Allotments 4 All
Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: gunnerbee on February 04, 2006, 18:08:32
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Post here your lastest scavengings.... come on we all do it!!!!!
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Hi Gunnerbee
I love to scavenge stuff.
Today I planted 4 big tubs of daffodils. I hadn`t paid for the tubs, the potting compost or the bulbs. :D They are sitting in my big fruit cage for a few weeks, I didn`t pay for any of that either. Its amazing what you can get just by asking nicely.
Col
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Blimey columbus, you done well, where did you scavenge that lot from?? lol.
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We haven't started our scavenging for this year yet as we are not very active on our plot at the moment. Just wait though we will have our heads in all the skips in the area before too long.
In the past we have bordered all our beds with wood from skips. Our Greenhouse is made from all scavanged stuff, our pathways along the side of the plot are from pallets, our compost heaps and manure compound all from scavanged wood, and one of our water butts was rescued from a skip. Our biggest find with the owners consent was a fax machine from a skip which my OH swapped for a welding kit, so that was a great one. So watch this space .... ;D busy_lizzie
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If anyone hasn't heard of it before, freecycle is a useful way of picking up stuff which people are just going to throw out
http://freecycle.org/display.php?region=United%20Kingdom
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I’m a right old scavenger, :o :-[ I don’t know where I get the bottle as I am a shy boy really. :-[ Apart from loads of timber, an incinerator, a water butt, a mini butane gas fire, a double door hanging kitchen cabinet for food & drinks, big roll of polythene, blue plastic water pipe for cloches, two red stacking chairs, shelving for greenhouse, several wooden pallets and builders sacks full of wood chippings, I also have these below, the deep freeze I spotted in a front garden last Christmas, two BBQ’s dumped last spring, a shed from a friend last spring, a wheel barrow dumped by a local tarmac firm, slabs from my daughters back garden and finally a tumbleweed composting bin from a friend. Oh and a cuddly toy. ;D
(http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/8669/dumpedfreezer0ox.th.jpg) (http://img395.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dumpedfreezer0ox.jpg)
(http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/3844/bbq28qb.th.jpg) (http://img395.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bbq28qb.jpg)
(http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/9859/alongshed6pl.th.jpg) (http://img359.imageshack.us/my.php?image=alongshed6pl.jpg)
(http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/4567/bringmuck0rh.th.jpg) (http://img359.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bringmuck0rh.jpg)
(http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/1095/slabs3go.th.jpg) (http://img359.imageshack.us/my.php?image=slabs3go.jpg)
(http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/7580/tumbleweed8qe.th.jpg) (http://img359.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tumbleweed8qe.jpg)
Edited to say The wheel barrow was a Christmas prezzy, I don't have a piccy of the builders barrow. ::)
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You are "The Master" Roy! ;D busy_lizzie
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wow Roy You are amazing :D :D :D
Hi all, I can get stuff because I cycle and walk everywhere I go and I check for what is available especially when building work is going on. But then I have transport problems for bigger items so I have to carry ropes with me to tie large items to my bike and I built a bike trailer which I use for repeat loads.
The Zen of scavenging. Quite often asking for smaller things will get you a bigger thing that you didn`t see.
Last year after taking an interest in stuff left outside I was invited to empty the cellar of a local newsagents that had had a plant selling venture and had heaps of left over stuff including sacks of compost and pots.
I am much braver about asking than I used to be. I will ask workers for stuff or haul stuff out of a skip right in front of people. Sometime I just want "unusual stuff" - at the moment I need the rear triangle of a bike, preferably a BMX. This is so I can build a stronger hitch for my trailer so I can use it more. I also limit the amount of wood I collect and just go for long peices because I can get so much of it.
The saddest thing is living next to the "biggest city centre building development in europe" and other huge building projects that just won`t give anything away. Although I`m interested in the Starbucks coffee grounds thing (thanks for that tip) as I`m sure there will be one in the development.
Col
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We got a free fruitcage which was advertised on our village noticeboard. We just had to dismantle it and take it away. As you can see from the picture, it is quite large.
We also got some free paving slabs and old bricks, through the same board.
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The Zen of Scavenging. What a wonderful description for an approach to what is in reality a very rewarding activity, ie creating a secondary use out of what are discarded goods.
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ROY: I ADMIRE YOU ALMOST AS A MUCH AS MONTY ;D
I love scavenging! Me and my dad used to go 'skip-diving' when I was a kid. The rush of adrenalin when you see a flash of yellow skip on a pavement curb never goes away ;)
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ooh ooh ooh! So far this year:
Tonnes of carpet off cuts
Several bundles of bamboo canes
A dustbin for planting potatoes in
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abandoned caravan on the side of the road the other day, it was a beauty, big one aswell, when i mentioned it, he rolled his eyes as he usually does, pity my car wasnt on the road, id have had it!!!
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Lots of roofing joists, big 2x8" about 10' long. I am very pleased with them. I had to carry them individually half a mile.
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our bessie mates donated their pine divan base to our cause today. i'm going to use it to make a raised bed or two ... question is do i have to treat it with anything before i get it planted up or will that affect the soil in my beds ? to treat (and with what?) or not to treat ... that is the question.
???
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I've used freecycle quite a bit: good for getting things but also for the things you want rid of.
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My dear dad always says "one man's rubbish is another ones treasure" - I always remember that when I've 'found something. I remember as a child he had a wonderful garden and most of it came out of skips - thinned out bulbs, cannas, etc.
Anyway, I transgress from the subject - what have I scavanged -- well... Last week I was driving around quite late from a meeting when I spied three HUGE bags of leaves that the Council had scooped up ::)- well I nearly got whiplash from stopping so suddenly and I had to go around the block to have another look but lo and behold - three huge bags of leaf mould are now happily sitting in my backyard rotting away? I was only doing my bit and helping the council dispose of it :-[ Anyone for any leaf mould? ;D
Roy - what a lovely picture of your lottie - neatest one I've every seen.
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A few years ago I got rid of a wasps' nest for someone, and in return I was presented with several binbags full of plants he was getting rid of. Neither of us knew what they were. i ended up with a large quantity of Trillium kurabayashii and a nice clump of Podophyllums.
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Just to add to my collection, I picked up today a bag full of what appears to be metal tent poles, with lots of different angles on them, anyone have ideas what I could use them for on the lottie? ???
They have dumped the material too that I left behind, not like the normal tent canvas, it looks thinner and white in colour, any ideas? As I could always nip back and get it. ;D
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Roy
you lucky devil i am on the hunt for some old tent poles as i thought about using them to hold fleece or netting off plants.
I will have to keep looking
Simon
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Found a nearly new galvanized dustbin on the pavement today. Strange thing is, there have only been bin bags used for refuse round here for at least 30 years. ??? With a few holes in it it will make a good incinerator.
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Our best scavenge was a settee for the allotment greenhouse/shed.
The wife had always been moaning about not being able to sit and relax at the allotment when it was raining etc. She had just come back from walking the dogs at night (11:00pm) to say that a house on the next street had put a good condition (but slightly 70's designed) settee out for the bin men to collect.
We ran round whipped it and carried it over the allotment, wheeling it around the streets in the dark.
Unfortunately our allotment suffers from fly tippers and for some reason we met nearly everyone we know taking the settee to the allotment, god knows what they thought!!! And she still wanted to go back for the arm chair ::)
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John H. Cheers for that link. I've signed up. I hate throwing good things away. One mans muck is anothers brass!
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I agree Crash, its better to find a new use for something than send it to landfill eh?
most larger urban areas seem to have freecycle groups going now.
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well, round the corner from our lottie site a building has just been knocked down so we had our pick of bricks, and they also left behind a blue barrel... it has been re-homed beside our shed. I went round, picked it up and carried it round myself in broad daylight, does this count as scavenging????
Sheona
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Hi all,
Sheona, Yep it counts. You are now officially a scavenger. In broad daylight too :o Welcome to the club :)
Roy, What you have could be a canvas wardrobe as sold by argos and others. A white metal frame and black corner peices to make a rectangle about 5 to 6 feet tall. Some tubes interlock and some are a smaller diameter ???? (I`ll name that junk in one :) ) ... Actually I might be wrong as I`m confused by the angles.
Col
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The pub up the road has just dismantled all the tables/benches in the beer garden, and left them stacked up in a corner. We've passed them for a couple of days, then couldn't resist....
Now have a big pile of good sound wood in our drive, about 8ft lengths.
I did ask if they were getting rid, but if things are in skips & obviously being thrown away, do you ask or just take??
I asked at a house with a skip outside and was looked at very strangely.
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Roy, What you have could be a canvas wardrobe as sold by argos and others. A white metal frame and black corner peices to make a rectangle about 5 to 6 feet tall. Some tubes interlock and some are a smaller diameter ???? (I`ll name that junk in one :) ) ... Actually I might be wrong as I`m confused by the angles.
Col
Much too big for a wardrobe, more likley a rig that the police set up for crime investigation or similar ???
deboydoyd, I wouldn't worry too much about taking from skips, it's when you add to them that you get into trouble. ;D
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In that case its a fruit cage :D
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This morning I scavenged about 80 feet of 4x2 roof joists from a skip round the corner. They're as good as new.
I'm thinking frameworks for a new 3-bay compost bin and a very solid fruitcage.
Scaveging - I love it.
Stork.
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There is road works going on at the bottom of my road and on my way past I asked a lorry driver where he was taking the lorryload of road kerbs, he said "to the local quarry " so I asked his boss if he would mind doing me a big favour and ended up with 3 lorryloads of much needed hard fill for my yard.
Told OH this was belated valentines day pressie, Happy days.
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We have been living with a broken wooden bed head on our bed for a while now. Passed by a skip on Wednesday afternoon with a lovely good quality wooden bed head in it. OH and I carried it home, gave it a bit of a wash and clean, and on Wednesday evening went to bed with a lovely wooden bed head in place. Result!! busy_lizzie
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Nice one ;) busy_lizzie, it makes your day, doesn't it? :D
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my boss is ripping up his kid's play area at home and today has kindly donated all the play bark for my paths.
thangyouverymuch.
;D
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I have to admit I'm not the main scavenger. I'm letting the side down and I used to be so good at it :( :D My OH is a white van driver and is always on the look out for stuff.
roll of chicken wire.
roll of plastic netting
roll of thick green plastic fencing stuff
fencing.
wooden door
garden bench
picnic bench
little tikes plastic house...very handy for keeping 2 year old occupied at lotty
loads of bags of sawdust
huge metal drinker for hens
stackable hinged wooden frame thingies that OH is going to make into coldframes
another roll of wire ...I got that!
hose pipe
flag stones
Not too bad a start when I think about it.
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My OH isn't quite into this yet. I'd been after wooden pallets for ages and eventually found a never ending supply, but today when I met him from his work - what do i find sitting outside the front door of his office ?? A building site with a mountain of the things.
I've got to teach him to keep his eyes open and start asking cheeky questions. The rear seats of my car are permanently in the down position at the moment with a huge tubby sack (which the hard core came in) in the back just incase.
;D
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Oooh I've just been told that the large box of 4 inch galavanised nails and a large box of two inch galvanised clouts can be added to the list.
Big sheet of prison mesh.
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I hope he's not leaving a big hole in the wall lmao
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Okay I scavenged a load of CD 100 pack plastic covers from our IT dept. A few drilled holes in the top and I will have the perfect cloche protection for my young plants.
(http://images.shopping.msn.com/img/6/2928/21/906987.jpg)
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Okay I scavenged a load of CD 100 pack plastic covers from our IT dept. A few drilled holes in the top and I will have the perfect cloche protection for my young plants.
(http://images.shopping.msn.com/img/6/2928/21/906987.jpg)
doh! I work in IT and never thought of that, been throwing them away for ages.
Save spare CD's for bird scarers (on strings) or I use for large labels (requires cd marker pen)
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glow777 I am still trying to work out a use for the base with the spindle.
I thought maybe they could go on the tops of canes to provide support for netting. Any better ideas out there?
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Hi Growbe, what about nailing them to a wall in your shed (assuming you have one) and using them to hang things on, (coats, rakes, any garden tools with a string on the handle, etc).
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in addition to another 4 pallets from my local friendly tile supplier, today i went scavenging in the front garden of the house opposite. there was a huge pile of stuff that could have been moving in or out, but faint heart never got nowt, so i knocked the door and the very nice people said help yourself, so i got a mini greenhouse frame with shelves (which will do nicely as shelves in the shed), big green plastic pot, ikea type pine shoerack, which will do as shelving somewhere, and a brand new clothes airer (which is in better condition than my current one) :o
OH lost patience with me though, so i DIDN'T get a perfectly good old compost bin and a kind of nice big BBQ thingy which would have made an excellent potting bench with a bit of a scrub (both these things were too heavy for me to lift on my own ???).
if they're still there tomorrow, i'm going to have another try and see if i can drag them across the road.
my new goodies made up for the SECOND wing mirror smashed in less than two weeks by our kindly local ned kiddies :'(
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Well, when I did my monthly off-load at the bottle bank this morning & 'rescued' 4 blue stacking polythene boxes (the sort that g/grocers have their punnets of mushrooms in) thought I'd done really well..........and then I read Mrs.KP's addition.....
(specially liked the bit where you didn't know if they were moving it in or out...) ;D ;D ;D
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this allotmenting malarky has opened up a whole new world of "what could i use that for" and the confidence to go and ask.
right at the bottom of the pile was a double bed frame. if it were wood, i'd have gone for it, but it looked like a particle board one and wouldn't have lasted 5 secs.
i still want the BBQ :P
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I now look at everything in terms of what I can do with it at allotment. So far I have scavenged
An old computer table from neighbour it's now a potting table
Bedside table from skip, now hols tea nad coffee things
various bits of wood
an old wardrobe from same neighbour all broken down and reay to make a table in my new greenhouse
in the neighbouring flats to me are a set of shelves and a cupboard which will make their way to plot very soon
wooden single bedframe whcih i still have to put to use yet.
The looks I got the sunday morning that I wheeled the computer table along were great. Thank god plot is only a 2 minute walk away. ;D
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Yes a BBQ is just fabulous, even just for sausages, or grilled tomatoes, sweetcorn, peppers, I hope I am making everyone drool :)
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I do roast chicken and baked fish on mine. Drool!
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one (virtually unused) bbq, is now scrubbed and has morphed into a potting bench.
if you keep the two grills at the same height, it's the perfect size for my potting tray.
(http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/unbranded/d/unbranded-deluxe-heavy-duty-steel-trolley-bbq.jpg)
here's a similar one and i've just saved myself £50.
;D
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Very nice Mrs KP. well done. ;D
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We had a new field shed on our allotments just over a year ago and its been furnished almost entirely from skips and scavenging, items we've 'recycled' include:
A drop leaf table
A kitchen table
Several chairs, including stacking chairs
Two kitchen wall cupboards
Carpet and a large offcut of cushion floor
Metal shelf racking
A calorgas cooker
Coffee mugs and plastic tray
Brooms and a brush and dustpan
Waterbutts
In spite of much searching we didn't find - so had to BUY - a kettle and a teapot (50p each at a car boot sale!)
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someone near me was throwing out a 4 shelve mini greenhouse. got there just before the bin men. its in my greenhouse now as staging.
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Right thats it....
the scrapyard down the road from me is going to get a real good hoking through,
I've had so many good ideas on this thread. ;D
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not exactly a scavenge but a mate bought the local loot type paper today to flog a guitar and i saw an ad for a ton of top soil available for nowt!
going to pick up as much as i can on saturday morning.
;D