Wow, a lot of great ideas! One more, since I work at a garden center. Talk to them about getting the leftover plants. We donated a lot of plants to a guy that grows for charity. Right now we are giving away cole plants because it it too late to plant. Maybe, maybe not.

I've learned a lot from this topic!
I just wanted to add that I start my seedlings in egg cartons. I cut the bottom divided section apart from the lid. I take an ink pen and punch a hole in the center of each of the 12 sections for drainage, then sit it inside the lid which catches any water runoff.
When it is time to transplant, I roll newspaper pots using a pop can and a tealight candle. I roll the newspaper around the pop can and fold the excess on the bottom. Then I use the tealight to twist and flatten the bottom real good so it stays in place. I use a tealight because it just fits inside the bottom indentation on the pop can. Then I plant pot and all into the garden with no transplant shock.

Tear up newspaper for the compost bin....Starbucks will give you coffee grounds.
Ask at the grocey store or a small resteraunt if you can have the decayed unuseable veggie parts.
All for the compost bin.

Get more advice than you bargained for? It's been a great read, at the very least.
I'll add one more mulch possibility. Our County Fair has to do something with the bedding from the cattle barns. It starts as shredded bark, gets a little fertilizer along the way (the 4-Hers keep most of it cleaned out) and they beg people to come and get it after the fair so they don't have to load itinto dumpsters. Call your extension office.

Also, if that office is lucky enough to have an ag educator, he/she can probably suggest seed swaps or gobs of local possibilities. Have fun!

if you're looking for free plants cause you don't start indoors, you might try "lurking"..ok poor word choice...around any local co-op gardens etc on a nice weekend...people who make a point of renting/sharing space just for growing (usually lots of veg) might have a plant or two to spare..or at least to take cuttings from (ie that great tomato idea above)...look also for people "thinning" their rows...

if you painted an old painter's tarp with a cool sun-attracting design it might just cover up your compost without pissing off the landlord..or you could grow sunflowers or something big and showy right in or around the pile...i remember seeing a pic of this in the back of og once

mustard greens grow like crazy, i like their big yellow spikes too, and the seed's easy to save - plant spring or early fall

Hi
The city of Asheville has mostly composted shredded leaves available for free or cheap. The pick-up place is downtown somewhere. I suggest you post a notice at the two local coops, downtown and Haywood Rd in West Asheville asking if anyone has any extra starts they will share. Also at the end of the herb festival next weekend, at Farmers' Market, someone may let you buy leftovers cheap. Cruise by early in the weekend and see what's there and make friendly with the vendors

boy.... free pallets.... that would be great. i've gotten in trouble trying to rescue pallets from teh trash. seems (at least here) there are deposits on pallets.
free plants @home depot? i tried to rescue plants there too. asked if i could get some near dead ones at a discounted price. they return them to the grower for credit. seems like it'd be more $$ in bookwork that they'd get back. but, the store here has had a big problem w/ "shrinkage". so i guess returning the plants is a good way to stop that.
i did get free compost bins from my city. they usually just give one out. but i laughed when i saw it & explained how large my yard was. so they were so very generous that they gave me 2! i use one for my kitchen compost trash (right below the kitchen door, you canjust dump it in. & one to hold things for temp storage, before they are moved to the real compost pile; this year it was 20x10 & 7ft high when 1st piled.