Compost is a great option for rich soil and an exuberant garden, but do you already know where you can find bulk compost near you? If you don´t, this is the place to learn it: a complete guide to know where to buy bulk compost near you.
In case you prefer to start composting your own, Here is the complete Guide on how to Composting at Home. This will work perfectly for small applications if you have some plants or a small and modest garden.
But the fact is, if you have a more extensive yard, you will probably need more than you can be able to produce. Greatly, bagged compost products are readily available at garden centers, nurseries, and box stores. If the need for compost is not that big, this would be a great option. Plus, picking up a few bags to keep on hand whenever the need arises will be practical and easy.
However, here’s where the convenience of bags starts to lose its attraction to a more cost-effective solution. Assuming that you will need a two-cubic yard of compost near a pickup truckload, you would require 54 bags from where you buy it. For a bulk supplier, this would mean a scoop, and the cost will be significantly less. Not mentioning all the plastic you will save from finishing in landfills.
Bulk compost near your suppliers can be found by searching for landscape supplies or contacting local landscapers. Compost piles are waiting for you nearer than you imagined. Let us help you find them!
Nevertheless, if you want to do your own compost pile, check How to make a Compost Pile? All you need to know about it
Buying bulk compost near you
Nurseries and garden centers
Surely you would find near your home a garden center or a nursery. Although you will surely find compost in bags there, they often also have compost in bulk. You should check how they deliver the amount of bulk compost you will need.
- The Sunshine Growers Nursery located in the state of California, offers, among many other bunk materials, a composted blend of organic matter used to amend poor soils. They offer bulk materials for pickup and delivery with a minimum of 5 yards locally. You will be able to choose between 100% Pure Compost, 50% Topsoil/Compost Mix, and 70% Topsoil & 30%Compost Mix. The prices vary between 22 USD and 26.50 USD per yard, depending on your election. For delivery, they will charge you 60 USD per truck for the first 10 miles from any of their locations, and over 10 miles add, they charge an additional 3 USD per mile one way.
- Nick´s Garden Center & Farm Market is located in the state of Colorado, and it delivers bulk compost after landscaping professionals help you determine the amount of material you need and deliver bulk materials to your site. For bulk mulch and soils, they offer to unload in your driveway, either to the left or right side; any other dump location is at the driver's discretion, and you must be present for any exceptions. You can buy bulk compost by the full and half yards.
- Meadows Farms is one of the largest independently owned nursery and garden centers in the US, with twenty retail locations. They offer a full line of mulches, soils, and planting mixes. You will find topsoil per cubic yard for 45 USD, Topsoil / Compost Blend for 50 USD, and Leaf Compost per cubic yard for 45 USD. They can deliver it to your site for a nominal fee.
Topsoil/mulch suppliers
You may also find businesses in your area that just focus on selling topsoil, mulch, and compost in bulk.
- Black Earth Compost is a full-service compost company in New England, Massachusetts. They collect food scraps from residents, supermarkets, schools, and colleges all across eastern MA, and they compost the material, too, returning it to customers and selling it in garden centers across Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. The company offers a final product rich in humus, nurtures beneficial micro-organisms, is free of any viable weed seeds, and contains abundant immediate and slow-release nutrients. Some of their products:
- Black Earth Compost is a rich compost made from community food scraps rather than grass. It feeds plants all season.
- Leaf Mulch is a tasteful leaf mulch with a uniform brown color.
- Soil Blend, Raised Bed, a 50:50 compost-loam blend. Made for filling a new raised bed.
- Soil Blend, New Lawn, a 50:50 compost-loam blend. Made for starting new areas or patching.
Bulk Compost Online buying
Bulk compost near you can be delivered and ordered online.
- Peaceful Valley is a farm and garden supplier that has certified organic that is sold in bulk that can be ordered online. They are in the business of organic gardening, and although they say they are looking to make organic gardening more affordable for homeowners and homesteaders, they sell bulk compost at a high price of 259 USD for 2 cubic yards. You can also visit their farm and nursery situated in Grass Valley, California.
Impactful composting program
CompostNow is a company that picks up food scraps from your home and then gives you free compost in return. They are looking to close the loop on food waste by empowering community members and local businesses to divert their compostables from the landfill and, instead, use those nutrients to build nutrient-rich soil.
CompostNow considers that closing the loop on food waste is imperative in building healthy soil, creating resilient local food systems, and fighting climate change. To join the CompostNow community, you should sign up for a clean bin delivered to your doorstep that you may fill up with organic and compostable materials. At the end of the week, they swap your organic waste for compost delivered to you. Also, you can share it with the company’s farm and garden partners. Your first two collections are free. Then the service cost is either 29 USD a month or 35 USD a month, depending on the plan you choose.
Where to find free bulk compost near you
If you prefer looking for free compost, you can try some of these alternatives:
- Look for local programs in your city. Probably, aiming to be more environmentally friendly, they give away free compost to residents. Residents of Islip that have their own shovels and containers can pick up compost free of charge. RethinkWaste, is another case of free compost offering in California.
- Craigslist can help you find anything you want for free, even bulk compost near you. You just have to look for your city and check if someone offers that element to enrich your soil.
- Facebook Marketplace is another online marketplace commonly used to buy and sell stuff. But, there is also a section where you can get stuff for free; finding things near you may seem easy through the Facebook marketplace.
Bulk compost straight to your garden
Best price - Michigan Peat 5240 Garden Magic Compost and Manure
What I like
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Odor free and homogeneous aspect
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Available in 40-pound
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Great price-quality ratio
What I don´t like
- Big bag, hard to handle
- Non compostable packaging
- Not easy to store until you use it
This bulk compost is an excellent option if you are looking for a magic trick for your garden that is also cheap and easy to manage. It is a beautiful, dark, and rich 40-pound bulk compost of high quality for just 20 dollars. You have to order it just 22 hours before you need it.
It is especially valued for its homogeneous aspect. No branches or sticks/wood pieces at all; the composted manure is soft, dark, and doesn't stink at all. Wealthy soil! Ideal to avoid any mites or bugs in the garden and have plenty of plants growing faster than before!
You can buy one bag, 2, 3, or 4, but you have to know the free shipping and promotional price is just available for a 40-pounds bag. Also, be aware that picking this size of bag up could be challenging for a short person. Anyway, nothing your best neighbor can´t help with!
Best Guaranteed - Blue Ribbon Organics B497 Organic Compost
What I like
- Certified for Organic Use
- Safe for use at any concentration
- You can use it with worm castings & other soil builders
What I don´t like
- Smaller than others in the market
- More expensive than others in the market
- Similar quality to other non-organic options in the market
Blue Ribbons Organic compost is a great option if you are looking for a certification guarantee of organic standards. It does not utilize any animal bedding or manure.
Tested by a certified lab, the compost meets OMRI’s standards for use in organic production and parameters set by the US Composting Council’s Seal of Testing Assurance program.
It is not the cheapest option because the 35-pound bag costs nearly 30 dollars, which means more money for less material. Anyway, it is worth it if you consider the value of certification. The quality is guaranteed: odor-free and soft texture!
Most Natural - Dirt Booster All-Natural Super Compost Starter and Soil Amendment
What I like
- Made of all-natural components
- Works faster than traditional composting methods
- It includes microbial pack that contain biochar, humic acid, corn distillates, molasses, and kelp
What I don´t like
- You need to start a compost or add to a previous one.
- You have to learn how to use it, it is full of nutrients that can burn your plants if you don't use it properly
Dirt Booster is perfect in terms of nutrients for your soil. It is an all-natural compost starter and soil amendment for gardens and plants. It's not recommended to be used alone as it were soil because it will heat up your garden, causing your plants to burn.
It can be used with regular garden soil, but for best results, it should be used with manure compost. It's essential to warm up the manure or soil with sunlight before applying the compost to let microbes and fungi become active.
Although it is not the cheapest option, free shipping and the 20 lb bag will let you enrich a significant extension of soil. And the microbial pack is an excellent complement to the product!
Best combination - Wiggle Worm Castings + Blue Ribbon Organic Compost OMRI Combo
What I like
- Excellent for indoor or outdoor plants
- Promotes water retention
- No perfumes or scents were added or chemically removed.
What I don´t like
- Free delivery lasts 7 days
- You will have to buy two products even if you need the Worm Castings
This combo of products can mean the perfect ally to a gardening expert. They will give your plants the nutrition they need to produce abundant growth. Blue Ribbon Organic Compost is made from composted vegetables, grass clippings, and other natural materials, and it is organic guaranteed. The Wiggle Worm Earthworm castings will enrich the work of the organic compost to find garden success ideally, and it also has an organic certification.
Both products are nutrient-rich and odor-free. They do not burn and are safe for use at any concentration. The cost is high but not that expensive if you consider you will have two products in an only delivery. Be patient if you opt for free delivery because it will last 7 days.
Most innovative - Fishnure Sustainably sourced Odorless Organic Humus Compost Fertilizer
What I like
- Made from fish manure
- Long-lasting decomposition, remaining in the soil and increasing the total organic matter
- Has no fishy smell
What I don´t like
- Small bag selling
- Innovative and proved by a few customers
The Fishnure Organic Humus Compost seems to be an innovative alternative for Pot Planting, Established Plants, and even Vegetable Gardens. You will need just a pound to apply in the ground or the potting soil.
Although it is made out of fish manure, it has no odor. It smells just really similar to ordinary organic compost: fresh as forest. If your garden is not that large, this 16pounds bag is an ideal option because you will use a bit and will be able to store the rest of the material without needing much space.
It is delivered for free, and the price is ok for the quality it promises. Why not try a bit of ocean in your garden?
Most premium - Wakefield Premium Biochar Organic Garden Soil Conditioner & Hero Blend Compost with Fungi
What I like
- Helps to reduce odors
- Made of organic pine wood
- Long-lasting effects on the soil
What I don`t like
- 1 cu ft. bags meaning not the best option for pot planting
- Both products need soil preparation
- You will have to buy them together
The Wakerfild kit is an excellent option for a small garden because it includes 1 cubic foot bag of Wakefield Premium Biochar soil conditioner and 1 cubic foot bag of Wakefield HERO blend compost.
Wakefield Premium Biochar reduces your need for chemical fertilizers and helps replenish the organic material in your soil. Be aware not to use it solely but as a complement to your soil.
Wakefield Compost HERO is made with biochar, organic compost, and mycorrhizal fungi. These three components may seem chinese but they will provide an organic answer to reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and naturally increasing microbial activity in the soil, and also reducing the environmental stresses on your plants.
Considerations for buying bulk compost
Quantity
How much compost you need is an important consideration when buying bulk compost. According to the U.S Composting Council, the ideal goal is to strive for 5% organic matter to the volume of your plantable area. Although knowing exactly the quantity of compost you would need can be difficult, there are numerous free online calculators and apps that can do the calculation for you. Here you will find an easy one you can try, all you need is to enter the length and width of the area you want to cover and the depth of mulch you are looking for.
Quality
It is important you know that all compost is not created equal. The final result of compost is the decomposition of whatever the organic inputs or feedstock were. To know if the compost you’re buying is the best it can be, you should search for a supplier that offers Certified Compost, as designated by the U.S Composting Council. If compost carries this certification, it has gone through a series of tests that would ensure that what you are buying has passed quality assurance standards for safety and effectiveness. It’s the best external measure we have for avoiding a potential problem in the short or large future.
Also, when buying compost, it should smell good, not like garbage. When compost is not done, it smells strong. Although it might seem obvious, it should not contain garbage, such as plastic or other non-biodegradable components. The appearance should be like moist, dark, and fluffy soil. You may accept some wood fragments but not that many raw materials. Ideally, bought compost should not be mixed with soil unless you are looking for that mixed component.
The Composting Council of North Carolina has made a map where you can visualize all the places you can access to obtain bulk compost that is near you. They also explain to you a formula to calculate how much bulk compost you will need. Similar tool offers McGill Compost for various sites on the East Side of the US.
No matter how you finally find your bunk or bagged compost, the compost pile should be a part of every gardener and weekend warrior’s arsenal. It’s as vital a tool as your shovel or pruners and also means protection to your investment and hard work, assuring you to keep the soil rich and the garden looking great all year.