Compost Confidential

Using Freecycle to Find Gardening Supplies - 'Our' Quest for the Twenty-five Dollar Victory Garden

Today's post is by guest blogger Vanessa "Nessa" Richins. You've likely seen her all over the twittersphere (@treesandshrubs) and she writes for About.com on trees and shrubs. Nessa is one busy lady but she took some time to share with us what she knows about a great source for free gardening gear and supplies as well all look to save a few bucks this year:

Several years ago, I started a local chapter of Freecycle.  Since then we've grown quite a bit and now have 6286 members.  I've learned that Freecycle can be an amazing way to get free supplies for your garden.

What is Freecycle?  It's an online organization that connects people who are looking for items or have possessions they would like to give away.  Currently, it is run using Yahoo Groups, though they are migrating slowly to their own website.  Everything must be absolutely free.

I have been able to request and receive all sorts of seeds for my garden.  I picked up many bricks for a project.  People have given me extra plants that they had.  When I needed pots for my gardening class, Freecycle was there.  Fill dirt and manure are regularly offered up.

How do you get started?  Go to Freecycle.org and enter your city in the search engine.  They will be able to connect you to the group that is closest to you.  Sign up and you are all set to go.

Here are some tips for a great Freecycle experience:

1. This is a mailing list: Especially with the bigger groups, you may get a TON of email.  Consider setting it to digest or "special notices" and visit the website often for updates - it's faster and saves your email box from overflowing.

2. Give as well as receive: I would suggest starting out by offering something first, as it can seem greedy if you only come to request items but never participate otherwise.  Most people have something lying around they no longer need - magazines, clothes, toys.  Among many other things, I have given out bricks, landscape fabric, potting soil and fertilizers.

3. Don't ask for the world: This is not a magical wish granting list :) I have had to moderate out many messages where the poster wanted items like houses and cars.  (Though, we HAVE had a few cars offered!)  This shouldn't be too much of a problem with garden items.  I would suggest asking for general gardening supplies instead of making a long list detailing every single item needed.

4. Follow the proper posting procedures: Each Freecycle group may be a bit different, but the general rule is to format your subject line in a certain way. 

Here are some examples:

OFFER: Vegetable Seeds (Your City Here)     WANTED: Gardening Supplies
TAKEN:Vegetable Seeds (to show that someone has been chosen)

5. Be polite and thankful: These are real people offering up their possessions.  Be polite in your responses and posts.  Don't email more than once to request items - wait until you get a response.  If you are chosen, be sure to show up at the time and place given.

I have been able to get so many wonderful items for my gardening projects through Freecycle.  I hope you will be able to use this service as you grow your $25 Organic Victory Garden.

Vanessa “Nessa” Richins
Guide to Trees and Shrubs: http://treesandshrubs.about.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/treesandshrubs

The 10…Make that Nine Best New Gardening Products for 2009

And then there were nine. Each January, the joe gardener Company selects the 10 best new “must have” gardening products for the New Year. Yesterday was supposed to be the date we revealed the top products selected for 2009.

Little did we know…
It had been a hectic day. Although the posted announcement was planned for online distribution sometime in the morning, various obstacles in obtaining last minute information throughout the day had continued to delay our official public notice.  Around 5:00 yesterday afternoon, and literally minutes before we were finally ready to post the much anticipated official announcement, we received a shocking email.

At the last second before posting, the representative for one of the 10 winning products notified us that he had just that moment received word from the manufacturer that this product would not be available for sale; not now and not anytime in the future. Although details were sketchy, he alluded to patent issues and didn’t have any more specifics to offer. Such a shame. We’ve always prided ourselves on finding the latest, newest, cutting-edge products, but I guess this time we arrived at the dance a little too early. This one bit the dust before we could even flaunt its virtues.

So here’s what you won’t be hearing anymore about from us. The Cepia 1-touch Multi-purpose Power Sprayer was going to be the answer to a lot of people’s prayers. It is (or was) a one-gallon, battery operated tank sprayer that eliminates the need for manual pumping to maintain a constant, high-pressure flow rate. The small motor built into the pump sprayer and powered by two AA batteries provided enough juice to operate for about six continuous hours on a fresh set of batteries. Trust me, during the testing process, I became well acquainted with the staying power of this little workhorse. As part of our evaluation process, we duct taped the squeeze trigger in the on position to see how long it would run. Oh my gosh, I thought my sample would never die. Outdoors, this is not a problem as the relatively quiet hum of that little motor would hardly be noticed. But in my office while I’m trying to conduct business is another story. If I had a nickel for each time my family made a comment…

Although we’re very disappointed to lose one of our most highly rated selections for 2009, we chose not to fill this void with another product, simply to round out the lineup. Unfortunately, for this year at least, we didn’t find many new products that excited us enough to extol their virtues by selecting them as a “Best of the Must-haves”. Instead, we did something we’ve never done before. We reconvened our team of testers to review the wining products from previous years.  By popular vote, we brought back a few of our most popular alumni for an encore appearance in 2009. Consider them the “best-of the Best-ofs”.

By the way, truth be told, considering how strongly we stand on sustainability and eco-friendliness, I was a little apprehensive to feature a chemical spraying device as a joegardener “must-have” selection. However, since this is a “multi-purpose” sprayer, our approach in favor of this device was to promote its ease of use when applying liquid, repellents to deter deer and rabbits. And that’s an application I’m sure we can all take advantage of!
JL

Oh yeah, here's the list of the joe gardener Best of the Must-haves  for 2009

Dear Santa...I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas

Dear Santa,

As you know, I’m really into gardening, especially the ‘green’ kind, like environmentally friendly things such as not using a gas-powered engine for my lawn mower when a rechargeable or push model would do. I know you get what I’m talking about. You’re one of the original pioneers of eco-travel, circling the world every year on nothing but reindeer power (or is that considered natural gas)? Never mind, the point of my letter is it’s been a good year for me in regards to getting some cool stuff for the lawn and garden that’s eco-friendly too. So this year, you can skip my house, conserve a little energy and cut down on the packaging. But, if any of my friends have listed lawn and garden gear on their wish list, can you make it the green kind too?

Just in case you need a few suggestions, here’s what I’d offer them if I were you. First, it’s going to be cold and not much gardening is really going on after the holidays, so lets get them a good book on the subject. The Green Gardener’s Guide by…uhhh, never mind about the author. But it is the perfect resource to get them in the right frame of mind for spring.

Next, for those weekend warriors on your list, rechargeable lawn and landscape tools are awesome and these days, they’re a lot more powerful -- like the gasoline burning, C02 spewing mowers and blowers. Personally, I’ve been using my Brill push reel mower (pictured above), and it works quite well. They would make great gifts since they’re pretty cheap and don’t take up as much room in your sleigh. By the way, if you run short on product, I found a neat online store that sells a lot of eco-friendly tools. They’re called Clean Air Gardening and you can check them out for yourself online when you get a chance.

Finally, we all need a good pair of gloves. I recently heard about the newest style from West County Gardener that will be out in early 2009. It’s made from recycled plastic water bottles. For every pair that’s made, one less bottle makes it to the landfill. Now that’s very cool, don’t you think Santa? So, that’s it for now. I know you have a lot more letters to read and work to do. 

All the best and safe travels to you, Rudolf and the others.
Thanks Santa. Your friend,

Joe Lamp’l

(p.s. to my readers…although I might make a few pennies from a purchase of my book on Amazon, I have no affiliation with Brill mowers, Clean Air Gardening or West County Gardener. Just passing on some over the fence info, gardener to gardener)