Things for your garden that are FREE because we all  need a little help.

• MULCH - The easiest way to get a lot of mulch is to call a local tree company and ask for a load of wood chips. If you see a tree being removed on your street - even better. Just stop and ask for the chips to be brought to you! Spread a tarp on your driveway to protect it from the tanin that leaches out and can make a brown stain. Take note - a truck load of wood chips is not easy to move! It took two of us over ten man hours each to shift a truck load recently. But the upside is, it's FREE, and these chips will degrade into healthy amendments for your plants. Now, these chips will not look as uniform as purchased bark chips, because this is from the whole tree, not just the bark. But they quickly weather to a more uniform look.
• COMPOST - If you haven't started already, you've got to get going on this. For a great website about compost, click here. It's FREE, it's easy, and it's good for the environment. No more paper bags and trash cans full of yard waste to drag to the street for pick up.  You can have your own processing plant right at home.
• MANURE - Yes, I know my child,  it can stink. But it can make your roses bloom like there is no tomorrow, and it's the best thing for the garden! No terrible, thousand year chemicals, no guilt about leeching into groundwater, poisoning the envionment and general hoo ha. By the way, only use aged manure - aged at least one year. If you get aged manure, it's  not smelly, just a nice earthy aroma. If you aquire fresher manure, blend it into your compost pile on the side of your house nearest your least favorite neighbor. Or put it in black plastic garbage bags in full sun for a few weeks. Sources for free manure include:

stables - They often have aged manure mixed with wood shavings and it's very nice to handle. Several stables near us sell it for a nominal amount by the bag as a fund-raiser, or will let you load your own for free.

Local farmers -Of course, if you live in a rural area, your local farmers will also have aged manure available.

Zoos - Really! Local zoos often give away"zoo doo" - aged and unaged.

Circuses - Honestly, we are not kidding here. Visiting circuses are desperate to get rid of the stuff. This will be in the unaged, pretty fresh category.

• PLANTS - A great source of FREE plants these days is tear down sites of old homes, sad as it is. Save a once-beloved shrub or cluster of now unavailable daffodills from oblivion by rescuing them from the back hoe and wrecking ball. Once you see a sign go up or activity starting, act quickly and ask the foreman or owner for the chance to dig up a few things.

Market Bullitens often have ads offering  FREE unwanted plants, if you will come and dig them up. The same goes for Craig's List and other local and internet notice boards.

 Friends and family are one of our main sources of plants, and gardening people are known for their generosity. If you have a successful garden, eventually you will have plants to share, too. Arrange with a friend to swap plants this fall. Or plan a plant swap for your neighborhood!

Take note of big beds of bulbs that you see blooming around your town. A big university and a chain of large apartment complexes here in Atlanta have lovely lush beds of bulbs each spring - and throws away the bulbs when it's time to plant summer annuals. The tulips won't make it another year in the deep south - it's too hot in the summer here- but daffodills will nestle down and make themselves at home in your garden for good. Try contacting the groundskeepers in advance to find out when they will be switching out so you can be on hand to make the rescue! Recycling at its best!

•   SEEDS - Fall is seed-saving time. We are collecting seed from many summer annuals, especially vines, such as: Moonflower, Morning Glory, Mina Lobata, Purple Hyacinth bean vine. Other seeds we are collecting are from Celeome, Cosmos, Marigold, Perennial Begonia, and Rudbekia. Squeeze out the tomato seeds from your favorite varieties (if they are not sterile hybrids) and dry them.  What do you need to do to store seeds safely? Be sure that the seeds are completely dry. (The seed head comes on the plant after a flower has completed the blooming cycle, and has dried up. The seeds will remain n place of the flower. The seeds on each plant must be in a seed pod that is dry and papery, almost ready to burst open. We use old film canisters, old perscription medicine bottles or other small plastic or metal containers that close securely to store each sort of see seperately. Snack size ziploc bags work well. Be sure to use silica gel in each container - we save all the little packets of silica gel from new boxes of shoes, and always have a ready supply. Label and date each container. Store the containers in a shoe box in a cool, dry location. Here is a website you may want to look at that talks about seed saving: The International Seed Saving Institute's Vegetable Seed Saving Brochure: http://www.seedsave.org/issi/issi_904.html