How to Get Free Things
The purpose of my gardening is to "get back" (beautiful plant life) what I put in (hours of attentive care), and to keep busy doing something I really enjoy.

Posted Wednesday, April 5, 2006

As with any gardener, there are some things that I can?t afford to buy all the time. I am always on the lookout for where I can get free stuff. This article is dedicated to all the frugal gardeners who don't mind spending a little time to get something for free.

Great sources: look through online freebie sites. There are always listings that are divided up into categories such as home, gardening, auto or etc- free stuff! So all you have to do is click on the links that these types of sites provide to get free seeds, free gloves, free whatever is being given away at the time. You may also get a few sales emails but the return is well worth it because these types of sites are providing you with all the information needed to get free stuff like seeds, pots, plants, etc. You can also set up a seperate account or folder just for the sale messages.

Great sources: ask around at bakeries, butchers or at local stores to get free buckets, containers, and such so that you can plant, transplant or even carry water to the greenhouse.

Great sources: join online and offline seed swaps. You most likely can't plant all the seeds that you have, have saved, or that you are given, so swapping seeds is a great way to get new varieties and new seeds without having to buy anything else. Sometimes when you are ordering seeds, plants or trees, you are given other seeds for free which you can then trade to get the seeds that you want!

Great sources: join online and offline gardening clubs. While you may have to pay a minimal fee to join a few of these clubs, they often send out free seeds, supplies and trial offers to club members. Advertisers use these types of clubs to entice gardeners to buy more of their product.

Great source: become a product tester. You can write to companies and offer to become a product tester, where you will then give them feedback on the product, how it works, if it works etc. If you don't like writing to these companies yourself, look for product testing offers in gardening magazines, gardening clubs and through seed swap clubs.

Great source: while this is not a freebie, go to your local home center when the season is ending or changing to find great deals. An example of deals that you can find is when I went to the local home store here, I was able to buy a pack of landscaping stakes for just ten cents! (of course I bought enough for five years then) but if I would have bought them during the regular season I would have paid two or three dollars per set of ten! Always be on the lookout for great deals and you too can grow a garden for pennies a square foot.