Moving dirt from another area of the yard is not an option. I've done that in the past, and there's no more "extra". The company I'm talking about is called "Missouri Organic". Their definition of their top soil is: "sandy loam mix pulverized and screened for constant texture and ease of application" The definition of their compost is: "humus rich organic matter made from lawn, garden, and tree trimmings, thoroughly processed using bacteria, heat, and aeration to a state most readily and effectively used by the soil" It's lab tested for contamination from herbicide and pesticide contamination, free of weed seeds and harmful pathogens. It's way cheaper and better quality to buy this stuff in bulk, than to buy bags at Home Depot. Deanna

The builder comes in and scrapes off the top 4 inches of soil that was there, the "topsoil" and then the next top 4 inches of soil become "topsoil", because the only definition of "topsoil" that exists is that "topsoil" is the top 4 inches of soil. In the real world the term "topsoil" is meaningless. What most people think of when they talk about "topsoil" is loam, a specific soil type that is defined as containing 45 percent sand, 25 percent silt, 25 percent clay, and 5 percent organic matter and if that is you idea of "topsoil" then that, loam, is what you need to talk about, not "topsoil". "Topsoil" is whatever the seller wants it to be, not what you have pictured in your mind. The only people around here that still sell "topsoil" are excavators, people that scrape soil off the land. The rest sell "garden soil" and one of those is the organci matter dredged from one of the lakes around here mixed with sand and lime, another is mixed by the nursery according to a "secret" recipe and includes cigarette filters, used diapers, and other waste products while a third mixes compost (this guy collects leaves in the fall and composts them) with some soil (that can be either sand or clay depending on his source). Many years ago some of the nurseries around here sold spent foundry sand as "topsoil" and many, many places around town have that and are trying to grow grass in it. The term "topsoil" has no real meaning and should not be used.

Well, shrubs, I don't disturb the soil much with my method of growing potatoes. I simply lay the seed potatoes on the surface and cover with mulch, usually chopped leaves. Harvesting involves pulling the mulch off and picking up the spuds. Having said that, while Ma Nature doesn't get out there with her 6 HP Troy-Bilt tiller, I don't see her growing much in the way of eggplant, peppers and tomatoes out in the wild either. I wonder why that is? I'm in favor of a program of limited tilling when it is necessary. When is it necessary? Every garden or field will be different but if the difference is not tilling and waiting years for the earthworms to do their thing so I can grow a carrot or getting organic matter into the soil and crops off it in the same year, then some form of tilling is the way to go for me. I double dig most of my raised garden beds. The disturbance of the soil structure seems to have little to no visible negative effects and I for one am not alarmed at harming the mycorrhizal fungi. Nor am I going to avoid tilling when it will benefit me in order to avoid injuring the earthworms. (Earthworms, which as noted in other threads, are noxious invaders of this northern forest I call home.) Nor will I rely soley on methods Ma Nature uses to build soil, since in my limited years left on the planet and my need to feed myself during those years, I recognize that Ma Nature has had approximately a 10,000 year head start on me in the soil-building department. Wayne

Hello Jill: Here in the hot, sunny Sand Hills area of NC, I use pine bark fines (small, shreded pine bark). It is plentiful and not too expensive. It is great for the soil as it breaks down easily and improves the soil. It helps keep the roots cooler in our sometimes 100 degree weather and I think that it discourages visitors such as slugs and sometimes the stinking geese that like to trample through my yard. 'Round here, pine needles are free but I don't like them because of the bugs that consider them home - little red bugs AKA "chiggers" and if you have EVER sat on pine needles, you will NEVER forget it. They are cousins to other unmentionable critters and the red bumps are where they have laid eggs - 'nough said on that! And Larry (sweatin in ga) is right about the nitrogen issue, but the usual application of 18-6-12 granular fertilizer solves that problem. Hope this helps! Renee