7 Ways to Find Free Garden Supplies

How do you find them? Go to a big box retailer and ask if it has any pallets it isn’t using, says Gala. 

Get three to four pallets and cut each one in half, then join three of the four sides together using screws. Use one pallet for the bottom and then attach each piece using screws and a drill. Another option, though a bit more work, is to cut off the part of the pallet with screws and nails and use the strips of wood to construct panels or “walls” for your raised bed. Make sure to sand them down so they’re not too rough before building it, Gala says. 

A pallet can also be used to create a compost area or compost bin, using a technique similar to building a raised bed, says Bennett. You can use the entire pallet as each “wall” or side to create a square box. For the fourth side, you can create a door to make it easier to access the compost bin when it comes time to turn it. Make sure you can easily place a pitchfork inside to turn the compost. 

Pro tip: Check the pallet for the initials HT, which means it has been heat treated and is generally safe to use. Avoid using pallets that say MB, which means they contain methyl bromide — a chemical you don’t want leaching into your soil or compost. If your pallet doesn’t say anything, avoid that too; that means it’s also likely chemically treated.

Plant cuttings

If you already have thriving plants in your garden and want a few more, take cuttings to expand your plant population. 

“You can divide up your own perennials,” says Rugg. If you have a Hosta that’s big and full, cut off a piece of it, he says, so you can grow another one. Just pop the cutting in water and transplant it when it has its own roots.

Not enough of your own plants? Ask family, friends or neighbors if they can give you cuttings of some of theirs, says Rugg. Also, check online local groups. Bennett often turns to localized Facebook groups. People have posted, “Hey, I’ve got these irises I dug out in my front yard if anybody wants to come get them,” she says.

Kitchen containers

For some items, you don’t have to go further than your kitchen. Save egg cartons made from compressed paper; they make great seed starting pots, says Rugg. 

“Plant one seed or two seeds in each little spot where there was an egg,” he says. “When the plant starts to grow, take a pair of scissors and cut the little pot out and plant it.” Without damaging the roots, of course. 

Plastic yogurt containers are also useful for sowing seeds or seedlings. Rinse them and then poke a few small drainage holes at the bottom, says Gala. She saves the lid and places it under the container to catch excess water. 

Seed exchanges

Purchasing seeds requires research to know which seeds will do well in your geographical region. And the costs add up quickly. Attend a seed swap or seed exchange at your local garden center, community gardens or public library, says Gala. “Gardeners come in and exchange seeds with each other,” she notes. 

Toledo, Ohio, has a seed swap where each person brings 10 packets of seeds that they exchange for 10 different seed packets, Bennett says. “People are saving their own seeds, labeling them and each year taking and swapping them,” she says. That way, they never have to buy seeds again. 

Pro tip: Make sure you’re saving heirloom or open-pollinated seeds, says Bennett. Hybrid seeds won’t reproduce the same plant. 

Wood chips

When an arborist cuts down a tree or trims branches, they put them through a wood chipper and then have to haul them to a specific place for it to be further processed and later sold (including dyeing them to those various shades of mulch you’re used to seeing at your home and garden store. So arborists actually don’t mind bringing them to your home, says Rugg. 

“A lot of times, the companies are not very close to recycling places … so it’s convenient for them to drop them off,” says Rugg. Call up an arborist company in your area and ask if it delivers wood chips.

The wood chips may not be aesthetically pleasing or what you’re used to (read: not dark brown), says Bennett. But over time, wood chips break down and become more of a brownish color, she adds.

Use wood chips for pathways or borders when you first get them or a few months later, after they’ve begun to break down into smaller pieces as mulch. “I put them in my perennial beds, all my flower beds and [my] vegetable garden,” says Bennett. She saves $700 a year by letting wood chips break down instead of purchasing mulch.