Yeah, I know, I wish that I could get a FREE rainbarel---or a few and a cistern..and someone to dig a hole for me to put the cistern in...I would LOVE to harvest my own rainwater. Last winter I did get a bunch of 5 gallon buckets and strategically locate them to get the most roof runoff as possible. I then would transport them to the garage where I stored them in 30 gallon rubbermaid trash cans (with lids) (FYI___just store the containers outside close to the garden for easier access). With a weeks worth of rain storms I filled all three of my trash cans. BUT, I really could have easily collected about 300 gallons worth. With the L.A. program you must have some raingutters which I do not have. IF we ever are able to build on our Getaway land we will put rain gutters, and barels or cistern for water collection. With our water usage this year we have used 30% less than last year! WE water the lawn twice a week for 20 minutes at a time. The lawn is green but not overgrown so we don;t have to mow as often. Also the roots are deeper and can handle better heat/drought stress. A lawn is nice but I'd love to let it die and opt for xeriscape landscaping-- time and money permitting (mostly time). I have my one flower border that is using considerably less water than last year with my test garden--inferno strip garden from high country gardens (.com). Also I put in PSI regulators at all my drip irrigation faucets. IT's nice to be able to conserve. .. I hope someone can benefit in L.A. with this freebie though... Love, Jules

For the city mulch and compost you can call Matt Wood at 213-923-3109. There are several alternatives. You're right, the compost they make from what's in the green cans can contain non-organic residues. But you can also get mulch made only from tree trimmings done by city crews. It's highly unlikely that people would have sprayed anything on their street trees. I've used that several times.

You'll definately want to check out the California Cactus Center. They are pretty close to where you'll be staying, and have a mind boggling selection. They tend to be rather high as far as prices go, but even if you don't buy a thing (which trust me, you *will*) it is worth going just to look around. You can make a nice day out of it by going to the Huntington Gardens too, since they are so close. If you are up for some driving, there is the Cactus Ranch out in Reseda, and some smaller one on the Westside. As far as transporting them, check to see if WA has any import regulations. Beyond that, package them well so if some tsa idiot decides to have a powertrip that day, you can just check it...

I recently picked up some free compost from the Boyle Heights site. They had 2 piles. One was labeled "compost" and the other "mulch". Although, they looked the same to me. They were very dark and had a lot of small rocks and visible tree barks. I wouldn't call them "fine" in any fashion. From just scooping them onto my truck, I didn't see any plastics, glass, or strange objects. I'm not sure if it'll make you guys feel better, but it looks like they do perform quarterly tests on their compost and post their results here: http://www.lacitysan.org/srpcd/sta_info.htm. Again, I'm new and don't know what the tests represent. :-)