Got it free - whatever it is??

[Beekissed]

I got a bench!! Someone threw it out and it was lying on the side of the road for ages. I got a tip off and arranged transport and went and collected it this evening. (The bottle on it is a gallon water bottle I put there for scale)

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Sumi, I LOVE that bench! I hope you don't paint it, it's got such a nice patina! Is it sturdy? That will look lovely in your rose garden.

Did your pumpkin seeds germinate?

 

[Mini Horses]

Yep, I'd do nothing more than hose it off. I love those things.

 

[sumi]

Did your pumpkin seeds germinate?

Not yet I sowed some more yesterday and I'm considering sticking one or two in the compost heap to see what happens. How did your flower seeds do?

 

[Beekissed]

Not yet I sowed some more yesterday and I'm considering sticking one or two in the compost heap to see what happens. How did your flower seeds do?

They all sprouted wonderfully...but among all the flower seedlings were weed seedlings. I can't remember the name of them, but I've been dealing with the same weed all the time I've had this BTE garden. Any time you pull back the mulch to broadcast fine seeds, it seems this particular weed comes up more and stronger than the flowers.

I couldn't pull them that the flower seedlings didn't come up with them and soon I couldn't even see the flower seedlings, just the weeds. They had shaded them out. I finally just pulled the hay over that plot.

I was really hoping to have a chance to see them grow....should have planted them in the flower beds, in retrospect, instead of the garden. The flower beds don't have a single one of those weeds coming up in them.

 

[SS Project Manager]

We all love freebies! Great thread! Congrats on getting featured in our homepage!

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

milkman’s daughter’s “free wood” thread in the DIY forum has spurred me to try starting another thread. I hope its theme will encourage others here to post.

I shared my story of finding a compressor air tank for free at the local recycling bin parking lot. If anyone missed it and is interested, that’s here: https://www.sufficientself.com/threads/a-small-reclamation.15371/

Only a few weeks later I found two good-quality folding “festival chairs” (like you might sit in at a picnic or fall fair), abandoned in fine condition in that same parking lot.

In the past I also mentioned that we found three up-to-date compact ceramic heaters in like-new working order parked on the road shoulder for the taking, and the heaters have been quite handy for warming plants in chilly-night circumstances. (It’s the custom in my region to leave things you don’t want, but might be useful to someone, on the road shoulder.)

One day, I found several very useful things in one stroke at the bigger recycling center’s free shed, including a shop-style power strip (11 grounded 120v outlets) worth $50. This was at the actual valley recycling center.

I’m glad and thankful for it, but I dunno why some people just up and cast such useful things off! I’m also grateful for cheap yard-sale finds like the great splitting maul in decent shape I got for $5, that would have cost 10x as much in our local hardware stores. But in the latter case, at least the person who’d owned it got something $-wise out of the transaction.


Anyhow, care to relate or reminisce about your free finds?

I always love the feeling of having free stuff, It always gives me a feeling of accomplishment. Kudos to you. have a great day.

 

[flowerbug]

i could use about 10 more truckloads here and then we could say goodbye to what little is left of the lawn. hard to keep up replacing it all or amending it further but i love the idea of it.

we have already done so much like this that the trees now have a deep layer underneath them of decayed wood chips that don't mix with the subsoil because we have a weed barrier fabric down or black plastic. this means that once in a while i can harvest that humus to use in the vegetable gardens, but it also means that once in a while i have add more fresh wood chips as they break down and then weeds start to want to get going in that humus. i love how it all works together, but it is a production line of sorts.

good thing we don't have to pay too much for wood chips here and we can use my brother's spare truck to haul them if we can't get them delivered. some years we pick up piles for free like you have and other years we buy them from a local place the grinds their own from hardwood so they last several years before breaking down. the ones that the tree services deliver can be mixed anything and have leaves and stuff in them which is fine for what we do with most of it, but then after using that Mom likes to go back and put some of the cleaner looking hardwood chips on top to make it look neater.