Topsoil

I can't believe some companies are charging £80/£90 for 1cu.m of topsoil!
Maybe I should be asking if they're wearing a mask, before I ask for the price, or indeed if the said soil is being imported from the Nile!
Maybe I'm being a bit stingy, but after all it is only muck..? Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places...
So plan B, put a request on the local Freecycle network - lets see if anyone has any soil they can spare me

Really need some soil, so I can actually start to do some gardening!!!!

SF

 

A few years ago when I was levelling my garden I had tons of the stuff, I couldn't even give it away, apart from my neighbour taking a couple of barrow loads.

Freecycle is a good place to try or scan adverts in your local newspapers, somebody might be in the same predicament as I was and needs to get rid of it.

 

Well I got a reply to my ad for soil... It seems the local council take all our garden waste and make their own compost... which is then offered back to us peasants for free Might have to go and investigate at the weekend, and see how much I'm allowed to take :D

 

Top soil is different to compost.

Top soil is fertile soil scraped off the top, usually before building work starts.
Compost is rotted down vegetable matter from peoples gardens.

Good quality top soil , I think, is hard to come by.

 

Sausagefingers, what`s wrong with the soil you have?

 

thats the problem... I don't have any!!
The main area is grass, but the first 10mx5m or so, is all these horrible grey stones (hardcore I think), and Ive so far managed to create a patio area over some of it to hide it, but I wanted to turf over the rest so I can be rid of the stuff... or even make a wee veg patch in there

 

Why not see how much a bulk bag of sharp sand is, and then mix it 50/50 with compost. It might work out cheaper. Someone more knowledgeable than me will be able to tell us whether or not that would work. I only know that my garden soil was knackered (completely). I put an inch or so of grit/sand (which I got for free) mixed with about the same amount of spent mushroom compost (which I had to pay for) over it, and now my new lawn is growing like crazy.

 

"I can't believe some companies are charging £80/£90 for 1cu.m of topsoil!"

'Coz that's the market price!

How far does it have to travel on average? Its heavy to transport, and probably comes from where a bypass is being made. Or from individual plots being worked on. All relatively expensive to "handle"

You aren't going to put a 1 tonne bag in the boot of your car :D, so I expect that's the price for just a few bags delivered to your door? A bulk tipper lorry-load would be cheaper, per tonne, but you'd have to have 10 tonnes or more, and have the space to have it tipped ...

 

I think I've found the reason why it's so expensive... the haulage/delivery charge. Found a local company who charges £25 + VAT per 900Kg bag of soil, but the delivery charge is £30 + VAT (for a distance of 4.5 miles from there to me).
Freecycle never turned anything up - apart from free compost, so looks like it's time to cough up and stop squeaking :D