Build This Multipurpose, Portable ‘Modular Grow Dome’

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You can use this easy-to-build structure for protecting crops or as a chicken tractor.
You can use this easy-to-build structure for protecting crops or as a chicken tractor.
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The “ski tips” help the greenhouse slide across the ground without snagging.
The “ski tips” help the greenhouse slide across the ground without snagging.
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Two to four people can lift and relocate the Modular Grow Dome.
Two to four people can lift and relocate the Modular Grow Dome.
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Modular Grow Dome co-creator Greg Garbos and his son, Orion, stand between two low tunnels inside a 15-foot-wide dome. This double layer of protection can “move your garden south.”
Modular Grow Dome co-creator Greg Garbos and his son, Orion, stand between two low tunnels inside a 15-foot-wide dome. This double layer of protection can “move your garden south.”
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A small flock can fare finely in this clever “chickshaw” offered by Four Season Tools.
A small flock can fare finely in this clever “chickshaw” offered by Four Season Tools.

Imagine having a single portable hoop house that you could use in winter to grow crops and start seedlings, and then employ again in summer to safely keep chickens on pasture. Using just one piece of equipment to accomplish these tasks and more is the goal of our new Modular Grow Dome design, a collaboration between MOTHER EARTH NEWS and our company, Four Season Tools.

Inspired in part by the ever-innovative work of Maine market gardener Eliot Coleman, we’ve outlined several options for building a sturdy, movable modular greenhouse for year-round gardening. From these options, you can choose the best fit based on whether you need a small unit for your backyard or want to connect a series of domes to extend the season for larger-scale vegetable production. You can round up all the parts for these designs yourself, or let us gather everything you’ll need by purchasing a kit, which can be shipped via UPS or FedEx (see “Resources” later in this article).

The hoop houses are engineered in 12-foot and 15-foot widths and are fitted with bracing, “ski tips” and anchoring, so they’re easy to move manually and simple to secure after being positioned.

Most greenhouses on the market aren’t mobile. Plastic-film hoop houses, also called “high tunnels,” are used primarily by market farmers and are large and stationary. Smaller glass or rigid-plastic greenhouses are often expensive and aren’t designed to be moved. Our Grow Domes are easily portable, however, and their movability is key to the units being suitable for multiple functions, including large-scale vegetable production. Mobile domes help mitigate problems with pest and disease buildup common in stationary greenhouses. They can rotate with your crops or provide a predator-resistant place to pasture poultry. The kits also allow for flexibility in size, so a unit can meet specific zoning size limits or be considered “temporary” on urban or residential lots subject to building restrictions. The domes on our City Bitty Farm in Kansas City, Mo., for example, are less than 200 square feet, which is below the city’s requirement for a building permit.

  • Published on Sep 19, 2014
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