Free Containers

[xtrace]

Does anybody know where I can get free containers for gardening. I don,t have much stuff. What can I use. I checked in walmart and another store and they are 3 or 4 dollars. That is too much.

[webmaster]

How many containers are you looking for?

[xtrace]

I am looking for about 9 or 10. I would like maybe 5 veg. and the rest

herbs. Thankx.

[jusme]

You might check with your local recycling center. Most of them seperate plastic milk jugs (cut the top off and you have a 8" x 8" container, perfect for many herbs) Plastic soda bottles (these even make nice self-watering containers) and sometimes even 55 gallon plastic barrels (make sure they held food stuff and not chemicals). Also check out the second hand stores for waste baskets made of plastic, plastic storage containers of all sizes, etc.

Use your imagination and Good luck!

[hendi_alex]

I know local landscaper that occasionally gets plants for me. He has tons of those black plastic nursery pots and will give me all that I want. So perhaps shop at a nursery that also does lanscaping business, as they perhaps throw away lots of used containers. Also, locally we have what are called convenience centers where be can drop off bagged trash and bulk items. I often see large black plastic planters in the bulk trash bin. Whenever they are near the top, I ofter spirit a few away and give them a new home.

If you do end up needing to buy some containers, there are some very competitive online store. I've had a good experience with the greenhouse mega store. Their 2.5 gallon nursery pots are just over 50 cents each and five gallon containers are under a dollar each.

https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/Elite-Nursery-Container/productinfo/CN-NCE/

[rainbowgardener]

I also have had good experience with them. I just bought 20 of the trays my pots go in for starting seedlings, for $35 including shipping and handling & everything. The trays were good quality and they came very fast, just a few days after I ordered them on-line.

[mngrdngrl]

another great place to check out is bakeries. Like Panera Bread. I used to be a baker there and I would throw away at leas 20 5, 10 and 20 gallon buckets DAILY. I would stop in the store and check with the manager first though because sometimes people get a little possessive with their trash. Lol

[Haesuse]

couple of suggestions:

my neighborhood has recently had a lot of sells/buys/move-outs/move-ins. if you know of such a neighborhood, then just drive around it. look on the curb. people always leave "trash" they don't feel like moving out on the curb. turns out that flower pots and planters and whatnot are one of the most common items. I've come up on a dozen or so assorted usable pots in the last couple of months, either walking my streets, or driving them.

also, my local coffee shop puts all of their coffee grounds out behind the store. they are in 1 gallon ice-cream style plastic buckets. perfect for planting. and they are filled with compost-ready spent coffee grounds. I'm about to stack a few of them up on top of each other and make a worm-compost-bin-stack.

[pepper4]

I went to my local nursary and got some of those black plastic pots. They had various sizes and were 25 to 75 cents each depending on size.

[Nick L.]

I thought you were crazy when you said look around your neighborhood, but as I was riding my bike I saw at least 10 good pots laying next to the street. She said I could have them so I'm going to wash them out and put them to use.

[Haesuse]

I thought you were crazy when you said look around your neighborhood, but as I was riding my bike I saw at least 10 good pots laying next to the street. She said I could have them so I'm going to wash them out and put them to use.

that's one of the biggest habits of a freegan lifestyle. I can't even begin to estimate how much of my personal belongings have come from me picking up something that someone else didn't want. and you wouldn't believe how often that is flower pots.

oh, another thing to do, is, look around the neighborhood, and find people who aren't using their pots. even if they aren't on the street. go knock on their door and ask, "hey, I see that you have 20 flower pots not being used on your porch. do you still want them? I'd use them, if not". you'd be surprised how many will hand them over to you (often times accompanied with a confused look).



anyway, yea, street curbs are awesome.

[Nick L.]

Here is what I got.
[img]https://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk221/salesmanamer/GARDENLOOT006.jpg[/img]

[Kisal]

I was at Home Depot a few days ago, looking at countertops. As I was leaving, I noticed a stack of flats by the door. I asked the clerk if they were for sale and he said, "Do you need some?" I grinned and said, "I always need flats." He picked up a stack of 6 and handed them to me. I asked how much they were, and he said, "You can just have them."

[cynthia_h]

... find people who aren't using their pots. even if they aren't on the street. go knock on their door and ask, "hey, I see that you have 20 flower pots not being used on your porch. do you still want them? I'd use them, if not". you'd be surprised how many will hand them over to you (often times accompanied with a confused look).

Not to rain on anyone's parade (yes, I have liberated planting containers from curbside), but if someone came to my door making statements about having seen stuff on my private property which they would like...I would be completely freaked out.

We were broken into more than once while we lived in Berkeley, one time when we were gone only for 45 minutes. We were being watched, clearly. There was even a SWAT team raid once at the apartment bldg. on our immediate south (common property line) for cocaine dealing. We had found crack pipes in our bamboo shortly before the SWAT team raid.

So anyone who comes to my door--even after we've lived in this nice, quiet neighborhood for several years--will get the full "private property; you have no right examining anything I may have here" speech.

To anyone thinking of this approach--please consider what may have happened previously to people whose doors you approach, and be prepared to receive an emotional onslaught if their experience was similar to mine.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[Haesuse]

Not to rain on anyone's parade (yes, I have liberated planting containers from curbside), but if someone came to my door making statements about having seen stuff on my private property which they would like...I would be completely freaked out.

your "private property"??? I'm not talking about walking around the back of their houses, or climbing on their porches, or sneaking around their fences. I'm talking about people who have super visible front porches with 20 flower pots on the ledge, 1 of which has any plants in it. or people with a dozen 20 gallon planters that you've seen remain unplanted for 3 growing seasons.

We were broken into more than once while we lived in Berkeley, one time when we were gone only for 45 minutes. We were being watched, clearly. There was even a SWAT team raid once at the apartment bldg. on our immediate south (common property line) for cocaine dealing. We had found crack pipes in our bamboo shortly before the SWAT team raid.

oh. well, if I lived in a neighborhood such as the one you apparently live in, I would not recommend even talking to your neighbors, much less mentioning their empty flower pots.

So anyone who comes to my door--even after we've lived in this nice, quiet neighborhood for several years--will get the full "private property; you have no right examining anything I may have here" speech.

oh, it's a good neighborhood? weird. then you are just jaded? I've been broken into twice. once, I came home while the guy was in the house rummaging through my guns. he was a homeless guy who I had paid to cut my grass a few times out of kindness, knowing he was at least trying to do work for money... my sister (who is in the army and was staying with me while on leave) was in the house asleep. he had knocked her dog out with a wine bottle. I chased him through the alleys, to no avail. the other time, I came home to a ransacked house, missing a bunch of electronics.


but, if a neighbor comes to my door and makes mention of something on my front lawn that I'm obviously not using, I'm going to either say, "nah, I'm going to use that", or "Sure!"

I'm sorry that you are jaded and emotionally scarred from your experiences. I'm even more sorry that this makes you distance yourself from your neighbors and community members. but, it's not going to stop me from being a nice friendly neighbor, always willing to give away an egg or two, or a cup of sugar, or a flower pot I haven't used in years....

To anyone thinking of this approach--please consider what may have happened previously to people whose doors you approach, and be prepared to receive an emotional onslaught if their experience was similar to mine.

how terribly saddening. if you onslaughted me, I'd take the time to try to explain that no amount of walling yourself in a house you consider "private property" will keep you safe, and that the only way to really affect the world is to be kind and caring. bad things happen to good people sometimes. what's terrible is when that turns good people into scared and scarred people who are afraid of neighbors asking for their unused flower pots on their lawn....




edit ps:
anything in public view on your property, anyone, and everyone, has the right to examine. your privacy is only protected in private places.

[Kisal]

edit ps:
anything in public view on your property, anyone, and everyone, has the right to examine. your privacy is only protected in private places.

IMO, passersby are free to "look" all they want at things in my yard or on my porch. However, unless they are people I know, or whom I have invited to enter my yard, then the instant they step off the public sidewalk and onto my property, they become trespassers. I have a very low tolerance level for trespassers.

[Haesuse]

IMO, passersby are free to "look" all they want at things in my yard or on my porch. However, unless they are people I know, or whom I have invited to enter my yard, then the instant they step off the public sidewalk and onto my property, they become trespassers. I have a very low tolerance level for trespassers.

not to intentionally be a pain, but, that's not true at all. unless you have a no trespassing sign, then it only becomes illegal if it is done repeatedly after warnings. jehovah's witnesses, vacuum salesmen, random neighbors wanting an egg, me asking about your pots, all have 100% legal right to walk right on up and start any conversation wanted.

until you say otherwise, or put a sign up.



them's the laws all across the USA.

[Haesuse]

didn't want to offend anyone. sorry.

I'm just glad that my neighbors aren't of your mindsets...

we all wave at each other as we drive by, and have block parties, and have regular beat cops who look out for us, and everyone kinda gets along. a nice blend of middle aged professionals, young up-and-comers, affluent folk, families and college kids renting out houses. in an urban area... and people borrow eggs, and share, and are generally friendly to all who'll accept it...

I like it that way. I'd be miserable in a neighborhood where my neighbors were inherently suspicious of all neighbors they weren't tight with, and who would treat all newcomers as trespassers, or who would have an emotional outburst on such people.


god bless the south, I suppose.

[Kisal]

not to intentionally be a pain, but, that's not true at all. unless you have a no trespassing sign, then it only becomes illegal if it is done repeatedly after warnings. jehovah's witnesses, vacuum salesmen, random neighbors wanting an egg, me asking about your pots, all have 100% legal right to walk right on up and start any conversation wanted.

until you say otherwise, or put a sign up.



them's the laws all across the USA.

Apparently the laws are different where I live, then.

In my city, people are not allowed to go door to door soliciting stuff, unless they have a permit. I haven't even seen a Girl Scout selling cookies around here. Anyone, even just someone asking for directions, who doesn't immediately leave my property when told to do so is guilty of trespass, and will be arrested if they're dumb enough to hang around until the cops arrive. If I so choose, I can even have someone arrested for standing too long on the public sidewalk, peering at my home. Here, that behavior is known as "loitering."

And yes ... I do have signs up.

[crobi13]

Also try www.craigslist.org they have an entire section devoted to free items. You never know what will pop up.

[wolfie]

After reading thru this post, I checked my local free cycle and there was actually a post about someone giving away a bunch of pots and such so sure enough, I picked them up WHOOOO HOOOOO

[Enthusiast]

Hi can’t help but say “hey people keep it friendly”... to call someone jaded because they disagree with a suggestion to ring someone’s doorbell and ask for their stuff is pretty far out but then so is coveting someone’s property in the first place. No need to take it to an ugly place. No one’s here to read your petty name calling. THAT said...some really great ideas. Love and appreciate the sharing. I’m really happy to have found this group.

[imafan26]

You can always reuse coffee cans and cups to repurpose. There are a few warehouses that you can get pallets for free. They are going to throw them away anyway. Most of the times pallets are not made from treated wood. They can be taken apart and rebuilt to make planters. I find when large rubbermaid and storage totes are on sale, they make good planters. They don't last long but they are good for about 3 years if they aren't handled much.

Ice houses, restaurants, and fish markets are good places to get styrofoam coolers. They make good planters and are easy to make holes in.

I do buy buckets from restaurants that hold anything from 3-5 gallons. I can usually get them for less than $2. They can be made into SIPS, or I use them for storing tools or fertilizer (If they have tight lids), and I use some of them for weed buckets. carrying rainwater or mixing fungicide or fertilizer, and sometimes I use them to sit on or as a step stool.

I belong to two orchid clubs and volunteer at 2 gardens and sometimes people donate pots and we just leave them out for people to take for free. They are mostly concrete and terra cotta pots. The garden can't use that many of them and they are hard to store and people will usually give them to us by the hundreds.