I'm A Railroad Siding Watcher

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A few weeks later—following the unloading of some skids of bricks—my garden became heir to a goodly quantity of straw that had been used as a buffer between the building blocks. Again, I'd asked the men in charge of the unloading operation for permission to "clean up" . . . and that's exactly what I did. The straw became a mulch for my rows of vegetables and what was left over went through the compost shredder and onto the heap.

Shipments of pipe are frequently unloaded at my local railroad siding, and the rough lumber which is used to hold the pipes apart during transit—4 X 4 beams ranging from four to eight feet in length—oftentimes ends up being strewn along the tracks. This wood would normally be cleaned up later by work crews and probably burned. But again, with permission (and this is something you can never afford to be without) I load up the treasures and cart them home where they can be used around the yard for edging and terrace retainers.

I've also netted several free bushels of wood chips (from bags which had—like the bags of peat moss—ruptured in shipping) by being in the right place at the right time. These chips added a finishing touch to my flowerbeds.

I could give other examples, but by now you've probably gotten the idea. A veritable gold mine of gardening materials is going to waste at your town's freight train unloading depot. Avail yourself of these materials—become a railroad siding watcher—and you'll not only eliminate unwanted eyesores (see photo), but you'll greatly beautify your backyard . . . and perhaps put a few more vegetables on the table as well!

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