How to Move Trays Efficiently in Your Propagation Greenhouse
By Jonathan Dysinger and John Dysinger
Updated on
Show Transcript
0:00Hi guys, we're in the propagation house here at Bountiful Blessings Farm and I'm with my dad John. We're going to talk about transporting trays. There's a lot
0:07of transportation and movement from soil blocking to getting them on grow benches and then from grow benches into your
0:14farm cart or golf cart or whatever to get them out to the fields. And there's just a lot of movement that happens in and out of a propagation house. So, we want to talk about the techniques that
0:23you guys use to make this the most efficient and maybe some of the um techniques you've tried in the past that just didn't work out as well. Well, when
0:32we started, we we decided to go with soil blocks and we know soil blocks are
0:37not as efficient timewise to make as you know using plug trays. So, we we wanted to make up for efficiency in other ways.
0:49The most basic way to carry trays is just by hand. And it's pretty hard to do
0:56more than two. You know, you can balance and you know, especially if you've worked as a waiter or waitress or
1:04whatever, you could probably stack them up.
1:06Yeah. But I mean, especially these with 3-in blocks, they get pretty heavy, you know.
1:14So, that's a lot of moving moving them down onto the bench. and then then at the end of you know when you're taking them out to the field moving them again.
1:24So we wanted to get away from that and the first thing we did was a overhead trolley.
1:31Um we just got a big oval in the greenhouse and we loved that. It worked well.
1:40uh you know is it's just it's actually components from the dry cleaning
1:48industry that they use. So we used this for years and years and the kids grew up getting
1:57rides on this thing. You just push them around the greenhouse. You remember that?
2:03I don't think I think that was uh after I was doing that kind of shenanigan.
2:09Uh, but we wanted to expand our growing space in here and basically we put in
2:17more tables and it no longer worked. You know, to have this over tables, we would
2:25have had to take off the the lower one and even this is not high enough to go
2:32over bigger plants. This this technique just limits your mot because you're limited to just following the track.
2:40Yeah. So,
2:41so at some point we kind of set this aside and we decided to come up with a
2:49just a rolling cart, which is what we have here. We actually first invested in
2:56one, bought one that was bigger. It was 4 feet long. This is only 3 ft long, but
3:03we found that it was too hard to turn the corners and the design was such that you couldn't really work it from the end.
3:13So, your little brother made this one. And did you lock the wheels? Yeah.
3:21Yeah. So, four casters, uh, swivel casters.
3:25So, it's really got a lot of range of movement.
3:30Yeah. So it can easily go down the aisles and it actually I think this one takes 15 trays.
3:39So you're moving 15 at a time rather than two and it just you know narrow enough to go down the aisles. So, this
3:48is our current solution and it's working well and you know if you're handy with welding um you can throw something together. Otherwise,
4:01maybe Farmer's Friend will sell it someday.
4:04Yeah. Yeah. Reply with a thumbs up if you think we should sell this now. But it's uh there I mean there's other
4:11companies out there making stuff like this. Caleb threw this one together and it it works out great in this greenhouse. Um the other consideration
4:18and I think part of when you moved to this design was after doing concrete in the whole greenhouse floor cuz yeah without that I guess you could have
4:27larger pneumatic style rubber you know tires tires on it but but concrete floor greenhouse uh is a big win and it makes
4:35you know just regular casters like this more viable option. So yeah that's a good point.
4:40Yeah. So there's trolleys, there's carts. It seems like this is the way to go though. the the trolley, there's a lot more infrastructure that goes into
4:48that and a lot of cost associated with putting that in. And then you are kind of limited in in where you can go with it. And with this, you can take it right
4:56out to the door and load them on the cart and get them out. Um, so that's that's great.
5:02But if you want a trolley, we have one for sale. So, okay. Uh, reach out to Bountif Blessings Farm on their
5:09Instagram and and uh they got one for sale. So, hope this has been helpful.
5:15You definitely want to invest in some systems and and tools for making movement and the processes inside of
5:23your propagation house as easy and streamlined as possible. If you have questions that you would like us to
5:30answer in a future video, reply to this email. But until next time, happy growing.
5:36[Music]
Moving trays by hand — two at a time — is one of the biggest hidden time-wasters in a propagation greenhouse. A simple rolling cart with swivel casters can carry 15 trays at once and navigate greenhouse aisles easily. Keep the cart narrow (3 feet, not 4) so it can turn corners, use swivel casters on all four wheels for maximum maneuverability, and invest in a concrete greenhouse floor to make casters practical.
Soil blocking, seeding, watering — those are the propagation tasks that get all the attention. But there's a hidden time sink that nobody talks about: moving trays. From the blocking station to the grow benches, from the benches to the farm cart, from the cart to the field — transplants get moved multiple times before they ever go in the ground. And if you're carrying two trays at a time by hand, that adds up fast.
At Bountiful Blessings Farm, my dad, John Dysinger, has gone through several iterations of tray transport over the years — from hand-carrying to an overhead trolley system to a custom rolling cart. Here's what worked, what didn't, and what they use now.
What Doesn't Work Well?
Carrying Trays by Hand
The most basic method — and the one most growers start with. You can carry about two trays at a time, maybe three if you have good balance. With 3-inch soil blocks, the trays get heavy fast. When you're moving dozens of trays multiple times per week, it's a lot of trips, a lot of strain, and a lot of wasted minutes.
The Overhead Trolley
Bountiful Blessings Farm's first upgrade was an overhead trolley — a ceiling-mounted track that loops around the greenhouse, adapted from components used in the dry cleaning industry. It worked well for years and the kids grew up getting rides on it.
But it had limitations. The track is fixed, so you can only go where the rail goes. When the farm expanded the growing space and added more benches, the trolley couldn't clear taller plants. And you couldn't easily modify the route without reinstalling the entire track system.
It's a significant infrastructure investment with limited flexibility. For a small, fixed-layout propagation house, it can work — but for most operations, my dad found it too rigid as the greenhouse evolved over time.
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What Works: A Narrow Rolling Cart
The current solution at Bountiful Blessings Farm is a custom welded rolling cart — and it's been the clear winner.
Key design details:
3 feet long, not 4. They started with a 4-foot cart and found it couldn't turn corners in the greenhouse aisles. Shorter is more maneuverable and works better in tight spaces. The 3-foot cart carries 15 trays at once — a massive improvement over two at a time by hand.
Swivel casters on all four corners. This gives the cart full range of movement — you can spin it, pull it sideways, and navigate around benches without fighting locked wheels. The difference between two swivel casters and four is significant in a crowded greenhouse.
Workable from the end. The original 4-foot cart was designed so you could only load from the sides. The current version lets you work from the end too, which matters when you're parked in a narrow aisle.
My dad's youngest son Caleb welded this cart together. If you're handy with a welder, you can build something similar. There are also commercial options available from various farm supply companies.
One Important Prerequisite: Concrete Floors
The rolling cart works beautifully on a concrete greenhouse floor. On dirt or gravel, small swivel casters don't roll well — you'd need larger pneumatic tires, which changes the design considerably.
Concrete in the propagation house is a significant investment, but it pays off in multiple ways: easier cart transport, cleaner work environment, simpler cleanup, and no mud during wet weather. If you're planning a propagation greenhouse, concrete is worth budgeting for from the start.
The Takeaway
Don't underestimate how much time you lose carrying trays by hand in your propagation greenhouse. Moving from two trays per trip to 15 trays on a rolling cart is a straightforward efficiency gain that compounds across every planting cycle.
Keep your cart narrow (3 feet), use all swivel casters, and invest in a concrete floor to make it all work smoothly. It's not a glamorous upgrade, but it's the kind of systems improvement that makes your daily work noticeably easier — and that's what matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
A 3-foot rolling cart with a shelf or platform can carry approximately 15 trays at once — compared to two trays by hand. That's a significant time savings when you're moving dozens of trays from blocking station to benches to field transport multiple times per week.
An overhead trolley (ceiling-mounted track system) works but has limitations: it's expensive to install, the route is fixed, and it can't clear taller plants if you add more benches. A rolling cart is cheaper, more flexible, and can be taken right out the door to load onto a farm vehicle. For most operations, a cart is the better investment.
Three feet long is the sweet spot. A 4-foot cart has trouble turning corners in typical greenhouse aisles. Use swivel casters on all four corners for maximum maneuverability, and make sure the design allows loading from the end as well as the sides.
Concrete makes rolling carts practical, keeps the workspace clean, and eliminates mud. Without it, small swivel casters won't roll well on dirt or gravel. If you're building or upgrading a propagation greenhouse, concrete is worth the investment for the daily workflow improvements it enables.