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WEll, you don't actually need to go through your neighbor's trash cans, but taking peek at their comingled/bulk/yard waste can't hurt.
On the weekend I always bring at least one of the kids with me to The Land, and this past Sunday my daughter asked to come. We rode our bikes, did a few projects at The Land, and then we took a bike ride around the neighborhood.
We're always looking for plants in odd places or plants that people have thrown out for the Monday trash, and while we did find a few things that piqued our curiosity, the biggest finds turned out to be garden accessories.
Among a pile of wood left out for the garbage we found 19 metal garden stakes, (A pack of 20 garden sticks retails for $35 at Home Depot). We also spotted two pieces of wooden lattice perfect for our mission of expanding our small garden by going vertical.
We left the garden sticks at The Land, as these will help keep our spring garden safe from deer.
One of the wood pieces was used for our temporary greenhouse at the house, and the other is going to be saved for another project. Good wood is expensive, so when we see good wood thrown out, we always try to pick it up, because to us it's like a bag of money.
The lattice was not in perfect condition, but it was perfect for our needs. This year we've decided to start growing more food vertically such as cerasee, passion fruit, kiwi, malabar spinach and more, and we've been considering various ways of best utilizing our fence. This past year we've added tall papaya trees and 3 grape vines, and it has turned out to be a great way to increase our food-growing space.
We placed the largest piece of lattice at the side of our house, where we have the vegetable garden. The other, smaller piece of lattice, was put up on the fence, ready for a passion fruit vine to climb.
Spending alone time with my daughter is always wonderful, and I truly hope that she learned something about recycling and reusing from our biking trip. She's already a great helper in the garden, and she's always eager to learn how to fix things whether it is computers, the car, the vacuum etc., because she wants to be a doctor, and she says she needs to learn how to fix things so she can fix people too.
Hey with four boys in the house, of course it's our daughter, who wants to learn how to fix the car....
You can find more great garden tips at our 10 Tips To Save Money In The Garden post.
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