online compost

i have decided to give it a go growing in my garden but think i will make some raised beds and fill wil compost as i am sure the conifers will such all the goodness out of the soil and where is the best place at the moment to get it delivered online cheaply ish as i dont drive or i suppose i could get some of the asda stuff and get a taxi home lol

You could try ringing a horticultural distributors

Monro South
Sandyland Street,
Wisbech,
Cambridgeshire,
PE13  1TA
01945 463999

See if they will sell you potting and bedding 80L cash on delivery, or paid up front by credit card.
   

Rowlawn who have distributors country wide, deliver bulk bags (like you get builders sand in) of fruit and veg compost which I would really recommend. Lovely mixture of topsoil and blended sterile composted material/manure. Really holds onto moisture well. Bags hold 1 cubic metre, details on their  website. Cost delivered to my part of world is £124, cheaper as you get more delivered.

Bulk bags are usually 2 cu/m, because  potting machines used by growers are designed to take them. You sure there 1 cu/m ? Usually the only other version is 3 cu/m compressed bale, same physical size, but that designed to go on a bale ripper to unpack it. Ive never seen a 1 cu/m bag.

to work out if its cheap you need to reduce it to the same bag size for comparison - 1000L = 14.28 x 70L bags, which is £8.68 a bag, which is seriously expensive. If they are 2 cu/m bags, which i suspect they may well be thats £4.34  per 70L. Its still expensive, so you need to know exactly whats in it to see if its worth it.  The first place mentioned, selling at £3.90 for 70L, works out at £55 a cube.

For reference, the price growers pay for compost by the 2 cu/m bag is between £30 and £70 cu/m and for £70 a cu/m  you would expect to get CRF's, wetter and other enhancers, and top quality peat in it..

Buying in bulk can get wiped out by the delivery costs on partial loads. Take bark - i know several places you can buy landscaping bark in bulk, and a full 80 cu/m load works out at about £30-£50 cu/m. If you tried to buy say 15 cu/m, you would end up paying £120+ a cube which is entirely uneconomic, and cheaper to buy it in bags by the pallet. This is because the lorry will cost you £400-£900 to hire, irrespective of its load size.

It might be cheaper to collect a bag on a trailer or flatback lorry obtained yourself, they will forklift it on but you will have to handball it off at the other end. That could make a significant difference to the cost.


**Edit**
I just had a look at there site. What they are selling you is not compost, its topsoil blended with possibly green waste - it states its peat free.  Thats why it costs more.

Could we keep the replies relevant to the OP's original question and in plain English.  I doubt that pawsnclaws expected replies in that much detail, just a simple nod towards a supplier would suffice, not an essay on bulk buying.

How big will you beds be?  We could then work out how much you will need.

The reply is perfectly relevant. I just saved the guy from spending a wad of money.

£124 a cubic metre is more than twice the price of £3.90 for 70L.   I then explained why this was so. I also pointed out it wasnt compost, it was topsoil and green waste, not the same thing at all.

Worry about how much you will need when they are made or you have a plan.  Then ask again.

Before messing about online why not try your local landscape place.

Mine do top soil for 35gbp a tonne. Id be tempted to fill beds 1/2 and 1/2.

Wickes also deliver compost now and can be ordered online, delivery varies but to here it would be 20gbp. Compost is 4gbp / 75ltr

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Multi-Purpose-Compost/invt/200246


My local garden centre also deliver up to 100Kgs for 4gbp.

MOT's just run out on my Land Rover and not sure whether it'll pass on Tuesday, but if you're still stuck in a week or two, drop me a PM and I might be able to help out.

Nope, you don't know me - at least not as far as I'm aware! I'm down near Huntingdon, but tend to head up to P'boro every now and then. If the Landy gets though its MOT OK, I can always take a run up there so you can fill the back with bags from Asda, B&Q or somewhere.