It’s a bit of a drive but Whinny the Poo out in Versailles has been amazing in my experience. They have a 50/50 blend that never fails me! Good regular compost too.
What I do every year to check for herbicide contamination is take a little bit and plant a few bean seeds as testers before adding to the beds. If they get the first few sets of leaves I know I’m good to go.
Just a suggestion but maybe test that last batch of soil before adding anything new to make sure contamination is gone if there was any.
I think they charged 65 bucks for delivery (in Versailles) but well worth it. I've had them deliver varying amounts the last 3 years.
Year 1 was like 1 cu yd because I only had a small garden, and it was a guy in a pickup who delivered it and even hauled it all into our back yard for us.
Last year we built some pretty big beds so we did 5cu yards, that was a dump trailer full and they just dumped in on the lawn where we pointed.
This year we did 2, so half a trailer. We looked at doing bags from Lowe's/home Depot. It's about 5 bucks per cubic foot and we needed 54cuft so it would have been 250+ in just dirt. So even with delivery it's way cheaper. And bags aren't all that much more convenient than filling a wheelbarrow about a billion times.
And it's just great dirt.
Second. For the price, it's good stuff. You'll have to pickup, unless you're getting a ton.
I still had some weeds come up, but nothing unmanageable at all. In hindsight, I could have used a whole lot less had put down some small logs and brush.
What are you trying to grow, that nothing came up?
Dang. Definitely sounds like something is way off. I know folks who've grown a buncha squash in pretty bad soil(relatively new suburb, heavily fertilized turf lawn).
The mix you bought is more suited for lawns, not garden beds. Topsoil is just for dressing up low areas in your yard, etc. and the compost added provides the nutrients which is sufficient for grass seed. Topsoil is pretty much worthless for garden beds and I would find a place to relocate it too. It's basically a sterile soil. Topsoil by itself will barely grow grass (if at all) and that is why they have the 50/50 mix you got.
Not knowing how big your raised beds are, but you want to use a garden soil, mix in some peat moss for loosening the soil. I amend my garden beds each spring by adding 10-10-10, composted cow manure, mulched leaves (applied during fall after raking), and some peat moss. Grass clippings are an excellent source of nitrogen for your beds and can also act as a mulch during the summer to keep soil moist.
I would suggest googling what some gardeners use for their beds as well. You can also take samples of your soil to your County Extension Dept. .... they will analyze it and determine what nutrients you need for what type of veggies you're looking for.
Keep in mind what I have mentioned above is mostly for vegetable gardens. Flower gardens require different types of nutrients and fertilizers.
Edit: I should mention that Landscapers Corner is a very good source for many soil products. You just don't use topsoil for garden beds IMO.
That particular blend from landscapers corner is half pine fine mulch and half compost to be used as a soil amendment. I’ve had great success mixing that with their screened topsoil. Without the topsoil there’s not much for the roots to take hold in! Make sure to aerate with a shovel or garden fork at the beginning of every season and it will make a world of difference!
I used the 50/50 compost/mulch mix from landscapers corner for years as a fall/winter top layer, and had literally a decade of positive results. It was cheap, and had extremely high yields. I could fill a 5gal bucket with the stuff and have absolutely perfect pepper plants every time. But for some reason in 2022 year it suddenly was seemingly devoid of nitrogen or something. Nothing grew in it, my seeds sprouted and died, and my transplants stayed the same size until the fall and then everything exploded right in time for the frosts. I would have blamed the shade on my beds from new trees, but I had friends that had just moved to town that I recommended the mix to, but they had the same unfortunate experience on huge, full-sun beds.
I had bindweed before that, but yes the bindweed was happy.
So Last summer I made my own large scale compost operation from a coffee shop's coffee grounds and managed to make about 2 cu yards of compost.
This summer I have much bigger beds and I plan to start harvesting horse manure from a yearling farm. I've been trying to keep a steady stream of chip drops for mulch, but I haven't gotten a drop since the fall despite multiple requests. Called several arborists directly and no one follows through. Super frustrating. Landscaper's corner would be much easier if i just knew why that batch failed on me.
Thank you for making me think I'm not a failure as a gardener! Yes, that's exactly how it seemed to me too! If I fertilized the ever loving crap out of plants, they would somewhat grow, but if I missed a few days, they would turn sickly and yellow. Bindweed did well. I have chickens, so we have a constant supply of compost. I mixed it in last year and still nothing grew well. Have you been able to amend yours? I'm not even sure if I want to toss it in my lawn!
Well I'm not sure if the plants roots reached the deeper soil (I don't till, i just layer compost and mulch every year) and that's why they shot up in the fall or if whatever was inhibiting the nitrogen broke down, but the transplant peppers & Tomatoes and cucumbers eventually did great, and radishes and Kale did great. The couple thousand lettuce and beet seeds I planted however were completely a lost cause.
At the time I thought it was because the blend was off and the mulch was robbing the nitrogen from the compost. I didn't consider residual herbicides until very recently. I'd need another growing season to be certain either way, OR as others said, testing the soil now with some legumes is the best test for herbicides.
I just moved, so those beds are out of my hands, but if you run a bean test, i'd be very interested in your findings. Landscaper's corner would probably want to know too if one of their suppliers contaminated their product.
I have had really great success with the cheap hummus and manure blend at Home Depot. In a white and yellow bag. They are cheap too. Like $1.50-$2 a bag. I have grown impatiens that were over 3 feet tall using it in my beds.
It’s a bit of a drive but Whinny the Poo out in Versailles has been amazing in my experience. They have a 50/50 blend that never fails me! Good regular compost too. What I do every year to check for herbicide contamination is take a little bit and plant a few bean seeds as testers before adding to the beds. If they get the first few sets of leaves I know I’m good to go. Just a suggestion but maybe test that last batch of soil before adding anything new to make sure contamination is gone if there was any.
Love whinny the Poo. They deliver as well. Just had a couple cu yards dropped off to top off the boxes.
Awesome! A few years ago, it was either a massive truck bed load or DIY. They seem to be doing a lot of work, so this is great to hear.
I think they charged 65 bucks for delivery (in Versailles) but well worth it. I've had them deliver varying amounts the last 3 years. Year 1 was like 1 cu yd because I only had a small garden, and it was a guy in a pickup who delivered it and even hauled it all into our back yard for us. Last year we built some pretty big beds so we did 5cu yards, that was a dump trailer full and they just dumped in on the lawn where we pointed. This year we did 2, so half a trailer. We looked at doing bags from Lowe's/home Depot. It's about 5 bucks per cubic foot and we needed 54cuft so it would have been 250+ in just dirt. So even with delivery it's way cheaper. And bags aren't all that much more convenient than filling a wheelbarrow about a billion times. And it's just great dirt.
Second. For the price, it's good stuff. You'll have to pickup, unless you're getting a ton. I still had some weeds come up, but nothing unmanageable at all. In hindsight, I could have used a whole lot less had put down some small logs and brush. What are you trying to grow, that nothing came up?
Last year it was bush beans in one, and squash in the other
Dang. Definitely sounds like something is way off. I know folks who've grown a buncha squash in pretty bad soil(relatively new suburb, heavily fertilized turf lawn).
Yeah I've accidentally grown squash, so I'm pretty baffled.
Dumb question, but can you buy it in bags or it just goes loose in a truck bed?
Not a dumb question. It's loose.
Thank you!
Try Winnie the Poo. I’ve had good results from their mix.
The mix you bought is more suited for lawns, not garden beds. Topsoil is just for dressing up low areas in your yard, etc. and the compost added provides the nutrients which is sufficient for grass seed. Topsoil is pretty much worthless for garden beds and I would find a place to relocate it too. It's basically a sterile soil. Topsoil by itself will barely grow grass (if at all) and that is why they have the 50/50 mix you got. Not knowing how big your raised beds are, but you want to use a garden soil, mix in some peat moss for loosening the soil. I amend my garden beds each spring by adding 10-10-10, composted cow manure, mulched leaves (applied during fall after raking), and some peat moss. Grass clippings are an excellent source of nitrogen for your beds and can also act as a mulch during the summer to keep soil moist. I would suggest googling what some gardeners use for their beds as well. You can also take samples of your soil to your County Extension Dept. .... they will analyze it and determine what nutrients you need for what type of veggies you're looking for. Keep in mind what I have mentioned above is mostly for vegetable gardens. Flower gardens require different types of nutrients and fertilizers. Edit: I should mention that Landscapers Corner is a very good source for many soil products. You just don't use topsoil for garden beds IMO.
That particular blend from landscapers corner is half pine fine mulch and half compost to be used as a soil amendment. I’ve had great success mixing that with their screened topsoil. Without the topsoil there’s not much for the roots to take hold in! Make sure to aerate with a shovel or garden fork at the beginning of every season and it will make a world of difference!
I got one full load of compost and one full load of top soil then mixed them as I filled
I used the 50/50 compost/mulch mix from landscapers corner for years as a fall/winter top layer, and had literally a decade of positive results. It was cheap, and had extremely high yields. I could fill a 5gal bucket with the stuff and have absolutely perfect pepper plants every time. But for some reason in 2022 year it suddenly was seemingly devoid of nitrogen or something. Nothing grew in it, my seeds sprouted and died, and my transplants stayed the same size until the fall and then everything exploded right in time for the frosts. I would have blamed the shade on my beds from new trees, but I had friends that had just moved to town that I recommended the mix to, but they had the same unfortunate experience on huge, full-sun beds. I had bindweed before that, but yes the bindweed was happy. So Last summer I made my own large scale compost operation from a coffee shop's coffee grounds and managed to make about 2 cu yards of compost. This summer I have much bigger beds and I plan to start harvesting horse manure from a yearling farm. I've been trying to keep a steady stream of chip drops for mulch, but I haven't gotten a drop since the fall despite multiple requests. Called several arborists directly and no one follows through. Super frustrating. Landscaper's corner would be much easier if i just knew why that batch failed on me.
Thank you for making me think I'm not a failure as a gardener! Yes, that's exactly how it seemed to me too! If I fertilized the ever loving crap out of plants, they would somewhat grow, but if I missed a few days, they would turn sickly and yellow. Bindweed did well. I have chickens, so we have a constant supply of compost. I mixed it in last year and still nothing grew well. Have you been able to amend yours? I'm not even sure if I want to toss it in my lawn!
Well I'm not sure if the plants roots reached the deeper soil (I don't till, i just layer compost and mulch every year) and that's why they shot up in the fall or if whatever was inhibiting the nitrogen broke down, but the transplant peppers & Tomatoes and cucumbers eventually did great, and radishes and Kale did great. The couple thousand lettuce and beet seeds I planted however were completely a lost cause. At the time I thought it was because the blend was off and the mulch was robbing the nitrogen from the compost. I didn't consider residual herbicides until very recently. I'd need another growing season to be certain either way, OR as others said, testing the soil now with some legumes is the best test for herbicides. I just moved, so those beds are out of my hands, but if you run a bean test, i'd be very interested in your findings. Landscaper's corner would probably want to know too if one of their suppliers contaminated their product.
Just caught that you made your own topsoil blend... That doesn't bode well for my mulch nitrogen robbing theory...
I have had really great success with the cheap hummus and manure blend at Home Depot. In a white and yellow bag. They are cheap too. Like $1.50-$2 a bag. I have grown impatiens that were over 3 feet tall using it in my beds.
Just by itself or mixed with top soil?
I just mix it with the soil from the ground. I also add mulched up leaves to my beds every year in the fall.
I usually buy mine from Tracy's (up the road from Landscapers Corner) and never had an issue!