Grow Your Own Magazine

Hello,

I've just 'blagged' some big black square pots from TESCO's today. they use them to display their flowers. I've been given four of them and I will be putting my outside Tomatoes in them later this week.

What's the best/biggest/most expensive thing you've managed to scrounge for your plot?

Some 15 years ago my Dad and his friend were going past the local beefeater and saw they were throwing away their planters and grabbed three of them. They are humungous, grey plastic (not very attractive admitedly) circular around 3ft diameter and very deep. They had one each and I (being the only child at the time to have a garden) got the other. It resided at my parents for years when I sold that place but now I am finaly (I hope) settled it arrives a couple of weeks ago and now has a bamboo cane wigwam in and my runners. I had forgotten how huge it was and was worried how much compost it was going to need but we filled the bottom 2/3rds with bunny poo/bedding - they are either gonna love it or hate it - seem ok at mo though.

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God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done

You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt

When my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice, safe playpen. When they're finished, I climb out

You will always be your child's favorite toy

I got some of the Tesco black pots too - it's shocking what useful things they just chuck away.
I always pinch a bit of bubblewrap from the fruit section when I'm in ... we're moving house soon so it will wrap up some wine glasses.

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

I tried to get some of the square pots from Tesco but was told they are accountable and have to be returned to the depot.

Ian

I got that response from ASDA when trying to get some of their flower buckets. My wife knows a girl who works at TESCO and she had them 'put aside' for us. Maybe that's the only way to get them. It does seem tight-fisted of them not to release a few to good homes though.

Five 2ft x 2ft large wooden crates from a guy who works at a automotive factory. Bit of wood stain and hey presto, 5 ready made raised beds. Also a guy with the neighbouring allotment has just given me a load of old carpet to attack the weeds with.

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All at once I hear your voice
And time just slips away
Bonnie Rait

i ordered a swing bench for £100 they said as not in stock they said not to pay until delivered which would be approx 3 weeks, we came home from work about 3 days later to find the swing bench in the garden erected, i went down to the shop to pay for it but they said on the order form it said paid so dont worry they had my number if they did require payment, but did say they wouldnt be getting anymore of that swing as supplier had sold out, so i had got the display model so said they it could be the managers discount. they never asked me for the payment so i got the £100 swing for free, a real bargin

compost at a DIY store a few years ago. i saw thru' the gate into the yard a large pallet of split bags asked manager about them he said £1 a bag i said i'm from the scouts and need loads for a charity plant out (true i may add) he said 50p a bag i asked for a receipt to claim gift aid he said too much hassle just take it all away. 27 bags later the yard was tidy.
i sent him a letter and photograph off the tree and flower planting TO THANK HIM VERY MUCH but not of the other 20 bags!!!!!!

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thoughts from the head of
phil the shed.........

I got 6 flower buckets from ASDA. I asked if they ever sold them off (being a polite girl!). The lady said they send them back but if I wanted some I could help myself. Not wanting to be greedy I took 6. At our next flower arranging class I told them of my success. The tutor (a lady who lives round the corner from my Ma) said she had about 40 - far too many - and I could have some of hers if I wanted. She brought me 12 at the next class. Good one eh?

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Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com

Updated November 17th - The Big Dig

that is indeed a good one. Those pots are very useful. I've bought half a dozen buckets from the hardware isle of TESCO and they cost me 73p each (they are better and cheaper than the large plant pots they sell). So if you can get your hands on a few free flower buckets then it's well worth it because they're perfect for toms, cucumber, courgettes etc...WELL DONE.

There's a little "industrial" area just outside our village, and as I drive past I see they have a load of those IBC things (those big square plastic containers taht some people use as large water butts) stacked behind one of the barns. I keep meaning to ask what they'd sell me one for...

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Minor update - 10th November

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They are very handy indeed. Just a word of warning...I used to work at a chemical plant and we stored some very nasty stuff in I.B.C's, everything from acids through to phosphates. We did send them away for washing so that they could be re-used but I'm not sure how effective/safe the procedure was. Having said that we also had some that were designated for water storage so as long as your happy with its integrity then it's well worth a punt.

I'll give it a good swill round with some disinfectant - not sure how effective it'll be, but might be worth a punt like you say.

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Minor update - 10th November

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Ooooh...they have too go back to the depot!! An i thought they had left them round the side for the bin man

I have tatties growing in mine.

Wren

This weekend I would say, I was down at our local wyevale garden centre looking for some climbing nasturtiums and the car park was full up. I spotted they had an overflow car pack tucked out the way, which was really the dumping ground for ex display stuff. I asked a very helpful assistant if anything up there was for sale, and he said no its all to be scraped so I could help myself. They had approx 600 pallets some of which have been repatriated for planters and a compost bin, and some assembled staging that they use to display their plants which is now going into my greenhouse, once I have amended it slightly.
The worst example of sheer wastage I have seen was at Magnet's, when they dispose of their old stock, they send down a couple of burly blokes with new sledgehammers and have a very large skip. They breakup anything that is no longer current (nothing damaged), I tried once to get some bit and pieces for my garage/workshop, to be told that everything had to go into the skip, and nothing could be given away. How ludicrous is that!!

Mine was a couple of months ago at work,The greenhouse on the lottie had been a target for the young stone throwers (like house bricks really)
So there was 8 windows what needed replacing so i was shopping around for plastic but no joy its a bit pricey....But one rainy afternon sat in the van at work on 1 rail station car park a van pulls up 3men get out with walk up to the staion train shelter and start changing the ( Poly-carbonate 6x4 windows ) so in a flash i was straight over did a bit of bartering and ended up with 12 6x4 windows Lovely days graft......and after an hour scrubbing grafiti off there bang on ......The little terrors wont break theses.........My best blag cos its the only 1 ive had up to now surly knowing me there will b more

Got a good one today A posh interior design shop near me had put a big wooden 'Osborne & Little' display stand out with their rubbish. I reckon it will be great for personalising, then growing climbers up It was quite heavy though, may need a Radox bath later

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http://thankyouforthedays.blogspot.com/

In the woods there grew a tree
And a fine fine tree was he

Sorry peeps but it has to be the greenhouse. When we moved here there was a 6x8. Last year we outgrew it and as luck would have it a really nice person offered us another for the princely sum of dismantling and removal. We even got tea! And staging, plant pots, linking stake things and slabs. I take her a box of veg as often as poss as a thank you. Then the in-laws decided they could manage with one and would rather use the space for chickens and gave us another 6x8. My incredibly clever OH joined the two together to make a 6x16. We lost a flower bed and have had to compensate number one son for restricting the area he can travel on his swing but it's worth it. The great thing is, they are often advertised free in the local press as long as you can dismantle and remove. Just keep an eye out then go for it. Even bribing family and friends to help you would still be cheaper than buying a new one.

Mine was a local garden nursery, I had a look around and out the back was a dumping ground for plants that they'd gotten rid of and tones upon tones of plastic pots. They said I could help myself as long as I didn't take too many. I helped myself to 15 large pots, may go back later in the season and get some more seeing as I don't have an allotment at present.

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I'm new to veggies, but trying !

mine was a couple of weeks ago, i was gonna get a composter for school, but had to wait for advise from the head, anyway my friend said, i have a huge water butt and composter going, me being quite selfish said, the school wont want the butt because of stale water etc, but i will and also the composter, they want a dalek one, so now i have a 200lt water butt with stand and all the gubbings and a £40 square composter..........great blags!

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Gardening - A labour of love that begins with daybreak and ends with backache!
http://clarkiesveggieblog.blogspot.com/

Nota a blag but bought 11 large paving slabs for 60p each yesterday from our allotment shop.

Best freebies, ooh, a 10'x8' greenhouse for the plot for free, just had to dismantle and move it, another 8'x6' greenhouse for the back yard, and the inheritance of stuff from taking over the plot next to ours, complete with a lovely shed (complete with well established and very large grapevine growing about 10' down the length of the front), lovely 8'x6' greenhouse, lean to and lots and lots of fleece, black plastic, blue tubing and heavy duty polythene!

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Blessings
Suzanne (aka Mrs Dobby)

'Garden naked - get some colour in your cheeks'!

The Dobby's Pumpkin Patch - a blogspot work in progress!
Last updated 5th November2008 - new piccies!

A friend of ours gave us her rickety old 6x8 shed. My husband stripped off the cladding erected the frame at our allotment. We covered it in plastic and its a fantastic greenhouse which has withstood gale force winds for 3 years.