Buying Organic Soil in Bulk

So you finally have your raised beds in place. Perhaps you purchased one of our Kitchen Garden or Cedar Timbers raised beds, or created a style all your own, but  either way, the beds are leveled, staked down, and crumbly, rich soil is all that separates you from that very first planting . The beds don’t seem especially large, but after calculating the volume (LxWxH), you realize that filling your planters with bagged would be about as economical as buying French fries one at a time.

Purchasing a bulk soil blend, is the answer of course, but which mix is best for your raised beds, and if you live in the Charlotte area, where can you buy bulk soil?

When filling any container with a growing medium, which includes raised beds of any size, it’s important to choose a mix that will hold plant roots, and create the right balance of both water retention and drainage. It’s commonly held that soilless mediums comprised of inert ingredients like peat moss, pine fines, perlite and vermiculite are best for containers, and while topsoil alone is not the best choice for a raised bed application, mixes that include some percentage of native soil can be used in raised beds, they’ll just a little drain slower.

Some type of compost, whether it’s homemade or purchased, should always be included in your raised bed soil mix. Mushroom compost, which is comprised of grow medium that has been used to cultivate mushrooms, can be purchased in bulk and still retains many nutrients. Large, regulated composting facilities like Wallace Farm and Earth Farms Organics process food and other organic wastes into a finished compost that is even higher in plant nutrients.

Because the topsoil soil sold in the Charlotte area typically has high clay content, a soil blend that includes compost, and at least some percentage of a material that improves drainage like sand, pine fines, or PermaTill  is a better choice for any raised bed or container application.

So where do you buy and how do you bring it home? These Charlotte area companies sell mixes comprised of ingredients that are approved for organic growing by OMRI, and have both soilless grow mediums as well as options that include some native biomass. Trucks can deliver a dozen cubic yards or more in a single trip, and the delivery charge usually ranges from $50-$100. Note that each product description below is taken directly from the supplier’s website, and does not always reflect our suggestions for specific growing applications.

Earth Farms Organics Compost
Our compost is made from 100% recycled material sourced from the Charlotte area. This compost will give your soil the structure that encourages healthy roots, nutrients, and water retention plants love. The key to having great soil is having soil alive with microorganisms that help keep your plants healthy. Our compost will replenish your existing soil with organic matter allowing microorganisms to thrive, making healthy and strong plants.

Earth Farms Topsoil
Our topsoil is a 50/50 blend of compost and local soil, great for your gardens or as a top-dressing for your lawn. This will add the structure, nutrients, and water retention — just like compost does — while adding more mature soil to your garden or lawn. Topsoil is also a great planting medium. You can plant directly into it, without the need to work it into existing soil.

Earth Farms Garden Blend
This blend has a little more added to it than our topsoil. We combine our compost with rock dust to add more iron, sand to help it drain better, and some local soil. This unique blend works great in raised beds as it will help your bed drain while it retains the structure and nutrients

Earth Farms Premium Blend
Our premium blend is a mixture of our compost and two other ingredients. The first ingredient is worm castings or vermicompost. This is organic matter that is composted by worms that concentrate the nutrients, adding more nitrogen and lessening the need for fertilizers. We also add perlite, which is the white specks you see in potting soil. Perlite boosts water absorption while helping drainage by preventing soil compaction. This blend is great to use in containers or as a boost to your existing beds.

Earth Farms Organics
351 Colt Thornburg Rd
Dallas, NC 28034
704-922-1775
earthfarms.com

Premium Blended Top Soil is one of the most versatile and popular products we have to offer. Wallace Farm Premium Top Soil is a blend of native top soil and compost. This blend is mixed to promote optimal plant growth. Wallace Farm Premium Top Soil is ideal for filling in low areas in your existing lawn and garden, preparing new lawns, gardens, and flower beds, and for planting trees and shrubs. Available in bulk and 40 lb. bags.

Gardener's Delight Planting Soil is a truly "delightful" product for all gardening enthusiasts. This blend of compost and pine fines is ideal for amending native soil prior to planting grass, trees, shrubs, flowers, etc. In addition, Gardener's Delight is a great product to use for filling raised beds. Available in bulk and 1 cu. ft. bags.

Soil Conditioner is the solution for loosening hard clay soils. This product consists of 100% aged pine fines. For most soil amendment needs, we recommend using 50% soil conditioner mixed with 50% compost. For extremely hard and compacted soils, we recommend using a 75/25 mix of soil conditioner and compost. The Soil Conditioner is also a very attractive, finely ground material that can be used in mulching applications. Available in bulk and 2 cu. ft. bags.

Potting Soil is blended to promote optimal plant growth. This blend of compost, aged pine fines, and perlite works great for filling pots and raised planting areas prior to planting. Available in bulk and 20lb. and 1 cu.ft. bags.

Premium Potting Mix ranks among the best. This blend of compost, aged pine fines, peat moss, and perlite has a fine texture and is ideally suited for indoor and outdoor potting and for starting seeds. Available in 40 lb. bags. Available in bulk thru special ordering only

Wallace Farm
14410 Eastfield Road
Huntersville, NC 28078
704.875.2975
wallacefarmproducts.com

Garden Blend w/ Permatill ® 
Perfect for flowers, shrubs, etc.  ; a balanced blend of loam, compost and Permatill® with proper pH for almost any plant material. The preferred soil of professional and amateur growers.

Garden Blend w/ Mushroom Compost  Even better.
Customers have told us that it is “dirt on steroids”. It's all organic of course, and we often hear requests for more of that "mushroom dirt”. They say, "proof is in the pudding", or in this case the flowers and veggies.

Mushroom Compost
An organic concoction, the proverbial kitchen sink, straight from the mines that is used as the sterile growing media for mushrooms. The material is rotated out frequently for production purposes but is hardly nutritionally spent. It can be tilled into the soil or applied as a topdressing/mulch that will last all season. No fillers that you might find in bagged materials.

Permatill ®
Thermally expanded slate that is sterile and inert. Multiple uses but at the end of the day it aids with drainage, semi porous nature helps with moisture retention, ups the cation ratio of the soil and helps to break up our wonderful native clay soil. Also good at deterring voles. Please ask us for more information but trust that it is very beneficial for both beds and lawns.

Top Soil
Multipurpose blend of topsoil - organic biomass and sand with a clay base.

Soil Conditioner
Best thing known to gardens! Composted pine bark fines, ideal for amending our wonderful clay. Can be used as ground cover. Absolutely perfect for annual or perennial beds. Hostas love it straight.

Atlantic Landscape Supplies/Charlotte
6145 Brookshire Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28216
704.391.7645
atlanticlandscape.com

Atlantic Landscape Supplies/Mooresville
2880 Charlotte Highway
Mooresville, NC 28117
704.660.9838
atlanticlandscape.com