Spare young plants - avoiding disposal

[Storming Norman]

Just an idea to spread around.

I semm to grow far too many toms etc every year, plant the best, and sadly have to dispose of the rest.

My neighbour and some friends usually have some but there are always leftovers and it rather saddens me to chuck them on the heap.

The neighbour had a good idea this year - she is manning a stall at the local school fete, she has taken all my spare plants off me to sell. I won't get the pots back but it is nice to see them go to a good home and that the purchasers might try out varieties they would not have touched otherwise.

It's just as well I get most of my pots from the recycling dump at the local garden centre.

Ann

[Serendipity]

After family/friends/neighbours have taken them I Freecycle any left over, always have a tremendous response. Most of my pots come from Freecycle in the first place so I'm sharing the wealth so to speak!

[BarleySugar]

Our gardening club is having a table at the Strawberry Fayre in June at our local church. We've all been saving yoghurt pots, mushroom boxes etc so we don't loose our pots. I've been dividing plants, putting in a few extra seeds, and of course the 'spares' will be able to move on too.

[Snadger]

I have been very good this year and only sown in pinches which gives me just the right amount of everything.
So much so that my allotment colleagues are disappointed when they ask for any 'spares' and I tell them I have none!

I might have to go back to overestimating next year to keep everyone happy!

[Suky]

My Mum works for Cancer Research UK and their shops have all been challenged to raise money (£1000, I think) seperately from the shop takings.
We started with a donation of spring bulbs from a local supermarket that were at their sell by date, some cheap compost and free pots. Planted up and grown on by us then sold in shop, the funds raised bought some trays of small geraniums which followed the same route. Now all my excess seedlings are going there too and we are already almost half way to the intended total.

So if you have a local charity shop they might be interested in well grown spare seedlings and plants.

[Dottie]

I freecycle anything I have spare after I've offered them to folk at the lottie etc.

Re: Pots. Most garden centres now have a recycle pallet bin, usually in the car park for folk to drop off or take away used pots.

[SarzWix]

I've actually had to plan some 'spare plants' this year as the people I fobbed them off onto last year have asked for more this year, because they were so much more interesting than the GC ones Made my day!

[gojiberry]

All my spares get taken up by people at the allotments. Got shut of 6 half pots of various lettuce, half pot of shallot seedlings, 3 half pots of onion seedlings and 3 half pots of leek seedlings.

Ian