I have a pot habit.
Or is it a pot addiction?
How do I know the difference? According to my friend Google, you must ask yourself these four questions:
- Is my behavior having a negative impact directly or indirectly on my life?
- Do I repeatedly put myself in risky situations?
- Do I experience stress or anxiety if the behavior is stopped?
- Have I taken steps to hide my behavior?
One “yes” answer indicates you have an addiction and I can answer yes to all four.
The struggles of winter in Texas
Here in Texas we are blessed with temperatures that allow the plants to remain outside nearly year-round.
Nearly.
It’s those days that require the shelter of the garage that put me at risk of injuring myself (see question 2 above).
Although hubby will happily move the pots into the garage for me without complaint, I try to mitigate the need for him to perform this task, lest he decide we really don’t need all these potted plants (see question 4 above).
The less I can inconvenience him, the less likely he is to notice the growing collection.
It’s a special person who will not only tolerate your habit, but build wheeled plant storage devices for you.
I suspect that he knows he is enabling my addiction.
Dear Santa…all I want is a greenhouse
Now, if I had a greenhouse, the need for this labor-intensive chore would be greatly reduced. Why don’t I have a greenhouse?
But since a greenhouse is not on the horizon, I am left with needing to manually move the pots when the weather turns ugly for a few days.
Gathering the pots from all the patios and putting them up for protection is a job that needs to be planned carefully when you have chronic pain. You can’t do it all at once without causing major pain to yourself. I put this chore off as long as the weather permits, because once they are in the garage, it’s no fun trying to maneuver around them (see question 1 above).
As winter pressed upon us this year, I was closely watching the weather and determined which day I would do the chore of gathering them all and moving them into the garage.
Guess what?
The cold front moved in a day earlier than predicted and I was left with having 45 minutes to do the chore in the cold rain, by myself.
The irony is that I only had 45 minutes because I was attending a neck and back pain seminar. It would be dark and very cold by the time I returned home that evening, so I got to work.
My pot paraphernalia
Until Santa figures out how to get that greenhouse down the chimney, these are the tools I find handy for this chore:
- Pot Mover
- Rubbermaid Trash Can Dolly
- Rubbermaid Rolling Cart
- DIY roll-around shelf
- DIY rolling cart
- Vermont Cart
I include the Vermont Cart in this list because it is very handy for gathering the smaller pots, but I can’t leave the pots in the cart all winter because I will need this workhorse for other chores. Also, it requires a pretty big lift to hoist pots up into the cart. My goal is as little lifting as possible.
The pot mover that I currently use was an inexpensive impulse buy. It looked cool in the discount store, but I hadn’t done any research on them. It performs adequately but needs to be a little heavier duty for my large pots. It has an adjustable gripping arm to hold onto the pot as you roll it, but if the pot edge is rolled or tapered, this feature doesn’t work well.
I love the trash can dolly – there are also pot dollies that perform the same task. Set the pot on top of this disk with heavy-duty wheels and wheel it anywhere. But these dollies are expensive. I try to keep a dedicated dolly for each large pot that houses my citrus trees so they can be moved in and out all winter without lifting.
The Rubbermaid Rolling Cart is very handy and the handle folds for storage. I can get two large pots on the flat surface easily.
Over the years my husband has built me a few carts with industrial wheels that make them sturdy and easy to maneuver. This again proves my theory that the single most important factor for choosing a partner is to find one who can build and fix things!
A gardening friend of mine was surprised at my pot collection and said she never tries to keep pots alive in the winter. End of the gardening season, end of the pots. My heart starts racing at the mere thought! (see question 3 above) I suppose it would be a simple solution to my pot storage problem, but I think the best answer is to keep writing those letters to Santa.
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is a greenhouse!
With my pots in the garage, safe against the cold and biting two days of winter for this week, it’s time to pour a cup of coffee and do some greenhouse research.
Do you too have a pot addiction? What methods do you use to protect your pots in the winter? What is the best tool for moving them without causing injury to yourself?
Thought my pot addiction involved the hemp plant? Not quite, but I talk all about that topic in my upcoming free ebook on CBD oil. Be the first to read it by signing up for the Disabled Gardener newsletter:
Ok, thanks! Now all I want is a greenhouse!!! I do the same as you, but on a smaller scale. The only one I really baby is my lemon tree and for that, I use the plant rolling cart—and yes, it was expensive. It’s still a problem though because the lemon tree is bushy with pokey stems. So when I’m bending down to move it, I’m trying to avoid poking my eye out. I do want to check out the items you suggested. Thanks for this!
Ha Ha! You’re welcome. I’ve planted both the idea of wanting a greenhouse and a holiday song in your head! My job here is done! Babying that lemon tree along is so worth it when you dive into that awesome lemon pie in December!