[Threestep]

We are adding raised beds to the vegetable garden. Any suggestions where to get compost/dirt in bulk. Thank you.

[JayManLNG]

Threestep,
Your best bet is to talk with a nursery. They usually specialize in compost but not so much with topsoil but they may be able to tell you who does have some. You can generally find topsoil for sale in advertisements and out on the roads but be carefull on the quality. You do not want to pay a lot for topsoil that is really mineral soil or heavy with clay.
Good luck.

[southdown]

I don't know the area suppliers but bear in mind that compost comes in all kinds of grades. How high are the beds? You may not want 100% compost, organic material, you'll probably want some heavier stuff in there too - fine soil/topsoil - as compost will keep breaking down and start to sink!

[DeltaBelle1978]

I don't really know about compost or dirt but I can tell you about a few things that may help that would be low cost or free that might be worth a try.

Well my husband fishes. We have 4 pear trees. He put all of the remains of the fish in a hole by two of the trees and these two trees have produced more than the other two ever thought about producing. We didn't do it much because the dogs wanted to dig them back up. You could probably get a local fish co. to give you all of it you can handle, just to get it off their hands. (Do not use salt water fish)

We also grew a garden last year and I put some of the poop from our horse in there, and where I added it, the garden grew the best. Some one might let you pick that up for free as well. Just have a scooper and bucket. I actually did this today. We are planting 15 fruit trees this weekend. You don't want it fresh so you want have to worry about the stink too much. (make sure it is dry and it can be cow, rabbit, or chicken poop)

One more. Oak leaves. Bad thing they take time to decay. Good thing is people bag these for you and put them by the road. Ride by and pick them up. You might not be able to use them this year, but maybe next year. My husband said that they will decay faster if you add powered lime (garden kind not granulated kind) But you would have plenty of good soil in the future.

I hope this helps a little.

[Southlander]

Cities will often offer free mulch from stuff they pick up on the curb - Christmas trees, leaves, limbs etc. DO NOT take the free mulch for use in gardening beds!! They are indiscriminate about what they grind up and it is not heat treated to kill stuff. We got mulch like this once for our beds and have had all kinds of weeds, including poison ivy, sprout in the beds.

[harry chickpea]

Oak leaves are OK for use as mulch where you don't want stuff to grow, but oaks have a compound that prevents most other plants from growing near them. Also, oak leaves are high in tannins.

One source of compost is gin trash or mill trash, which is the junk and hulls from a cotton gin - however - this would NOT be something to use on vegetables, since the cotton fields can have some strong chemicals put on them.

A lot of what is sold commercially as compost is actually composted manure, which has had time at a high enough temperature to kill weed seeds. A nursery or co-op might be a place to find a source of it in bulk.

[NicoleC]

You don't want to use woody mulch, twigs or leaves anywhere near garden beds anyway, not unless it's just a top layer that you aren't going to incorporate into the soil next year. The carbon to nitrogen ratio is horrible, even when composted.

Most Alabama soil is deficient in phosphorus. If you get topsoil, you may want to include some chicken manure compost.

[Threestep]

Thank you folks> :>)
Yes, I am familiar with soil issues, mulch problems ... Still searching for a source of humus and compost and matured manure. Beds are about 3x4x25.

[tsid10d]

I don't have a personal recommendation, but try looking at this guy's website: The Captain Compost of Alabama Home Page (William E. Cureton II)

June

[southernnaturelover]

Find someone that has horses and get some urine soaked hay with some manure mixed in, that's what I do and it makes wonderful compost. Most horse owners are desperate to get rid of the stuff since it is waste to them.