craigslist - free stuff section....you can get everything from materials, tools to plants

Freecycle- I've gotten a truck load of horse manure, pots, tools, soil and more!We also have a local garden e-news letter just for gardeners. They will list anything garden free or trade. Many nurseries and seed banks have classes and trade meetings. Share with your neighbors! Nancy

I get fresh fruit/veggie scraps and egg shells to compost from the school where I work and containers/buckets for planting indoor seedlings.

Old fencing from my DH's job.

Mushrooms to compost, pine needles, rocks (used for marking, plugging up holes under the fence, etc.) from the hill behind our property. And logs for raised beds.

Plant/share seedlings.

Save/share seeds.

Recycle foam cups, water bottles, deli containers, yogurt/ cottage cheese containers, vinegar/milk jugs, soda bottles...for starting seeds indoors.

Ask around for uhaul horse manure. We have yet to go get a truck load and they offered to load it for us.

A friend has goat manure to give us this fall.

Neighbors gave us straw last yr and tree saw dust shavings this yr...for mulch.

A guy on my DH's route gave us some raspberry starts..yum!

Save seeds.

Swapping plants and seeds works great. It works better locally because of the costs of shipping, but can be done across country for rare or valuable plants.

There is a swap forum on Garden Web and Craigslist farm and garden works really well if you offer to trade plants.

Make your own compost.

Raked and bagged leaves placed at curbside during the Fall.

Neighbor contacts. Conversations struck up by people walking past my yard [health issues halted my decades-long walking habit .. whine, whine] people offer & DELIVER free lawn clippings, already chipped brush, horse manure, plants, and lovely compliments!

I agree about the UCG ... my children thought I was kidding, but now often bring me UCG when they are near a Starbucks.

When I was more mobile,and had a truck, I found great freebie stuff at construction sites. Rocks, cement, wood, re-bar, 15-gal. planting containers, bales of hay.

Some people have posted that their local nursery/big box will give away free the plants they toss into their dumpster. I've never had the nerve to ask, but at very least, would be an addition to the compost pile.

Wooden pallets for the compost bin free from anyone who receives goods. Neighbor/ cattle supplement. Auto repair/ Car parts. Food stores/Many food items come on pallets. Please ask as some of the pallets have a cost even if old, some are free. a drive along the back and you will often find them in stacks.

Borderbarb- I have asked at the big box stores about discounts on plants that have 1/2 the 6-pak dead and they told me no, they get credit for plants that die and have to return the whole 6-pak for that credit.
Maybe at smaller home grown nurseries it might work.
Anyway, never hurts to ask! NT