The Garden Shedde

You wouldn’t think, growing up on a farm, that we would have greenhouse, much less two greenhouses.  After all, most of what my family grew was cotton, wheat and sunflowers; yes, I said sunflowers!  But none of these were grown in the greenhouses.  The mini greenhouse was what my grandmother called a “starter” greenhouse and was were she planted seeds and would start the plants whether she would plant them in her garden around back or move them into the larger greenhouse.

That sometimes was a hard call and other times easy.  But most of the time she would split the seedlings between the garden and the greenhouse and made sure if anything got to the garden plants she had backups in the greenhouse.  I often wondered why she didn’t call the larger greenhouse the “back-up” greenhouse.  Maybe it’s because what she really loved to do was grow orchids in that greenhouse and grow orchids she did.  But I learned the value of having a small greenhouse to start plants from seed and I am so glad I paid attention!

I recently had the pleasure of hearing a local chiropractor speak to a group of enthusiastic gardeners about what he sees as their number one problem and how to prevent it from happening.  Like so many other things we do, it seems like our backs are put at risk by our activities in the yard and garden more than any other part of our bodies.  Since the back is supported by our core muscles and those muscles are in the stomach, we tend to forget that those sit ups we hate to do are causing more than our bellies to expand.

So beyond the “eat right and exercise” mantra there are a couple of thing you can do to help prevent a back injury, no matter if you are in top shape or not.  One of the most important things is to always stretch before you start working.  This is more than just touching your toes.  You will need to really stretch and bend and really warm up your body and back for some bending.  Another thing you can do is use knee pads or one of the garden seats you see today to help take the stress off your back and lower body.  I have also heard of a fellow using an exercise ball out in the yard for additional support.  Whatever it takes; you owe it to yourself to protect your back from injury.

There is something about digging in the dirt that brings tremondous joy to many of us.  There is an anticipation of spring at this time of the year that enables you to withstand the rest of the winter months.  The day may be bleak and dreary but you are able to see the sunshine threough the blue days and imagine the blooms and smells of flowers and herbs and the vegetables you plant.

Some of us are lucky enough to live in climates where you can garden almost year round and others have built or bought greenhouses so they can take advantage of some things the average gardener might not be able to.  However, that never deters someone that is in love with the earth and what she brings each and every year.  I hope you are inspired to dream about the sunny days ahead and the bounty your garden will give you this year.  We should all be able to experience the joy of gardening year round whether we can actually garden all year or not.

This is to let you know that it looks like Duramax has rolled back prices on most of its most popular sheds and garages to start off 2009.  That’s great news for anyone in the market for a plastic or vinyl shed, garage or utility building.

What I like about the plastic storage units are the fact that they are virtually maintenance free and never dent or rust like the metal sheds can or need to be sprayed with chemicals to keep pests out like the wooden sheds do.  If they ever need cleaning all you have to do is wash them down with a power sprayer about once a year and you are done.  These sheds and garages also come with a very good warranty and are easy to assemble.  I do recommend you purchase the foundation with them because buildings do better on a formed foundation of some kind.  This helps them to maintain their shape and integrity.

They also come in a large array of sizes including garden sheds, utility buildings and large storage/garage combination.  On top of this, shipping is also included.