Raisedbeds-waytogo ;-)

Congratulations! It does give you a good feeling, doesn't it?

And, you never know when or where you will run into someone else that loves gardening. I stopped by a welding shop that I had not been to in nearly a year, yesterday. I have bought bottled gas and acessories for my cutting torch there, and needed some more paint markers to make my labels for my tomatoes more permanent. After spending too much money and some pleasant conversation I noticed a plant on the window sill near the front door as I was leaving. It was very wilted. I told the guy there that it looked like his little plant was very thirsty and needing a drink.

He said yeah, he guessed that he needed to throw it out and bring some from home, that it was chocolate mint and ask if I had ever smelled any of it. Said that if you rub or crush the leaves you could smell chocolate as well as mint, kinda like a chocolate mint candy. Sure nuff you could. I told him that I had peppermint, spearmint and lemmon balm and would like to have a start of that chocolate mine. He was quick to whip out his knife and dig out a good sized chunk of it to put into a zip lock bag for me. I took it home and put it into some good potting soil and watered it good.
It is fun.
Bill P.

Nice story raise....may the gardening gods return the favor with a bountiful harvest ;)

It's always fun to find another person who has the same passions - one of my favorite seedling giveaway stories is about a man named Butler Skinner here in Winchester who handed out seedlings of his own favorite tomato (which is now named after him) instead of matchbooks or pens, etc., every time he ran for County Jailer in the spring - and he won every time! Butler claimed it was the tomatoes that did the trick.

It's a great tomato - but Butler was a very fine, funny, hardworking and honest guy, too, so that probably helped some...

It is a good feeling to spread the love of gardening. I always give my Mom some plants--she says mine always do better than what she can buy from the greenhouse, so she is willing to drive 3 1/2 hours to get them! I gave some to the manager of the local Taco Bell--he said his wife loves them and so he treated me to lunch one day. I gave some to a former co-worker who shared some tomato cages with me years ago. And finally, I gave the last half dozen to my current co-workers.

Me too T Raisemybeds !!! I gave away almost 100 plants this year !! "The kids" are gonna be all of the state of NJ !

Hope all is well ~

Tom

Currently have 36 extras. Steve will get 12 or 14. Linda wants a Sungold. The rest go out in front of the house with my FREE PLANTS sign.
One good thing about growing so many extras is: you get to pick the best ones first!

I advertised twice on my local Freecycle, gave to all the neighbors, asked here at work and STILL have about 6 plants I don't have room for. So next year I won't start so many (and watch, I won't have much germination luck!) But I did at least manage to help out a few people who otherwise would have to pay for plants. It is a fun feeling, isn't it?

I left about a dozen at the vet's for the staff this morning.

Have been bring them to work and handing them out. All the gardeners there have been going nuts waiting for them. All heirlooms types they won't find at any market. Oh of course my mother in-law gets first choose after I've decide what goes in my own garden. Would have had 38 extra but the puppies trashed the best flat I had 20 lost in all, but with having so many still have 50 for myself with extras for friends. Love the feeling and hearing how much they love-em once they start picking fresh tomatoes.
Love the raised bed thing to, way to go

E

Share some Black Cherries with your friends and they'll beg you the next year to grow them plants and throw money at you to make sure you do. ;-)

I'm paying my transplant light bill just for growing 14 plants. I told them I'd do it for free but they insisted.

I gave away many plants until I ran out of people I knew to take them. So I put them up for sale at our neighborhood yard sale. I sold half of what I had left making $20. That paid for my bag of soil.

I took the other half to my sons high school. Two plants were taken off my hands before I even got to the teacher's lounge!

I had a box of gourds up for sale at the yard sale too. A lady that lives at the end of my street paints on slate and gourds. I ended up giving her the box in exchange for her handpainting some slates for my various antique roses. A pretty good barter I think! And now I have a home for any gourds I may grow in the future. I love growing them, just didn't know what to do with them. Now I do:)

Kuddos to you in your generosity, m'friend! Tell ya what bro, it doesn't stop there. For the past many moons, we've been taking some of the surplus of our harvest up to the retirement village where my stepsons grandma has been residing. Unfortunately we lost her right before this Christmas past. Recently, a couple of the staff have contacted me via e-mail, and phone, to let me know that some of the other residents have all ready been inquiring as to whethat or not we would still be comin around to visit, and I assured them that we would indeed be coming around with gifts aplenty this year, the same as before! It made my oldest boy well up (and his old man as well, truth be told!) We gardeners sometimes don't realize how much we have been blessed, do we?