Free, "not new" hostas...hopefully.

I split my hostas all the time, but this time I got very aggressive and very lazy. I'm hoping these will take, but if they don't, I probably spent less than 3 hours on them, so not too big a waste. I dug up two of my hostas and cut them into very small divisions, laid then on the ground, threw a shovel of compost on top, then threw some chopped leaf mulch on. When I was done, I worried the plants couldn't take the stress, so I cut off the leaves (woulda been easier to do that BEFORE putting them down, oh well). I'm hoping these babies will root themselves. I'm also hoping I'm not creating a maintenance nightmare for myself (the hostas will block the grass/weeds right?) Doing this mainly to try to help out my neighbor--on the other side of the fence--whose dog barks when he sees my dog in the yard. Hoping the hostas will block his under-fence vision.

"Free" safflower? Will I get what I paid for?

There appears to be a forest of safflower taking root under my bird feeder. In my creaky old age, I am inclined to let it be and see if it amounts to anything interesting. The images of safflower on the Internet look attractive enough, but I can't imagine this will bloom in the shady spot where it exists. I figure if I let it grow a bit, I at least won't have to reach down so far to pull it up. Or am I just tempting fate with a root system that will break me?

The problem with free mulch day is the "day."

I can't complain about free mulch, but I can complain about the weather. Our town only offers mulch fee to residents one day a year. This year, it was 87 degrees during pick up time. It took me an hour in that heat to shovel the mulch into the bags and load up my car. Mostly it was old men and women picking it up (perhaps the young are wiser than the old.) I had room for more mulch, but no energy left to get it. Especially when it got up to 91 by the time I had to unload it. I suppose it could be worse. If it were raining, the mulch would have been a lot heavier and messier.

As you can see, I still need a lot more. When I go back, I'll have to pay for it, but it will still be cheaper than the store's mulch...and I'll know it's made from waste wood that would otherwise, well, go to waste. (But I'm not going back until it cools down and my son can help.)

Repurposing for free "not new" seed starting containers.

While many gardeners might not buy things in such containers, I'm sure your neighbors might. A walk down the street on garbage day could result in all sorts of containers for seed starting: most with lids!

My "not new" bubble wrap almost killed me.

I was exiting the thruway when an approximately 20'sheet of bubble wrap (shown in my back seat) flew across my windshield. I assume it was from the construction they were doing on the exit...construction that left no shoulder to pull off on. I had about a two-inch "window" to look through, which kept shifting. There were a string of cars behind me which would quickly backup up onto the thruway and cause a hazard, so I continued on, knowing there would be place to stop ahead.

I nearly had a heart attack when I stopped and got out of the car as there was a car to the left, just inches from my bumper, which I had not seen. Phew! Someone up there was watching out for me. So, I gathered up the bubble wrap, which looks like new. I really needed bubble wrap, just would have preferred not to risk my life to get it.

Free way to prevent rusty tools.

I saw this tip in the newspaper and thought I'd pass it along: Save the desiccant packs that come inside pill bottles and packaged manufactured goods and throw them in your tool boxes. Brilliant idea. Now I've got to go build some "not new" boxes/cases for some of my larger electric tools so they don't get any rustier.

Bargain dentistry is actually extra new.

A tooth (actually, a tooth under a crown) broke clean off and it is going to cost me $4,600 to get an implant. If I had more time, I would have probably been able to get that done at the local dental school for a fraction of the price. If there is a dental school in your area, you should know that they offer greatly reduced dental services (at least, that's how it works at most dental schools in the US). The work is well supervised by the teachers, but it is performed by the students. The problem is, it usually takes more visits than it would at your local dentist office (the students work slower) and for major work (crowns, etc.), you have to submit your case before the semester starts. If your case is accepted, you'll be paired with a student who will work with you and you have to be available at times that fit into the student's schedule.

I applied and was accepted to have a crown put in by the UB School of Dentistry some years back, but I got a major work assignment right before the semester started, so I had to decline as I knew my availability was going to be sketchy. I thought about going back to the school route for this very expensive implant (I'm assuming they do implants), but I really can't afford the extra time away (and I'm a baby, very worried about something as tricky as an implant).

Often dental hygienist schools will also offer free teeth cleanings. It's worth checking out if you are on a tight budget.

Fifty shades of free

Since everyone is all "50 Shades" this Valentine's weekend, I thought I'd share this parody by my sometimes-coauthor. It is available as a free Kindle download if you subscribe to their lending library (not sure how that works, but I know this is so). The book is ridiculously vile in a way that makes it totally hysterical (but, you'll never admit that to anyone else because it is so vile...I wouldn't admit it if I weren't trying to promote it for my buddy). So, you've been warned.
In addition to free kindle lending books (also available at most libraries...though some only offer one format, e.g. kindle or nook), there are thousands of free ebooks for download and the offering changes every month.

The free TimBit brings me in

The husky is mine, the other is my "dog niece." The dog usually only gets to go for a drive when I'm taking him to the dog park or groomer. However, when I find I must take him for errand-running, I'm a sucker for stopping at Tim Horton's drive thru. They always have a free Timbit for the dog. He otherwise doesn't get sugary snacks, but I feel the need to reward him when the trip involves some waiting alone in the car for him. Plus, the dog likes the attention of the cashier. Otherwise, I'm not much of Tim's fan. I don't drink coffee and they are inconsistent about which locations have lemon for their tea. How can you sell tea without lemon? Inexcusable.

Free not-new mulch

Why buy and lug heavy bags of mulch if you don't have to? For the past few years, I have been mulching my garden with pine needles and/or chopped leaves. There is a short window of opportunity in the fall to rake up the long, soft needles that certain conifers shed annually. Often, you can find these already raked into neat piles at curbside for you by homeowners. The snow fell really, really early here so I didn't get all the needles I needed. However, the extremely heavy snowfall also took down a lot of pine branches. I've been gathering up the bows and throwing them on the garden...it may even be easier than using the needles. Either way, it is free, easy to lift and will eventually enrich the soil (particularly if your soil needs more acid). Chopped fall leaves don't look quite as attractive as the needles, but also work well. Just make sure the leaves are chopped up.