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#1
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musings about garden stuff
Some of my best finds for "garden stuff" has been in the least likely
places. Well, least likely for those who limit their perusing to garden centers, nurseries, garden mail order and the like. I was thinking about this when I read the request for a source for seedling trays. I found some great trays at Boeing Surplus one year. They were actually sorting boxes for mail, 2 ½ feet long and a foot wide, hard double wall plastic, just like the post office uses, except these were sort of UPS brown and FIFTY CENTS a piece. I also found the neatest garden wagon, it was used for moving some sort of equipment I think. The thing was about 2ft x 4ft, had a 3in thick solid wood deck, axels and wheels that would handle a 1/2 ton payload and a PADDED handle. That cost me a whole FIVE DOLLARS! I picked up some twisted up rebar at a construction site that made a dandy trellis over a side garage door for my silver lace vine, absolutely free! I 've found stepping stones at a landfill and once when I was driving by a house that was undergoing a 'garden redo' I also was able to get some pavers that were destined for the dump, "sure, take all you want". I got some nice beveled cedar siding from the scrap pile in a new housing development, and a partial roll (just enough) of roofing tar paper, and enough 2x4 scraps to build a garden shed for about $20 with what I had to actually purchase. I found "planters" at an auto salvage yard. What these things actually were used for was a metal cage guard over lights on heavy equipment. They were in a lovely state of light rust and when turned bottom up became moss lined planters, I got a roll of sprocket chain (aesthetically 'aged') at the same place and had six of them hanging over the north side of my patio full of fuchsias. The comment I got most was, "Are those antiques?" *smirk, nod, nod* A discarded, partial roll of concrete reinforcing wire was turned into 6ft high tomato cages and sides on a compost heap. This stuff is great! I cut lengths ( needed bolt cutters) about 4 feet and rolled them and bent the long cut "spoke" over the joining edge to make a cylinder. The spacing was about 4x6 inches so it was easy to get your hand in to pick tomatoes but strong enough so the cage never bent out of shape, and they lasted eight years. I'd probably still be using them if I still had my veggie garden. I child's rocking chair, seat missing, made a great pot stand, some old hub caps, turned wheel side down made pedestals tucked into the garden for seasonal display plants in pots. I drew the line at toilets planted with blue plastic petunias, but it's amazing what you can use that blends in, looks good and isn't the "regulation, for this use only garden accessory". Salvage yards, construction sites, boatyards, the dump, other people's DIY projects to me are like Nordstrom's to the Junior League set. I say forget the other drummer and get your own brass band to look for neat garden stuff. You'd be surprised what's out there if you'd just squint a bit and cock your head to the left ;-) I think the best garden investment was my little old pick-up, it was a Chevy Luv, beat to death and a real rust bucket, paid $500 for it. Looked bad but ran like a charm, the brakes were good and I put new tires on it. The bargaining power that little truck had was amazing. I mean, think about it. Wouldn't you say, "sure, you can have that" to some person standing next to that little truck in a pair of jeans with dirt on the knees rather than a Talbot clad person next to a $25,000.00 shined up Dodge Ram? Val |
#2
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musings about garden stuff
In article 1045952401.208608@yasure, "Valkyrie" wrote:
Some of my best finds for "garden stuff" has been in the least likely places. Well, least likely for those who limit their perusing to garden centers, nurseries, garden mail order and the like. I was thinking about this when I read the request for a source for seedling trays. I found some great trays at Boeing Surplus one year. They were actually sorting boxes for mail, 2 ½ feet long and a foot wide, hard double wall plastic, just like the post office uses, except these were sort of UPS brown and FIFTY CENTS a piece. I also found the neatest garden wagon, it was used for moving some sort of equipment I think. The thing was about 2ft x 4ft, had a 3in thick solid wood deck, axels and wheels that would handle a 1/2 ton payload and a PADDED handle. That cost me a whole FIVE DOLLARS! That is probably a welder's wagon. They make superior garden wagons. But they cost a bloody fortune. A great find indeed. I picked up some twisted up rebar at a construction site that made a dandy trellis over a side garage door for my silver lace vine, absolutely free! I 've found stepping stones at a landfill and once when I was driving by a house that was undergoing a 'garden redo' I also was able to get some pavers that were destined for the dump, "sure, take all you want". I got some nice beveled cedar siding from the scrap pile in a new housing development, and a partial roll (just enough) of roofing tar paper, and enough 2x4 scraps to build a garden shed for about $20 with what I had to actually purchase. I remember going to the Boeing surplus, oh, couple decades back, & piling free wooden boxes onto a pickup with the idea of chopping it all up for firewood. But it was such heavy good wood I ended up pulling the boxes apart & saving the boards & plywood for all sorts of projects. I hadn't thought of that for years. The Boeing surplus is still there, I wonder if there's still free wood to be had, or if too many people know about it by now. Those wooden boxes were super well made because they had to strong enough to ship big metal airplane & engine parts. I found "planters" at an auto salvage yard. What these things actually were used for was a metal cage guard over lights on heavy equipment. They were in a lovely state of light rust and when turned bottom up became moss lined planters, I got a roll of sprocket chain (aesthetically 'aged') at the same place and had six of them hanging over the north side of my patio full of fuchsias. The comment I got most was, "Are those antiques?" *smirk, nod, nod* [more cool adapted finds clipped] The oddest "salvage" I ever obtained for the garden was last year at a yard sale out in the middle of bloody nowhere. There were signs along a five mile stretch of road that all said "Yard Sale! Chinese Junk!" I figured by Chinese junk they meant all sorts of junk from China & the sellers didn't know it was a pun, but it was amusing to think it might be an actual ship. Well, it WAS an actual ship. Some guy had salvaged a half-rotted century-old junk & was taking it all to pieces, selling bits of decorations & wood sections & brass fittings for next to nothing. We got the masthead's Fu dog, & we got the ship's "eyes" (big wooden eyes; junks had to be able to see doncha know); odd brass fittings & wooden pullies & nobs & hooks; a heavy cabinet door with a carved phoenix. Only yesterday we fixed up some of the junk's short metal-capped wooden posts to serve as hose-guards. The Fu dog needs some little restoration before we can attach it to the top of the garage, & our chum Long says he'll help us get it mounted when its ready. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
#3
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musings about garden stuff
I like how you think............................................. ....
"Valkyrie" wrote in message news:1045952401.208608@yasure... Some of my best finds for "garden stuff" has been in the least likely places. Well, least likely for those who limit their perusing to garden centers, nurseries, garden mail order and the like. I was thinking about this when I read the request for a source for seedling trays. I found some great trays at Boeing Surplus one year. They were actually sorting boxes for mail, 2 ½ feet long and a foot wide, hard double wall plastic, just like the post office uses, except these were sort of UPS brown and FIFTY CENTS a piece. I also found the neatest garden wagon, it was used for moving some sort of equipment I think. The thing was about 2ft x 4ft, had a 3in thick solid wood deck, axels and wheels that would handle a 1/2 ton payload and a PADDED handle. That cost me a whole FIVE DOLLARS! I picked up some twisted up rebar at a construction site that made a dandy trellis over a side garage door for my silver lace vine, absolutely free! I 've found stepping stones at a landfill and once when I was driving by a house that was undergoing a 'garden redo' I also was able to get some pavers that were destined for the dump, "sure, take all you want". I got some nice beveled cedar siding from the scrap pile in a new housing development, and a partial roll (just enough) of roofing tar paper, and enough 2x4 scraps to build a garden shed for about $20 with what I had to actually purchase. I found "planters" at an auto salvage yard. What these things actually were used for was a metal cage guard over lights on heavy equipment. They were in a lovely state of light rust and when turned bottom up became moss lined planters, I got a roll of sprocket chain (aesthetically 'aged') at the same place and had six of them hanging over the north side of my patio full of fuchsias. The comment I got most was, "Are those antiques?" *smirk, nod, nod* A discarded, partial roll of concrete reinforcing wire was turned into 6ft high tomato cages and sides on a compost heap. This stuff is great! I cut lengths ( needed bolt cutters) about 4 feet and rolled them and bent the long cut "spoke" over the joining edge to make a cylinder. The spacing was about 4x6 inches so it was easy to get your hand in to pick tomatoes but strong enough so the cage never bent out of shape, and they lasted eight years. I'd probably still be using them if I still had my veggie garden. I child's rocking chair, seat missing, made a great pot stand, some old hub caps, turned wheel side down made pedestals tucked into the garden for seasonal display plants in pots. I drew the line at toilets planted with blue plastic petunias, but it's amazing what you can use that blends in, looks good and isn't the "regulation, for this use only garden accessory". Salvage yards, construction sites, boatyards, the dump, other people's DIY projects to me are like Nordstrom's to the Junior League set. I say forget the other drummer and get your own brass band to look for neat garden stuff. You'd be surprised what's out there if you'd just squint a bit and cock your head to the left ;-) I think the best garden investment was my little old pick-up, it was a Chevy Luv, beat to death and a real rust bucket, paid $500 for it. Looked bad but ran like a charm, the brakes were good and I put new tires on it. The bargaining power that little truck had was amazing. I mean, think about it. Wouldn't you say, "sure, you can have that" to some person standing next to that little truck in a pair of jeans with dirt on the knees rather than a Talbot clad person next to a $25,000.00 shined up Dodge Ram? Val |
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