of the base and the other frames.

Step 8 - Measure, Cut, and Attach Polycarbonate Roof

Calculate the length of the greenhouse's roof, leaving enough space for a small amount of additional overhang at the front and back for runoff, then transfer these measurements to the polycarbonate.

To ensure that the polycarbonate doesn't move and that your cut is smooth and straight, clamp it down so it won't suddenly jerk. Utilize a jigsaw with a metal blade set to medium for cutting, and don't forget to use the proper safety equipment.

Using roof screws, fasten the polycarbonate roof to the greenhouse. For a stable roof, screw them into each of the corrugate's two crests.

And that is it! You can now move your greenhouse to wherever you'd like it placed and start filling it in with the plants and flowers of your choice!

Bramber greenhouse on wheels with gardener and tools

What Is a Greenhouse?

The idea behind greenhouses structures is to create a basic frame coated in transparent material that provides a regulated atmosphere for the crops.

The primary purpose of greenhouse farming and other controlled environment cultivation is to generate favorable microclimates that support crop production throughout the year or during the necessary times (such as intense heat or wind).

In cold climatic regions where outdoor production is impossible, greenhouses and other technologies for controlled environment plant production are typically linked to the off-season cultivation of high-value vegetables, ornamentals, and food crops.

Temperature is historically under control, the leading environmental factor; heat is typically provided to combat highly chilly temperatures.

However, in recent times, environmental management has also included cooling to reduce extreme heat, light control (by adding or shading light), carbon dioxide levels, relative humidity, water, plant nutrients, and pest control.

In addition, these covered structures offer significant benefits for short-term crops and rainwater gathering, which makes them ideal for tropical islands.

How Does a Greenhouse Work?

The "greenhouse effect" is a fundamental physical concept that underlies every greenhouse operation. Short wavelengths of sunlight can travel through translucent or transparent materials like glass or plastic, allowing the plants within to photosynthesis.

Additionally, light energy is converted into heat when it strikes an opaque surface indoors, such as plant leaves, greenhouse floors, or planters. This conversion means the space will naturally be warmer than an open-air garden.

What Are the Benefits of a Greenhouse?

Bramber wheeled greenhouse

There are five main benefits of using a greenhouse to grow crops.

1. Extending Growing Season

The freedom to grow anything you want, whenever you want, is among a greenhouse's most significant advantages.

By establishing an all-year mild atmosphere for warm-weather plants that thrive no matter the temperature outside, a garden greenhouse may efficiently lengthen your growing seasons to fit your wish to plant virtually anything.

On the other hand, a cold-frame greenhouse helps grow plants that require a lower climate at any time of the year. You can schedule your planting earlier or later in the planting season when you control the temperature and growing environment in a garden greenhouse.

2. Weather Protection

The consistent environment that a greenhouse offers greenhouse plants allows them to develop into robust, healthy plants. The delicate nature of your growing plants can be thrown off balance by too many weather variations or temperature changes, endangering their life.

A garden greenhouse can be the solution if you reside in an area with unpredictable weather patterns or a climate that is not optimal for the plants you want to grow. Your plants have a better opportunity to thrive in a more stable atmosphere.

Your garden greenhouse maintains everything stable and makes it simpler to produce what you want, so forget about damaging winds, excessive rain, or too much direct sunlight.

3. Pest Protection

Plant pests like animals, flies, and other bugs have better access to your plants when you plant in an open garden. On the other hand, pests find it more difficult to access your garden when you produce your crops in a greenhouse, which is one of the main advantages.

Pest control is easier to maintain when growing in a greenhouse without using dangerous pesticides or chemicals.

With a greenhouse, you may have fun experimenting with organic and pesticide-free gardening techniques, from straightforward ideas like planting valuable crops next to each other to using non-chemical and biological substitutes.

4. Access to a Broader Range of Garden Varieties

Have you ever been unable to grow a specific crop because it wasn't typically able to survive where you live? Thanks to greenhouse conditions and temperature control, you can now select any plant you've wanted to cultivate.

You have the opportunity to broaden your garden greenhouse repertoire to include some more uncommon fruits or veggies local to your area.

5. Fully Customizable

One significant advantage of a greenhouse is that it makes it simple to move or rearrange your garden, giving you more freedom to do so as necessary.

You may now buy garden greenhouses in various sizes, from raised beds and tiered greenhouses to more extensive tunnel greenhouses if space is a concern.

Consider a portable greenhouse when selecting a garden structure so that you may move it around to suit changing conditions such as weather, light, or needs.

Additionally, it implies that you won't have to remove or transplant your plants to locate their ideal growing environment.

Bramber wheeled greenhouse on cobble stones

What Are Some Typical Kinds of Greenhouses?

The two types of hobby greenhouses are attached and freestanding. Furthermore, each style is available in various sizes, forms, and designs, such as even-span, lean-to, hoop-house, a-frame, cold frame, and more.

As its name implies, the attached greenhouse is joined to the structure. The fact that this kind requires fewer building materials than a freestanding structure does is one of the type's most amazing benefits.

You may also maintain your property using heating and ventilation equipment. The difficulty in controlling the greenhouse's temperature is a significant downside. The structure can also shade the attached greenhouse and reduce the number of light plants need.

A freestanding greenhouse is a standalone building with end and side walls and a roof. A standalone building offers greater room to grow various plants, more sunlight, and an easier-to-manage environment than an attached greenhouse.

Freestanding greenhouses can have even-span and lean-to shapes, just like the attached versions.

Your needs, such as whether you wish to grow tall plants or require multiple growing zones, will determine the optimal form for your greenhouse.

A hoop house or a gothic-shaped greenhouse is typically the better option if you live in a country where it snows because they can hold big snow loads and are simpler to clean.

What Are Greenhouses Usually Made Of?

curved greenhouse

The effectiveness of your greenhouse can be altered by using different combinations of materials for the frame, flooring, and greenhouse coverings.

Because plants need the care a greenhouse provides, you must choose the correct building materials to provide a healthy atmosphere for your plants.

Structure

The greenhouse's frame can be constructed from aluminum, galvanized steel, wood, or plastic, depending on how strong your greenhouse needs to be. Plastic is a great alternative if you're on a tight budget because it won't decay from the dampness like wood.

Flooring

Concrete, porous concrete, gravel, and dirt are standard options for greenhouse flooring. The flooring material impacts the heat efficiency and light transmission of your greenhouse.

Gravel or dirt floors shouldn't be used because they don't keep the heat in or pests out of your plants. Instead, porous concrete creates an impenetrable barrier that keeps pests out while improving your plants' heat retention and water drainage.

Covering

You can use glass, fiberglass, acrylic, double-sheet polyethylene film, polyvinyl chloride, and polycarbonate to cover your greenhouse. The covering is the most crucial component of your greenhouse because it will determine how much light your plants receive.

Different materials offer varying degrees of diffusion while permitting different amounts of light to pass through.

When choosing the material for your cover, you should exercise caution because too much light can cause plants to overheat, while shading might result in plants dying from a lack of vitality.

Whether gardening is done as a passion or a job, a greenhouse can offer the perfect setting for more productive gardening, expanded growing options, and growing throughout the year.

You can develop and maintain lovely greenhouse plants and flowers all year long with the aid of a greenhouse, and you can also learn how delicious it is to raise your fresh produce from your garden.

For more on gardening, check out our must-have beginning gardening tools or easy container garden ideas!