National Home Garden Club

Hi All,
Received this club package in the mail yesterday.
Join the club for a dollar a month - Test garden products, get a "Gardening how to" magazine, get you gardening tip & ideas published, and win a prize.

http://visitors.gardeningclub.com/

Anyone joined to this club?
Sounds fun, But i am alway leary about these offers.
LMK your feedback on this club
THanks,
Sandee

I use to belong and even did some product trials for them. But after many years of yardening there isn't much left to be said about planting/growing/harvesting that I haven't read or don't have a book about. I guess that is one of the benefits(?) of the internet. I can ask all kinds of experts nearly anything about the yardening subjects and get good answers.

I'd do it if I were you.

leaflady, where'd ya find the word "yardning"? I like that!

TC...

I have been a member for sevwal years,but joined before I got the internet.When my subscription runs out,I won't renew.

I'm not unhappy with it,I've just outgrown it.It's pretty basic,and if you are a beginner,a few seasons might help.

The website and posting boards are just OK...I visited a few times,but Dave's offers waaaay more than this can ever think about.I lost intrest pretty quick,as questions were mainly from very new gardeners,and there wasn't much discussion on anything in depth.

Again,if you are new to gardening,it might give you some good pointers,and it isn't a scam.It's real and they do have good points.

Yep, they all said it right! Some lovely photos in the Mag tho, and some ideas. I've been a life member from day 1 and got a great set of tools--still have em. However, my first and last test product was rug cleaner, lol! Just found the web site last month, big disappointment, NO PICS!, you will see other DG'ers there, the people are nice, it's just not Dave's!

I have been a member now for several years and won't renew my subscription when it comes due. I don't think I have even read it for about 4 months because I don't get much new knowledge from it anymore. Nice for new gardeners or those who need basic stuff.

TC, yardening is a word I first heard several years ago and just couldn't bring myself to use until recently. Basically it refers to your yard and garden being in the same area, interminglying veggie, flower, shrub, vineyard, etc. Now I realize that is what I do so I may as well say it. We have blackberries, fruit trees, raised beds for both iris and veggies which are interplanted with marigolds, basil, etc. ,and flowering shrubs all in one acre. I gave up the straight garden area outside the yard a few years ago when I realized that I just could not take care of all of it. We built 9 raised beds and all kinds of stuff gets planted in them . I turned one into an iris nursery for tiny rhizomes last year and they have done wonderfully. Rhubarb that should have been doing much better finally did when I put them in raised beds, I grow zinnias, marigolds, petunias, and other good companion flowers right in with my tomatoes, peppers, etc. I also grow ornamental peppers in flower beds. Garlic is grown in nearly every place I have flowers or veggies that are bothered by underground tunneling vermin. We still have about 20 ground level beds but they are mostly for daylilies, iris, flowering shrubs, etc. However I do grow eggplant, peppers, Eygptian Walking Onions, mints, tansy, etc. in most of them

IM a LIFEMEMBER there and just recieved my tool kit-I just love the extension cloppers and all the other tools!
Im active on the boards too and have met in person several of the gardeners there.
I love the magazines and find there is always something in there to read.
I have tested seeds and fertilizer so far!
I like going to the online site-lots of info and friends there!
I would say go ahead and give it a try-its only 12.00 and you get the magazines, if you decide to become a lifer they deduct all your yrs of 12.00 off your membership payment! :) and you get some really NICE gifts too!

Very interesting. I didn't even know this existed. Thanks! I just applied for a Trial membership to see what it's like!!

Thank you!
-Jennifer

Thanks so much for you feedback, I am a new "yardener" (love this new word!), and will give it a try, esp. now since winter is on it way soon, It will give me something to read, and a new site to visit.
Thanks all.

I'm a life member at NHGC too. I enjoy DG and NHGC both. I agree that Dave's has more resources, and the photos are the best online. Both sites are very friendly and easy to navigate. I learn a lot and get great ideas from both sites, even though I've been gardening for over 40 years. I do post more at NHGC than on Dave's. I think there are more new gardeners there than here. But I am happy to share what I know. And new gardeners are so eager and enthusiastic - that encourages me to try new plants and educate myself more. I enjoy both sites, and have made friends both places.

I am a proud life member of NHGC and I love it. I am a fairly new gardener, but I don't find the website or mag. caters to us newbies. Many a time I've read posts and did not have a clue as to what these expert gardeners were talking about. Their "gardenese" might as well have been chinese to me! I love NHGC and Daves, and yes, they are different. Can't I love both???

1st Anniversary member of NHGC this month. Just sent in the "special offer" to become a Life Member. The site has good information. But as Berrygirl said the magazines seem geared towards the experts, but have some good ideas. I discovered the bb this past summer which lead me here to DG. I find the people much friendlier here at DG.

Butterfly gal, you will find that a lot of folks are on both sites.

I am going to give the free offer a go, and see what is what. Thanks!

thats me too Golddog, MMMMMM... I'll just wait and see. Wow! I love the new term YARDENER. I thing I fit the bill.

If yardener means yard and garden combined, it would follow since I have dogs,cats, and quail my yarden is really a zooyarden.

I do like the word yardener kinda neat.Ernie

Bump!
Any new input on this "club"
Their site now has photos, but it is very difficult to upload them. Very picky on the file size, so virtually every photo needs to be resized or recolored.

I am a life member of NHGC and have been since sept. 1996. I enjoy there magazines and my membership.
Not like Dave's but what is?

Try it. I think you will like it.
Sandy

Too bad it's not for those outside the U.S. and Canada.

Dori (notmartha) forgot to mention she got a $800 + yard vac to trial and she gets to keep it from this organization.
I joined a couple of months ago.

Paul

well i hadnt gotten it back then!!
But here is a picture of it and the boyz!
What a great little(lol) machine it is!!! I enjoy the club too and have met
many gardeners from the NHGC site!

Daves is my garden home though :)

How much did you pay for a lifetime membership?

By the way, National Home Gardening Club is listed in the Watchdog: http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/3245/

If you are or were a member, please post feedback. They have taken the optional step of designating a representative who receives notification when feedback is left for them - which means they really want to hear from y'all.

And - what you know helps others!

Windy.........I am a life time member of NHGC, and enjoy the magazine. Like Dori, I have met some folks who live in my state, and have become good gardening friends with them. I believe Dori was one of them...The magazine comes out bi monthly, so you only receive 6 copies a year, however, it is very informative to me, anyway. I have tested products almost every year I have been a member, some products as small as seed and the largest product was some sort of portable cold frame. Each time you test a product, and want to test another, you must fill out another application. I find this sorta redundent as you are filling out the same information each time.

I believe they base your Life Time Membership on your age. I know mine was somewhere around $250 to $300.00. Its been a long time, so I can not remember. At the time I joined, they were not giving out those nice tool sets. I recall I received some garden clippers, a large square of felt type material to kneel on, and a keychain. Oh, and some decalls.

Deann

I got all those lil things to deann and when i paid off my memebership I got that tool kit! Its 250.00 for life-and they deduct the fees you have paid from earlier yrs as a member even if you have quit and rejoined!
I met deann over there and said hey have you heard about davesgarden-I think I have said that to a few NHGC memebers and brought them over here! ;)
I will have to look at the watchdog!

I filled out the application but sent them the wrong email addy by mistake, when I try to correct it, it won't let me. So I refilled out the app with my correct and it shows up with my wrong addy. Yikes - what do I do??? help anyone!!

Hi sarv48...from one Michigander to another......if I were you I would call the 800 number....it should be listed on the home page...

Deann

thanks deann - will give that a try. Ready for the frigid weather coming this weekend/?? Got the long underware all set!!

sarve48........you know us Michigander's......we are always prepared for the snow....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......but there is a light at the end of the tunnel...spring is only 93 more days till spring.....

Deann

That's what I like to hear, only 93 more days until spring, or about 3 months here, mid March.

I have belonged to "Garden How To" for about 4 years. They are forever sending me free plant markers, seeds, etc. to get me to sign up for the life membership. They had some good things to try on trial basis and let them know our opinion. I did not see it in the magazine, but read it on here. I do like their magazine.

Have you ever noticed the page with peoples names who won prizes?
check out the city and state - If some one from my state NJ wins, the town they have listed I have never heard of - strange.....
Maybe it is to protect that person or its just a gimmick.

i know people that have won prizes its no gimmick!
Did you see my test product above-its a nice one! retails for 899.00 and its mine FREE!!!

Yesterday I received my 2nd letter from them wanting me to join, I was a little hesitate to do so, but now since I have read this forum I think I will give them a try. I know the first letter they send me 3 free items, then yesterday I received some Osmocote and Red Poppy seeds. Thanks for all the feedback everyone has left.

Linda

I just rejoined after 3 or 4 years. They had a nice offer, so decided to do it again. I received a nice set of gardens shears for joining and today, 2 months later, I received a transplant trowel to test for them that I can keep. Along with a large pack of mixed annual seeds, (supposed to be worth 9.99 I believe.) Also a new hardback gardening book, Garden Essentials arrived. If I wish to buy it, there is a special price of $9.00. Very nice book, glossy pages and excellent photos on all phases of gardening. I do plan to keep the book.

the books will keep coming unless you ask them to stop and I think the price goes up to 15.00 or something.

I imagine with the Garden Watchdog giving ratings that the value will go up. When I joined I got a cheap garden trowel worth about nothing as it bent the first time I tried to actually dig with it.
Now that it is being rated, the people who are members will probably benefit from it.

It would be rather funny if the trowel they gave me to "test, bent!
So thats how the book deal goes . I'll just buy this one and cancel because I don't need books coming that I have to send back. I have tons of books of my own! Thanks for letting me know, Doris

Anytime you receive a package you don't want don't open it. Just refuse the package and it cost you nothing to send back.

Oh, ok. I usually open the package and rewrap and pay postage. I'd much prefer to do it and let them pay the postage. I support the post office enough! thanks for letting me know, do I just drop it back in the mailbox?