Getting Dirt and other free stuff for Gardening

[Darnell 8,479]

Hey. One of my hobbies is reclamation gardening. I pick up free stuff for my gardening activities often, and move/barter stuff with my garden buddies here in Houston.

I'm not looking for new connections in Houston at all, but the purpose of this topic is to dig deep and show you how to do it in your locale.

I'll post more later, but wanted to start the topic now, as apparently a real thread is about to get hijaak'd, and that's never cool, even when seeking free dirt.

[Lemonslice 4,990]

I have gotten most of my perennials from the Perennial exchange here in Boston - http://www.bostonnatural.org/ - I usually go in the Spring and I have given back too. I will try to post pictures. I don't grow veggies... but I admire those who do.

I am actually looking for a goat though, if someone wants to lend me goat for a weekend, I'll treat her well and let her eat some crazy bushes I am trying to get rid off.

[Darnell 8,479]

OK - goats abound outside of the city limits - do you have a goat buddy, or a cousin that has a goat buddy ?

Failing all of that, if'n yer inside the city limits - get into a halal butcher shop, talk with the shop owner, ask him where he gets his live goats from, or if there's a waiting list for live goats. USUALLY you can ask for (and get) the name and number of the goat rancher that supplies the halal butcher shop.

Then there's these fellas:

http://boston.craigslist.org/search/gra?query=goats

But ya gotta call em and ask about weekend rental for landscaping duties.

Of course, all of this is moot unless you have a goat trailer. And a truck to pull it.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Darnell

[Lemonslice 4,990]

Actually, my cousin has a goat farm... but she's not in the US

Wow, goats are cheap, I am a little too much in the city to buy one... I will look into the options you listed. Also, there is a goat at the Animal Rescue League, I will give them a call.

[Darnell 8,479]

keep it local ! cousins not in usa not count !

i've got a horse buddy - he boards and trains 50 to 100 horses each month, about a mile south o me. I shift 1500 to 2000 pounds of manure each month out of there, his manure pile is HUGE and I always dig out of the 3-year-aged side. What I don't use I barter for other garden stuff, or sell it outright if I'm in the mood. They always have horse-feed-bags (since they feed 50 to 100 horses each month) and they are happy when I take the bags out, filled with manure.

Recently I traded a bag o manure for 600 kale seeds. And I've got em all in seed trays, will put em in one of my co-op beds in about 3 weeks. Fresh Kale in Houston in October? Yeah, I can do that.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Darnell

[Lemonslice 4,990]

Kale is giving you all that energy? You have a large-scale operation going on . Mini-yard here...

Still like to trade with neighbours. We brew vin de noix and share/trade for ripe veggies from them.

[Darnell 8,479]

apartment dwellers - HEY ! you can get free plastic pots from lowes and home depot - just ask at the cashier's desk for when they gather em up. some places pitch em to the garbage, some places hold them for garden clubs. Wanna go bigger? No planter pots? You can usually find a garden co-op at a church nearby yer place, usually 20 bucks per season gets you a nice 6 x 10 plot o land but you have to attend the meetings and clean ups.

[Darnell 8,479]

so, making raised beds can be a chore sometimes, if you don't have the wood.

I prefer 2 x 12s that are thrown away at house construction sites, used to hold the concrete that's poured for the foundation. Ya gotta be diligent, talk with the concrete crew the day they are pouring, then come back on the day that they take em off. For them, it's one less thing to haul off. For you, well, free lumber for raised beds. Can't use it all at one go? Make new garden buddies, form your own garden group in your area.

[Darnell 8,479]

geez - some idiot used a vacant lot across the street,

dumped about 10 cubic yards of black, organic dirt, 1/2 yard to a bag. very thick bag. dumped as trash.

I told a neighbor about it last week, told him if'n he'd collect that stuff and put it on his property, i'd give him 200 planter pots and some seeds.

Well I show up Monday night, and it's all still there, so I have a nice talk and apparently his elder brother won't let him grow stuff there.

I loaded it all up in sprinter, made 3 trips, and now gots a nice pile o dirt to use for the fall season (I grow late in Houston, on purpose).

whatcha growing today? (anyone...)

[courage87 10]

Well, depends what you want to know;
Here in south of Italy we grow many type of veggies, I think the USA state which can be commonly compared with the climate here is California, so: tomatoes, zucchini, eggplants, pumpkins, cucumbers, onions, lettuces, peppers, red hot chili peppers, (from the end of spring till end of summer) and broccoli, cauliflower, spinaches (during autumn and winter).
We have a little garden besides our house, but the land is very poor and dry so we must often add some "plus" like horse poo for to have good results.
Here some of the harvest:

Tomatoes and eggplants

some zucchini and zucchini flowers (we eat tehm)

etc... I should reduce the size of pictures to upload more, but I don't always take pictures to my garden or to the harvest, so I've not so much to show.

[Darnell 8,479]

got in another batch o bamboo, so i'm making a fenceline with it this evening. yay bamboo !

[david'sgirl 134]

I have gotten most of my perennials from the Perennial exchange here in Boston - http://www.bostonnatural.org/ - I usually go in the Spring and I have given back too. I will try to post pictures. I don't grow veggies... but I admire those who do.

I am actually looking for a goat though, if someone wants to lend me goat for a weekend, I'll treat her well and let her eat some crazy bushes I am trying to get rid off.

Thanks for the tip. I had no idea that this existed.

[david'sgirl 134]

geez - some idiot used a vacant lot across the street,

dumped about 10 cubic yards of black, organic dirt, 1/2 yard to a bag. very thick bag. dumped as trash.

I told a neighbor about it last week, told him if'n he'd collect that stuff and put it on his property, i'd give him 200 planter pots and some seeds.

Well I show up Monday night, and it's all still there, so I have a nice talk and apparently his elder brother won't let him grow stuff there.

I loaded it all up in sprinter, made 3 trips, and now gots a nice pile o dirt to use for the fall season (I grow late in Houston, on purpose).

whatcha growing today? (anyone...)

Just herbs and leeks this yr. I grew tomatoes last year. I live in a condo so I grow in containers. Basil, parsley, tarragon, mint, chive, cilantro and thyme.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

I am working on my dirt. Hit up your local Starbucks, give them a call in the morning and ask them to save their grounds. It is great for your compost bin, but not directly on small plants.

[Darnell 8,479]

Yup yup.. coffee houses luvs me and my compost co-op.

got another 3 cubic yards o dirt, very rich, some yahoo decided to dig up his yard and put in stones and i talked him into giving me the dirt. This will be used for seed trays immediately.