Well, it was a trash bag instead of a dumpster...

one evening when I was picking up autumn leaves for the garden/compost heap, I got a whole bag of spider lily bulbs.

I found leaf bag treasures also, several plants still in pots, a six pack of pansy's, three ornamental kale, ivys, a basil plant loaded with seeds, a Portacula (I think).

Some geraniums that had been dumped out of their pots but were still in their soil. Gotta do some overwintering/propagating experiments with them. They're nice big ones too. A coreopsis loaded with seeds--I buried this in my lasagna bed just to see if any of them grow.

Oh boy...I'm all for dumpster diving, so please don't take the following story the wrong way!

My dear, dear friend has filled countless living spaces, his own and others' with garbage from dumpstering. Now, this is not only his lifestyle and how he survives (clothing, items for trade/to sell, some food, blankets) but I've gotten some pretty sweet items from his efforts myself. The problem being that he goes out with a couple backpacks and a flash light and scours the dumpsters of the neighborhood at night, with little to no discretion at WHAT it is he's grabbing. Then he drags it back to his current "nest" and looks through it, taking what's valuable and putting it to use and leaving the rest of it to pile up in a garage/spare bedroom or what have you.

I've just been subjected to having to clean up after him too many times. I've let him stay with me a few times and he's capable of filling a one car garage from floor to ceiling with garbage in less than a month. Then his loved ones are left to sort through it for recycling, salvage, etc.

It is quite the task, bittersweet at that. On one hand, I'm able to save a lot of items from going into a landfill and even getting a lot of useful or otherwise valuable things. Then there's the issue of not knowing what to do with things like a full set of 1972 encyclopedia's with year books up to '77 that I can't bear to throw away, but are taking up valuable space either on my book shelf or otherwise. Not to mention that it's not very fun to have someone else fill up your garage with a bunch of crap then leave it for you to clean up after you've taken care of them for a while.

To give him credit, the last time he stayed with me, he actually exercised incredible restraint and I was very proud of him. This time I only have a pile that would fill a small u-haul truck to sort through...

Oh boy can I relate to that story, we know a couple that has filled up THREE and 1/2 houses with **** oh I mean,
"stuff".

Not to mention the 1,000 a month they pay to the storage facility, since they've filled up all their houses.

My rule is that if I can use it right away, we snag it, if I dont know what to do with it, where to put it, or its broken, leave it. NEVER dumpster dive for something "that somebody might use someday"

Dont let yourself get caught up in "cant bear to throw it away", just TOSS IT, its theraputic.

hehehe...Yeah, I know that version of the story as well. My old roommate worked at Goodwill for five years and is the queen pack rat! Well, I didn't intend to turn what was supposed to be a fun thread into a gripe fest so I'm going to stop here.

You can compost encyclopedias, although the bindings probably would have to be trashed.
Tear the pages or shred them first to speed up the process, & add coffee grounds, tea leaves, kitchen scraps, etc.

On my Sunday afternoon "leaf-lurking" expedition yesterday (Sunday afternoons are a good time to pick up leaves for the compost pile, since a lot of people do their yard work on the week-ends), I found a bunch of nice laminated particle board shelf boards.

brought 'em home, laid them across the steps of a pool ladder, voila, plant shelf.

This doesn't pertain to garden finds but I had to share. In college we would always dumpster dive at krispy kreme doughnuts. They threw away entire bags of glazed doughnuts, nothing but glazed doughnuts. We ate those things till we were sick. What a cure for the munchies.

Have also found countless batteries, 35 mm film, hoagies, bread, stained glass lamps and wooden chests from pier 1 imports, halloween candies, you name it.

Dumpster diving is the best.

M

A friend told me that she visits the dumpsters *behind* thrift stores:

When they have more donations than they have room for...
they pitch the overstock in the dumpster.

She showed me some precious velveteen Christmas ornaments, a little trinket box shaped like a high-heeled shoe, & she had already taken 4 jigsaw puzzles to the VA hospital that week!

On a green note the best place for free plants in my area is at the brush site. Folks are always dumping out old plants or extra plants. I've gotten bromeliads, lillies, plam trees roots and all just by poking around at the site when i drop off something. It's great

THe brush site?

The brush site is where recycling centers allow people to dump branchs and trees. Or, where the cities which do barrel collection of green meaterials dump that stuff.

I found a tiny puppy in a dumpster. I kept her. She proved to be a Doberman crossed with Irish setter, grew up to look like a Gordon setter--beautiful dog, and a wonderful companion. We were together for sixteen years.

You found a puppy in a dumpster? How lucky for your dog. I've found a queen size blanket that only needed washing, a small step stool, flower pots complete with potting soil and sometimes even flowers, a chair, a bike and other random stuff.

Thrift shops throw away the old stuff when they get new.

Our animal shelter gets dog shampoo in 40 gallon plasic barrels and leaves them next to the dumpters so people don't have to dig through dog poop and shredded paper they use for bedding. I got 2 for rain barrels.

Best dumpster find mmm thats a hard one. I grew up poor so we reused everything we could. School clothes came from good will. Mom worked there so she would collect garbage bags full and then we would go through it and take back what I did not want. You would not believe how much brand new items we found over the years. Now I live on a military base and with so many people moving all the time great stuff is left on the curb. The only thing i took before anyone else could get it was a little round bedside table. I covered it with a cloth and no one will know where it came from. hehe

mica

Be sure to check your local regulations about dumpster diving . I used to run one of those Thrift Stores that threw away tons of stuff . If the dumpster has signs posted not to scavenge - please don't . You can be arrested . If the manager or owner asks you not to dumpster dive - please don't . You can also be arrested for trespassing .

Whenever possible , please ask . Often , you will receive even more when the owners tell you - Oh, thank you so much for asking . Would you also like ....?

I would guess my best finds, would have to be an old dupont dynamite box, a first edition (error) Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album 2 like new xplode subwoofers, and i know this is going to gross someone out, but some old gold and platinum dental work was quite the find, cashed in for around $350.

And as for gardening items, home depot, lowes and as before mentioned landscaping dumps are great places to find gardening tools, hibiscus, peach, pear, smoke, and golden raintrees all salvaged from the trash

I don't dumpster dive per se, but I do "curb shop". Back years ago, when I was pregnant and broke, I saw a fold-up diaper table on the curb. I gathered my courage, went up to the door of the very nice house, knocked, and asked if I could take it. Not only did the homeowners say I could take it, but they opened up their garage and gave me a beautiful crib and boxes of baby clothes that they had been planning to take to Goodwill.

I've also obtained a brand-new sofa/loveseat set, a chest of drawers, a coffee table, and bookshelves that I knock the back off of and use for raised bed garden frames! I've also gotten potted geraniums from the flower shop's dump pile - all that was wrong with them was that some bird had pooed on them. The same flower shop let me take leftover black plastic pots and a big pot full of spent bulbs.

Just yesterday I saw a lovely china hutch on the curb, but I don't have room for one. A short time later I saw someone else stuffing it into their car. It was good to know someone was going to be able to enjoy it!

So far my best find was a like new blender.

I recently found this pile of church benches dumped in a field with broken furniture and glass. Turned out to be 100% Malaysian hardwood, I'm guessing either yellow or white meranti, so now I'm dismantling the hardware and building a table with the planks.

My Mom found a bentwood rocking chair that had been chewed on where the legs end in the back. It's been on my front porch for 4 years. It looks so cute & I even sit in it once in a while although my legs are too short to be real comfortable in it.

I've found lattice trellises, other solid wood chairs, plastic lawn furniture that didn't match the "new color scheme," a cute little wicker shelf, empty flower pots galore, firewood...

Conversely, items I've put by the curb because they were broken, no longer needed, or I was just unable to cart them to goodwill --- and were picked up before they could be put in the landfill: clothes dryer, small chest freezer, many vacuum cleaners, recliner, mattresses (that kind of made me sad that somebody would need one that badly,) tons of baby toys, and a car. My hat's off to all those "sanford & son" types who are able to rescue these things.

We have the all time killer dive, it's location is classified on account of the booty to be had. here is a partial list, Chocolate, good high end chocolate, candy, peanuts (sugar coated), cookies, crackers, cheese, salami, ceramics, body care product, baskets, boxes (nested), gift boxes, toys and its all packaged in foil or bags I can't begin to tell you what its like to sit on a mountain of chocolate laced with bags of hot chocolate and gourmet coffee, Have mercy!