Are you looking for the best places to get free gardening supplies? Yes? Then you’ve come to the right place. Here are some of the best places to get free gardening supplies like seeds, compost, and tools.
As a gardener, you might know how expensive gardening supplies are. You need various items for gardening from seeds to compost to shovels. Many gardeners can’t afford gardening supplies. It doesn’t mean they have to restrict themselves from gardening.
Fortunately, there are a few ways to get free gardening supplies. You just need to know where to look or how to get free gardening supplies.
In today’s post, I’ll cover some of the best places and ways to get free gardening supplies. You’ll be surprised to see where to get them for free.
So, let’s begin!
Where To Get Free Gardening Supplies?
Here are some of the best places and ways to get free gardening supplies, including seeds, plants, compost, and tools.
1. Join Local Gardening Groups
Local gardening groups are one of the best places to get free gardening supplies. You can learn a lot about gardening while getting gardening supplies like seeds, compost, and tools.
How do you find local gardening groups? You can search online for gardening clubs in your area. Also, you can consult your fellow gardening friends to connect with gardening groups.
2. Connect with Buy Nothing Groups on Facebook
When it comes to getting free gardening supplies, buy-nothing groups on Facebook can help you out. You can join your local buy-nothing groups on Facebook to connect with fellow gardeners.
Sometimes, gardeners have a surplus of gardening supplies. In that case, they use buy-nothing groups to declutter their gardening supplies. Moreover, you can request specific gardening items from the community.
It’s not fair to use buy-nothing groups only to get free gardening supplies. It’s all about engaging in a community-sharing initiative. Therefore, you need to offer some items you no longer need.
How to find your local buy-nothing group on Facebook? Just search “Buy Nothing” and the name of your area. You’ll get a list of buy-nothing groups on Facebook. All you need to do is choose the closest group in your neighborhood. Also, you can use the “BuyNothingProject” to find a group.
3. Seed and Plant Exchanges
As you might know, seeds and plants are essential for gardening. You can join local seed or plant swap groups where gardeners swap their surplus of seeds, seedlings, or plants.
How do seed-swapping groups work? These groups allow you to give away seeds you don’t want and get seeds you want. Basically, gardeners can swap seeds and plants within the community. However, you may have to pay for the postage fee.
How do you find seed-swapping groups? You can search online to find seed-swapping groups. Just enter the term, “seed exchange” with the name of your town, city, county, or state.
Here are a few seed exchange programs:
4. Local Government Programs
The government often offers various programs to support agriculture and gardening. You may be able to get gardening supplies like seeds, compost, mulch, and plants.
You can reach out to your local government to inquire whether they’re providing free gardening supplies. Also, you can check the government’s website for information.
5. Tree Service Companies
Tree service companies cut down trees and branches. In the process, they produce a lot of wood chips from trees and branch removals.
As you might know, wood chips can be used for mulching your garden. Also, it can be used for creating a low-maintenance yard.
You might get free wood chips from tree service companies if you have a good connection.
6. Seed Libraries
Have you ever heard about seed libraries? A seed library is a place where community members can get seeds for free or for a nominal fee.
It works similarly to public libraries where we borrow books. With a seed library, you can borrow seeds. After growing plants, you return an equal or greater amount of seeds. This makes seed libraries beneficial for beginner gardeners.
Many seed libraries are open in public libraries and community centers. You can access the website “Seed Libraries” to find seed libraries.
Moreover, you can search online to find seed libraries as well. All you need to do is type the term “seed library” with the name of your town, city, county, or state.
7. Visit Local Public Libraries Gardening Events
You can visit your local public libraries that organize gardening events. You might get free seeds or plants. Some libraries actively support communities with gardening supplies. You can check with your local libraries whether they are organizing such events.
8. Browse Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist
Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are popular for buying used stuff. However, you can use these two platforms to find free gardening supplies like seeds and tools.
Many gardeners want to get rid of their surplus of gardening supplies. In that case, they post on platforms like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. You can browse these two platforms for gardening supplies.
People widely use these two platforms for giving away stuff like furniture and tools. There’s a narrow chance of getting free gardening supplies. It doesn’t mean there is no chance.
9. Browse Freecycle.org
When it comes to getting free stuff in your neighborhood, Freecycle is one of the best platforms. It’s a non-profit movement where people can get and give stuff for free in their towns. The purpose of this site is to reuse and keep good stuff out of landfills.
You can browse the site to find free gardening supplies. You could find gardening supplies like compost, plants, and tools.
10. Visit Gardening Stores and Nurseries
Gardening stores and nurseries can be a great place to get gardening supplies like plants and compost. Many stores have a surplus of plants that dried up due to a lack of nursing. Also, they don’t have enough time to nurse dried plants.
In that case, they throw them away. You could get dried-up plants from gardening stores and nurseries. All you need to do is nurse these plants to recover.
11. National Wildlife Foundation
The National Wildlife Foundation is an organization that aims to help butterflies thrive. For that reason, it provides free milkweed seeds to gardeners. Also, you’ll receive tips on planting your habitat garden.
How do you get free milkweed seeds? You’ll have to become one of the National Wildlife Federation’s Butterfly Heroes to get seeds.
Schools, scouts, nature centers, places of worship, other community groups, and families are encouraged to pledge to help monarch butterfly populations.
More than 200,000 pledges have been received to help restore monarch butterfly populations by planting milkweed that monarchs need to survive and thrive in the past five years.
Moreover, you can also get free trees from the National Wildlife Foundation. It provides reimbursement for free or subsidized native tree seedlings to partners who plant them through local restoration projects or community tree giveaway events.
12. Garden Supply Stores
Garden supply stores provide various novel and traditional vegetables, herbs, fruits, flowers, perennials, and quality gardening supplies. Sometimes these stores offer discounts on first purchase, freebies, promo codes, and other deals.
Here are a few garden supply stores:
13. Get Coffee Grounds from Starbucks
You can use coffee grounds as fertilizer or mulch for your garden. Both used and fresh coffee grounds contain nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, and many micronutrients. This helps plants to grow faster.
Starbucks produces plenty of coffee grounds. You can visit your local Starbucks store to ask for coffee grounds. You can also ask your local coffee shop.
14. Ask Your Friends and Family
Is there anyone in your family or friend circle do gardening? Yes? Then you can ask for gardening supplies from them.
You can get gardening supplies like plants, seeds, compost, or used gardening tools. Moreover, you can grow many plants from cuttings, such as tomatoes, azaleas, and spider plants. You can ask for cuttings from your gardener friend or family.
15. Use What You’ve In Your Home
If you search your home for gardening supplies, you’ll be surprised to see how many things you can use in your garden. You can check places like the garage, basement, attic, or shed for items you can reuse or repurpose.
You may find plastic containers to plant seeds or wooden pallets to make planters. Also, you can use your kitchen waste to make your compost.
Conclusion: Cost Cutting Gardening
As you can see, there are many ways to get free gardening supplies. All you need to do is choose the best ways that are convenient for you.
You can apply these methods to get free gardening supplies like seeds, plants, compost, mulch, and tools. Gardening shouldn’t be costly.
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