As we start thinking about preparing our gardens for the coming winter, Montrealers are invited to the city's twice-yearly free compost giveaway this weekend.

The main place for that is the St. Michel Environmental Complex, at 2235 Michel-Jurdant St., just off the Met at Papineau. It'll be open Saturday and Sunday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. All you need to bring is a shovel, a container, and a proof of residence.

"This compost is not only free, but it's a way to thank residents for the efforts they have made to package their leaves over the past year," says Alan Desousa, the city's point man on sustainable development. "These leaves, otherwise, would have ended up in a landfill, but now we're giving it back to residents to say thank you."

Three other boroughs are taking part in the giveaway: in Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, they'll be giving it away on Saturday morning only between 10 a.m. and noon at N.D.G. park, near the chalet on Girouard Ave. In St. Leonard, it'll happen at the snow depot opposite 9450 langelier Blvd., between 9 a.m. Saturday and continuing until it's all gone. And in Verdun, it'll be at the borough's greenhouses at 7000 Lasalle Blvd., between 9 and noon on Saturday.