Month: March 2020
It’s spring, the weather is warming up, and we’re thinking about gardening. Well, container gardening anyway. Growing your own vegetables in containers is an easy way to get started, and there are quite a few benefits.
You don’t need a lot of space
If you don’t have a lot of room in your garden, or only have a balcony or windowsill available, you can still grow quite a few vegetables in pots and containers. Tomatoes, for example, make a great choice. You can even grow some varieties in hanging pots, so there’s no need to use valuable floor space.
There’s more room for choice
Different vegetables grow best in different soil types. By keeping them in containers you can grow them right next to each other without difficulty.
Pain-free and hassle-free gardening
If the thing that puts you off gardening is all the weeding and heavy lifting, you’ll like container gardening. There’s very little weeding to do, and no heavy digging over of beds. Just put in your fresh soil, add seeds and away you go.
Vegetables can be colourful too
Vegetables can bring plenty of bright colours to your balcony space, if you wanted something cheerful as well as tasty. Vegetable plants can have pretty flowers on them, which will then grow into colourful veg such as red peppers and yellow sweetcorn.
You don’t have to worry about pests
Once the slugs and pests find a vegetable bed it’s hard work getting rid of them again. Protecting your container pots is far easier. Firstly, they won’t come under attack from beneath the soil. And the chances of pests finding your pots on the windowsill is much lower. If they do manage to get to your plants though, removing an infected container from the vicinity of the others, or netting it, is far easier.
Plants make your home brighter and healthier
As you probably already know, plants in your home also add more oxygen to the air, making your home healthier. When you are indoors a lot, some plants can do a lot to add a pleasant smell, improve your air quality and help you feel more cheerful.
Recycle and repurpose your containers
Although some vegetables like a deeper pot – carrots will grow best when they have more depth – you don’t have to go out looking for specific planters. If you’re spending some time this spring decluttering your home, you may well have a few things you could use as pots. All you need is something that will hold soil and drain well – serving dishes, tyres, or the drawers from an old cupboard, for example.
The whole family can help
If you need an activity to keep the children entertained, container planting is something they can help with. It doubles up as an educational activity and, once the veg have grown, they can enjoy eating them straight off the plant.
After all your planting and watering, you’ll have some lovely vegetables to enjoy in just a few months.
If you are an SME, you might not think self-storage will help your business. You might be renting office space in the centre of Birmingham, running your own shop in Sutton Coldfield, or working directly from your home office. No matter the size of your business, we’re certain we have a storage solution for you.
Self-storage benefits for Birmingham businesses
When you are already paying inner-city rates for your office space in Birmingham, you probably value every square inch. You need enough room for offices for your team, somewhere for them to relax on a break and a spacious meeting room for clients and conference calls.
What you don’t want to do is pay premium rates to turn a room into a store cupboard, or fill with unused furniture. After all, that room could be just what you need for another member of the team.
Self-storage units are a good place to store all your spare office furniture. Even better, they make the perfect solution if you need to archive files and files of paperwork. Here’s why.
At Cookes Storage in Sutton Coldfield we have archiving solutions ready for every business. We can provide racking and strong boxes. We’ll even provide a free collection service to come and collect those full boxes for you, and put them in your unit.
In addition, our units come in various sizes so you don’t pay for more space than you need, they are completely secure and indoors, so there is no risk of damp. What’s more, being outside of Birmingham city centre, our prices are highly competitive so you’ll save money on your floor space.
Self-storage benefits for retailers and shop owners
A big issue for retailers and shop owners in Sutton Coldfield is space. You need as much room as possible to display your products so that customers can see them easily – which means you don’t want to be using any more than necessary for storing stock.
Of course, there are ways you can maximise your own back rooms – stacking your boxes high, using corridors as extra storage – but that has its own problems. Piles of boxes blocking your corridors is a health and safety hazard waiting to happen – not a great way of caring for yourself or your employees. Stacking boxes also means you’ll struggle to find stock fast, and you are more likely to take losses due to damages.
At Cookes Storage we offer flexible contracts, designed to support businesses. That means you can rent a small unit for your slow-selling stock, keeping it safe, dry and undamaged until you need it.
Then, when you need more room for seasonal items or high turnover items, you can just increase the size of your unit short-term. The great thing is that we are easily accessible, so we’re not far away when you need to just pop in for a quick shelf refill.
Self-storage benefits for sole traders and small businesses
Working from home sounds great. You can get up in the morning and be at work without spending hours in traffic jams. You can take a break in the day to walk the dog, and carry on later. You can be home for deliveries and repairmen.
The problem with working from home is that you can never quite switch off, and as your business grows it takes over more and more of your family space.
A self-storage unit can be the equivalent of a spare cupboard – giving you just enough space to store files, samples and stock, keeping it out of family life. A larger unit – the size of your garden shed – can give you space for stock and your event equipment.
If you are a stallholder and visit plenty of outdoor markets or local events, then you’ll need somewhere to keep your gazebo, tables, banners, baskets, displays and products. At Cookes Storage we support local small businesses in the community. We’re on hand to help you find the best solution for you to grow.