Good things come to those who ask!

12 years ago

So I've mentioned before that I'm building a garden from scratch this fall. It's going to be about 400 square feet of gardening space in 10 beds, and I was feeling a bit of sticker shock after browsing online for stuff I could use for edging. I starting stalking Craigslist for giveaway materials, but I have an added problem that I drive a small car that probably can't handle a huge load of bricks or lumber.

Lo and behold, someone started building a new home in the subdivision right next to us, and they started accumulating all sorts of scrap materials in a pile next to the house. I've driven by it every day for a few weeks now eyeing the wood pallets, but up until today I was either too chicken to ask for them or there was no one there.

Anywho, I finally went over there today to ask for them, and they even offered to deliver them to my house since they wouldn't fit in my car (not that I didn't try first of course)! So now I have a stack of about ten pallets sitting in my driveway, and all the guy wanted in return was tomatoes from next year's garden. I love Oklahoma sometimes. :)

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Comments (7)

redding
12 years ago
Aren't Oklahoma people great! Gotta love it.

Pat
cactusgarden
12 years ago
Mira, you make me laugh. I was remembering the story about the compost you hauled, in your sisters trunk wasn't it? Promising to clean it up afterwards? I think you deserve a break like this. Couldn't come to a more "hauling-needy" person than you. Hows it all coming along so far? And you picked such a great summer to start this little project.
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miraje
Original Author
12 years ago
Ah, compost. Actually last fall I got the bright idea that I'd topdress my backyard with the free Norman compost, so I borrowed ten big Rubbermaid bins to haul it home in my car. It was probably pretty entertaining for the guys to watch me scoop the compost into the bins and lug them over to my car one at a time. I probably made...six trips doing that and only got about 20% of my backyard covered, lol. And, naturally, I managed to spill one of the bins all over my trunk in the process.

My sister has a small S-10 pickup, so I'll just drive it to the place that sells soil and mulch in bulk and have them dump it in the back with a front loader for the garden. I'm tired of working so hard. :p

Speaking of working hard, I discovered tonight that pallets are not the easiest things to tear apart. It is also WAY too hot out there for 9pm!
cactusgarden
12 years ago
Mira, one year I got a load of "mulch" from Asplunde Tree Trimmers. It was a mix of ragged green leaves and coarsely chopped wood about 2 or 3 inches long. They dumped this big pile in my driveway about 12 feet wide and 5 feet tall. It smelled like rotten spinach by the time I finally got it wheel barrowed and spread out but I ended up with about 4 or 5 inches of solid mulch. In a couple years it was completely broken down and it really did help my soil a lot. I don't think I would repeat it, I mean it really stank bad after day 3 or 4 but just in case, you might want to check it out. I don't know if they still do that but I had seen these piles in different places and found out thats what it was. It smelled OK once I got it on the garden but I really was gagging by the time I finished taking down the pile every time I got a new load of it.

This is the second time I am trying to send this. GW keeps spitting it back so if it prints twice, that means I pushed the send again button. I really don't get that when it happens.
miraje
Original Author
12 years ago
Will they drop it off for free? The reason I'm commandeering my sister's truck is that the bulk places charge like $150 to deliver to my house. Maybe I should just wait it out for the mulch until winter and hope for an ice storm. Then mulch will probably be in abundance!
cactusgarden
12 years ago
Absolutely free for the asking. It was some years ago, but they didn't mind putting it somewhere, beats the dump and they have to put it somewhere. I'd just call one of the larger tree trimmers in your area and ask them. Asplunde works for OKC, I'm pretty sure. I should have thought of this sooner when you were asking before about mulch, it was your story that reminded me of it. I think they work year round. Just call around.
miraje
Original Author
12 years ago
I've seen the orange Asplunde trucks around this area after ice storms, but I'm not sure if they serve this area all the time or just after major storms. I bet I can call the city and find out.

Good things come to those who ask!

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redding

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redding

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