What did you do in the garden today?

[CatInTheHenHouse]

My grandparents always had tasty and acidic tomatoes. Never knew what variety they were, or whether it was the soil they grew in but I just don’t seem to be able to find or grow tomatoes with the same bite. Of course I could be lying to myself and simply mis-remembering, afterall I was a youngster way back then.

Could be genetic drift/variety changes in the tomatoes too. Do you remember what variety of tomatoes they had?

Wait? What? I wonder if my local big box store does that.

Same, I’ve been wanting to do some minor projects for a while now.

 

[Rick589]

I think the majority of Home Depot’s have the cull bins. It is always one of my first stops when I’m there. I’ve found some really great deals

Now that you and Smokerbill mention it I have seen the culled lumber bin before but never gave it any thought, after all there’s plenty of lumber to cull in the ‘good’ stacks. Given some of the nasty wood you find on the racks just how bad does it have to be to make it to the culled pile?

 

[Rick589]

Wait? What? I wonder if my local big box store does that.

Usually at the back of the lumber section at HD and I would assume Lowes as well.

 

[Rick589]

When I was a little kid cracking black walnuts with a hammer and picking out the meats with a nail was a winter day project for me and my grandpa. Sit in the cellar and crack walnuts with maybe a sweet potato or two cooking on top of the wood burning stove. Good memory.

The walnuts eventually made their way into Grandma's brownies.

Its memories like this that give you the warm fuzzies.

 

[Molpet]

The HD closest is a mile from the interstate and they said people were marking good lumber as culls so they just throw it away now.
A farther away HD, but near a feed store, still has a cull pile. The best grade of lumber culls are better than the best of the cheap grade, most of the time.
If I need 8 ft I usually can find a 12 ft with a bad end I can use. Still cheaper than a cheap 8 ft.

 

[Smokerbill]

Now that you and Smokerbill mention it I have seen the culled lumber bin before but never gave it any thought, after all there’s plenty of lumber to cull in the ‘good’ stacks. Given some of the nasty wood you find on the racks just how bad does it have to be to make it to the culled pile?

Here's my stash of HomeDepot cull lumber. Quality evidently depends on who's sorting it out. Most of what I get has minor splits or dings. I only buy warped or twisted pieces if there's enough usable for a specific project I have in mind. I buy wide boards intending to rip them into 2x4 widths.

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

Do they sell castoff cut pieces too or would I need to check a lumber mill for that?

 

[pennyJo1960]

I have a ace hardware here scrap is allot of good wood.
Mill will put out ends make great kindling.
Sister in law is bringing down a small truck of it.

 

[OnlySympathy]

3-4 weeks ago I found some random plants sprouting out of my compost and was curious what they were so I planted a few in a small pot. Turns out that compost cucumbers completely overcrowded in a small pot do better than the ones I purposely planted in 5 gallon grow bags with only one. Go figure

 

[WthrLady]

Now that you and Smokerbill mention it I have seen the culled lumber bin before but never gave it any thought, after all there’s plenty of lumber to cull in the ‘good’ stacks. Given some of the nasty wood you find on the racks just how bad does it have to be to make it to the culled pile?

My home Depot adds bits and pieces to the cull pile every day, but a large amount goes on it Monday morning after customers pick through the regular stuff pulling out the bent, twisted, or split stuff - basically doing the job of the employees for them. I hit there almost every trip I'm in there and add what I bring home to the pile at home. I take the ryobi circ saw in the truck when I go to get the really longer stuff shorter into the pickup.
Sometimes once you cut the screwed up bit off it's fine, or trim it into smaller pieces, the straight stuff is in there.