[smellykipper]

Hello all  where do you all get topsoil from for rased beds and such ?, builders yard just quoted me £48 a tonne delivered ?

i have just built a raised bed 2.4 x 1.2 x 24" which i think will need just over a tonne of soil.

Daz

[surbie100]

Spring is 'revamp your house' season. Have a look on freecycle, or roam around your area looking at who's having work done. The cons being you might get a hefty amount of subsoil too, you won't know if you're transporting any diseases, you'll have to go through it for stones etc and you'll have to transport it yourself or slip the builders a couple of notes. 

At the moment I go past 4 skips loaded with soil on the way home, and have recently got 12 rubble bags filled with topsoil from someone who was getting rid of their lawn for decking.

[RookieJim]

Hello all  where do you all get topsoil from for rased beds and such ?, builders yard just quoted me £48 a tonne delivered ?

i have just built a raised bed 2.4 x 1.2 x 24" which i think will need just over a tonne of soil.

Daz

I'd jump at that price. I'm getting quoted £100 plus.

I filled my raised bed with soil from other parts of the plot, added compost and just put a 2-3 inch layer of top soil on top, which i bought from Homebase.

Seems to be working a treat so far

Jim

[Annen]

I got soil improver from the local council for £18 per tonne and mixed it with the existing soil and compost both bought and home made.
I'm a bit suspicious of topsoil as you never know what weeds are going to come with it, whereas the soil improver is supposed to have reached high enough temperatures to kill off most weed seeds.

[Kiddy]

Hi long time lurker,

Was going to start my first topic but it's on the same lines as this tread.

I have just this week  took on a new plot but the soil is to hard to dig, and comes out in large lumps.
I have set aside eight beds about four at 2mx3m and the other four 4mx2m.

What I was thinking is buying 3000 ltrs of really rotted manure and spreading on top of each bed then grow though this year and then dig the beds probably at the end of the year.

1) Will 3000lts be enough? (was told about the volume of two builders bags)
2) Will the roots break though the harder soil?
3) Should I add any other matter to the Manure?

Thanks

[ConfusedGardener]

smellykipper - Might be worth checking ebay. I'm looking for topsoil too, and I noticed quite a bit going for free in Linconshire last week, but I haven't been able find any near me yet.

[gremlin]

i have just built a raised bed 2.4 x 1.2 x 24" which i think will need just over a tonne of soil.

That's 1.7 cu meters - or best part of two of those big white builders bags.  Depending on how wet the soil is, I reckon it would be pushing 2 1/2 tonnes

Sorry

[smellykipper]

i have just built a raised bed 2.4 x 1.2 x 24" which i think will need just over a tonne of soil.

That's 1.7 cu meters - or best part of two of those big white builders bags.  Depending on how wet the soil is, I reckon it would be pushing 2 1/2 tonnes

Sorry

OH  :blink: thankyou for the correction  , i will have to find another way or cut the bed in half.

thankyou all for your replies
Daz