Where to get soil from?

I just mentioned to hubby that I found a great new forum and he got me to ask you guys this:
We need to get some soil for our garden - as its very uneven and we need to raise bottom half a bit. We looked at getting it from b&q but it seems a bit pricey. Any ideas where we can get quality soil from? Or is b&q best option?

 

There are usually adverts in the small ads for top soil. These soils range from good to abysmal so beware, best to get sieved if it is on offer.

Cheers, Tony.

 

Thanks Tony, will look there then!

 

Builders merchants and bigger garden centres will sell it in a ton bag. If you need that much.

Rusty

 

Rusty, I think we might need two tonnes
Thank you for that, I will try and google some local places we can get it from.

 

Have you considered spent mushroom compost?

http://www.turfandstuff.com/product/265

Or is that too much?

 

I'd go for,top soil, sorry Zigs but mushroom compost is mostly organic and will slowly rot down and disappear.

 

It's about £60 a ton I think from when I looked to get some a few years ago, but may have gone up. Different places have different grades too.

Rusty

 

Good point Pete

 

Just been looking up prices and Rusty has beat me to it ! £60 is a good target price for a bulk bag , which I presume is a cubic metre . As Tony said quality is variable , so ask around if you can for recommendations .
Where do they get all this top soil from , do we have soil mines

 

They scrape it off housing sites before they start building.
In the hope of selling it back to the residents once they move in.

 

I'm also after top soil. Found one place in Wolverhampton bulk bag deliveries, top soil for turfing £25.00, top soil for seeding £48.00. Free local delivery and price includes VAT.

Think I will be using this company for mine.


Trevor

 

Yes I have ordered for delivery on Friday 2 large builder bags top soil. bag 1 20 mm screening for base layer and bag 2 12 mm screening for top soil that I will mix with grit. All this to convert a fish pond into an Alpine garden. Total cost with delivery and VAT £60.00.
They do a smaller screening of 5 mm but with the wet conditions they are having problems with the screening it adhering to the screens.


Trevor

 

What if you mix about 50/50 mushroom compost and sand? I bet that would make a good mix. Mushroom compost is great, and if the local dunes are anything to go buy, sand mixed with a bit of organic matter makes for good growing conditions. I've never tried it, but I bet it would work well. Am I wrong?