Top soil

[windowsillqueen]

So I'm taking the plunge and turning one end of the garden into raised beds. I've been growing everything out of pots for the last 4 years.

I need around 4 tons of topsoil. Imagine my horror when I rang 'Tommy Topsoil' and was quoted between £98 - £128 per 2 cubic metres, dependant on quality!!!!

Does anyone know of anywhere in the Huddersfield area where I could get decent topsoil at a reasonable price? I don't mind tarting it up with some manure (just sent a few emails off to local stables!!) and could even by some worm castings but £98 per 2 cubic metres is just too much. I can't spend £400 on soil!!

Any of you clever people have any ideas?

[JimmerG]

WSQ,

If you scour your classified ads - you might find a local construction site trying to give away soil.

Here in Bristol there was building project down the road and about 50 tonnes of topsoil was carved out and left on-site for anyone to remove. It was gorgoeous stuff, and its pretty much gone!

OR - diy2u are doing a tonne for £35 - delivery might be a killer though.

Tricky - 4 cubic meters is A LOT of dirt!!

[Growem]

Freecycle is another good place to look. Unlikely to find it all from one source, but if you can get some for free, it'll be cheaper to buy the rest no matter where from.

[SarzWix]

Have you already built the beds? If not, why don't you start off with them a bit lower, and just add to the soil with muck and compost as you can, gradually raising the height as you go? If you're putting the beds onto soil or lawn the plant roots will be able to go down into that too if you break it up a bit first.

[Two_Sheds]

I'd agree with SarzWix ... don't go buying soil unless you have absolutely none to start with.

[windowsillqueen]

Hi Two Sheds

They are going on direct soil, but it's very impacted. Also, I know there are a couple of dead dogs under there somewhere - about 10 years old, but rather squeemish about this.... am I being silly? They will just be bones by now... (not my dogs, previous owners!!)

So you all think i'm being lazy and should just get digging!! Is that the general consensus guys? Do you really think the soil will actually grow anything?

Cx

[Two_Sheds]

If your soil is compacted, you'll need to fork it over anyway.

Otherwise your plants will grow down through their lovely loose topsoil and hit a hard pan of compacted soil ... and possibly fail (although shallow rooteds like lettuce would be okay in just a few inches of soil)

[snakeshack]

fork it over then add manure etc,you don't need to fill them all at once,you can always add more as a mulch as you get it through the year

[Oleander]

I have just been through this very same problem, and decided that I didn't want to pay £100's for topsoil either. I have three raised beds, against a garden wall, here's a pic. of one of them (complete with raspberry canes).

This is how I got around it:

I dug up the grass in the base of the beds and forked over the soil. Under the turf the soil was very sandy and poor looking.
Then I moved some topsoil from other beds and borders to fill up the raised beds by a couple of inches.
Then I emptied my "ready" compost bin into the raised beds - that added another inch or so to each of them. It was very rich too.
Then I emptied the spent compost from about 15 big pots and planters that I had flowers and suchlike in last summer. A bit worn out but still seemed to have a good texture. That added another inch or so to the depth.
Last of all I got 600 litres of compost from B & Q (4 x huge 150 litre sacks). I can't remember how much these cost but they were very cheap - about £6 each? I used these to finish off the raised beds and also to top up the other beds and borders that I had "borrowed" topsoil from.
I then mixed up the contents of the raised beds and added some organic fertiliser.

There is no science or experience behind this, I just thought it would be worth a try. Since taking the pic. attached, the raspberry canes have really sprung into life, so it seems to be working.

I'll see if I can get some more cheap compost from B & Q this weekend, to refill all the big flower pots.

[teakdesk]

£98 per 2 cubic metres is just too much. I can't spend £400 on soil!!

So you are planning on 8 cubic metres of soil ??

Many people build raised beds in the garden at 4 foot by 8 foot by 6 inches high. You presumably will be adding compost as well as soil so you only need 4 inches depth of soil.

So that is about one third of a cubic foot per bed - so your 8 cubic metres will fill 22 raised beds !!!

You must have a very big garden !!!!

Have you got your maths right ?




But anyway...

A/ you don't need to fill your beds to the top in the first year - leave some space for compost in following years

B/ I wouldn't bring top soil into my garden because you also bring in weeds and, scream!, couch grass. It can be such hard work getting new top soil into a good weed free plot. Steer clear and follow the advice given in posts above!!

[windowsillqueen]

I think I'm going to get out there and get digging and turn it tomorrow. (hopefully no dead dogs will turn up, ergh). Then I might see if I can get some rotted manure and a couple of cheaper bags of compost - I'll just buy it bit by bit.

There are two areas which have been abandoned and require TLC - one is around 12 foot long by 4 foot and the other, which is the dead dog end, which I want to grow veg on (as it gets better sun) is about 20 feet by around 10 feet.

Hmmm. Better dust my gardening fork off and give it a go....

[Beanie]

. . and if that all fails you could just plant some Rosa canina there, or one of the Cornus family . . AKA Dog Roses and Dogwood . . . (groan! Sorry!)

[kilnburner10]

I was in the same boat last Autumn. I needed 6 tons of topsoil for my beds. Dandys Topsoil quoted £78 per ton plus delivery which was the cheapest in my area but far too much for me. I scoured the internet and found a place in Liverpool - Martin's Turf Growers and Suppliers £35 per ton and £25 delivery and it is grand stuff. I think it will be a bit too far from you though.

[Capsid]

I reclaimed my lawn for veg beds. It's fairly awful soil underneath; heavy clay and stony. But it has grown good amounts of veg despite that. I enjoy a bit of digging anyway and I get a lot of satisfaction by seeing the soil improving year on year. No need to buy topsoil IMO. Oh and the dogs will have provided nutrients to the soil too.

[windowsillqueen]

Yes, but I'm freaking out about sticking the fork in and bringing it out with a King Charles Spaniel skull on the end of it!! That's why I'm wanting VERY raised beds!

Gonna get out there with a spade today and we'll see what happens. Closer inspection shows one end has a load of concrete over it (I think there was a kennel here a long time ago) so I'm going to have to get that up somehow.

I tell you what - if I manage to get any veg this year I will certainly have earned them!!