Wow, is this just cool and a half to have so many ideas being shared for cheap compost? My leaves have been raked, crushed and applied to the soil. I didn't get near as many this year because we had a few very windy days in Nov., my neighbors leaves and mine in the front yard blew away so I got just half as much. Normally I would use grass clippings but where I placed some, it turned into a weed patch. I didn't say it here but on another forum, a big problem that I have is that our home backs up to the Mojave Desert and also is right in the path of the winds that roar up the Cajon Pass. You can imagine with the loose soil in the desert and the numerous weeds, staying ahead of them takes plenty of effort. I'm not a big fan of chemicals either. We have a mulching mower so we leave the grass clippings and do weed prevention instead. I thought the wood shavings idea was great. You get a lot of coverage once one of those bundles is opened. Of course they would have to be balanced w/nitrogen. I did use the last of our wood pellets for the pellet stove we had and they will expand once water hits them, again nitrogen must be supplied. We don't see utility co's. out trimming around here. We are a new community that has been growning over 16 yrs, expecially the last 3. All of the utilities are underground so no issues with wires and trees. I need to search out some other source ideas, like the Starbucks half a mile away. I do have access to several feed stores as people do have a variety of animals in the surrounding communities. Thank you all for the ideas. I'm sure this will be a great source for many gardners stretching their pennies.

I will wager good money against any of the suggested retail outlets that you will get handouts (for free) of divisions of plants that will grow where you live if you visit a meeting of your local orchid society. Plus cultural advice. When I was just getting interested in orchids, I joined our local group for $10 dues; the first meeting I went to, I got a gift plant. Over the next twelve months, my "collection" went from 9 plants to about 50, and I spent nothing and learned encyclopedias. Well, I brought snacks once. Have fun - Nancy

Bringing up an old topic: does anybody know if Steve and Carolyn Bertrand still are active with Perennial Farm near Ionia? In its glory years, that was quite a place for plant freaks. But we were there a couple of years ago, and at that time there were just a few interesting plants in the greenhouse, and Steve had been having some serious health problems and apparently was mainly just wholesaling seed from their garden. This spring I left a voicemail asking if they were still open and never heard back. Guess more than anything I'm worried about them (him). I have always had a soft spot for characters...

hi shawnrd, you know the large plastic containers that soup come in at a chinese restaurant? i filled half of that with VC and got 100 eggs. would that be just like, a pint or so of VC? my worms are getting busy! my bin was started in august, had a bad overfeeding situation, was revamped in early november with an additional pound of worms. (i left more than half of the original VC, pulled it to one side, started a fresh side.) i think they're responsible for the eggmaking, because all of these eggs were spread along the top area of the bin. many are still yellowish, so i presume pretty young. according to the book "Worms Eat My Garbage," it takes "at least three weeks development in the cocoon before one to several baby worms hatch." depending on conditions i think it can take a lot longer. don't toss them eggies! like whitney sang long ago, i believe the children are the future! as for how long before the minibin gets too big, i'll keep u posted. my plastic coffee tub originally held 2 lbs of coffee. i like to think of it as my "nursery" experiment. once they are of a decent size i'll just dump it into the main bin anyway. vermiman: what did the hatching look like???