Dave's Garden Membership

I have really enjoyed reading all the posts and helpful advice here at Dave's Garden. My question is: Is it worth it to become a paying member? I am getting very into gardening, and would love to contribute what little I know and have experienced. I'm just curious about the replies to posts I cannot see. Are there typically discussions going on, or is it mainly someone throwing out a few links for the poster to read? I have appreciated all the wonderful information that has been given to me since being here, but was sortof hoping for a little more back-and-forth discussion. I am thoroughly interested in everyone's trials and tribulations with regards to plants. It's the personal experiences I'm really interested in reading. I'm also curious to know: once you become a paying member, does that open you up to being able to see member's own pages (similar to Facebook), or does that even exist on this site? I downloaded a pic of my Tibouchina on what I thought was my member page, but I don't see options to see other members' pages. Thank you!!!

This message was edited Jun 1, 2012 7:29 AM

There are lots of discussions going on in the other forums. The forums you can't see are more plant specific and the people you find there are very eager to help.
You can get a 2 month subscription for $5 to try it out if you like.
I myself am not a subscribing member at the moment, but I have been in the past and met great friends and learned invaluable information.
Welcome to DG and give it a try, I'm sure you won't be sorry you did.

Hi jaimelemon!

OH, YES. . . It's definitely worth the membership. . .IMHO. I became a subscribing member 3 years ago after spending time, like you, getting the info available as a non--paying member.

Below are just a couple of the reasons I chose to become a subscriber:

1) Unlimited access to PLANT FILES, BIRD FILES, etc. (I believe non-subscribers are still limited to 10 searches per day). This one was huge for me.

2) Just take a look at all the Forums only available to subcribers. All the forums are VERY active. Some of them, for example the Compost forums, were on subjects I really wanted to learn about.

Since subscribing, though, I discovered benefits I never even realized would be so great. Though it's impossible to list them all. Here are a few:

I'm constantly learning about composting and the various methods and techniques. I'm learning more about invasives + flowers I knew nothing about + butterflies + products I didn't know existed + cameras + computers and on & on. Also, the regional forums are a wonderful way to connect with people from your area. Communicate about everything from the weather to plants that grow well in your area plus local nurseries and more.

DG members love to help other DG members. If I have a question about something or want to identify an invasive or insect, for example, I either start a new thread or find a thread that's already going on the subject. You can also access member's journals, articles, pictures and more on their personal home page (but of course, not their private info).

You'll have to make your own decision, of course. For me, to have all this info in one place plus people to communicate with that have so much knowledge to share, it's a no-brainer. The only thing I don't like about DG is there's so much info, I could probably spend 24-hours-a-day just reading and learning.

It is very much worth it to become a member. I've made several gardening friends here and ever some I didn't know were in my city. So many ideas and information to be had here.

Some discussions can go on for years. I'm involved in a couple that were ongoing when I joined in 2007.

I agree, the subscription fee is definitely worth it. But if you're not sure, I'd do what jjsgramma suggested and get the couple month trial for $5...that way you can see whether there's enough of the type of discussions that interest you. If not, then you only lost $5, and if you like it then you can buy a 1 yr subscription.

Awesome!! Thanks everyone! I'll see you around. ;)

Ditto all the above. For me, it was well worth it to become a subscriber, and to renew it every year. There are great people here, always eager to help out and offer advice.

My day would not be complete without a visit (or three or four) to Dave's. Membership is more than worth the cost.

It's my home page ^_^