Is there a way you may be able to make your own compost ?
I recently purchased an Enviro-cycle tumbler, a neat little gadget that I have been placing all of my table scraps in.
My huge pile of leaves in the backyard gives me about75 gallons of compost every summer.
Making compost seems to make me closer to my garden than I was before...
I purchased some compost a couple of years ago and after I strained it found over 50% stones in it..
Good Luck

Where in the world are you? That can help with when to start with your spring garden work. If, like me, you have 9 inches of snow on the ground now is the time to plan the garden and determine when to go to work outside and when to start seeds inside. However, if your soil is clear of snow and the air temperatures are in the 50s and 60s you can get started outside now.
Even though those raised beds have something called "garden soil" you still should be thinking about having a good reliable soil test for pH, Phosphorus, Potash, Calcium, and Magnesium done. Then you should want to know how much organic matter is in that soil and how healthy that soil is. These simple soil tests can help with that.
1) Soil test for organic matter. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top.

2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains� too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up.

3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart.

4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell.

5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.

The soil plants grow in is the most important part of a garden so take the time necessary to look at what you have and what you can do to make it better. Purchased compost can be really iffy since you have no idea what really went into it, however that may be the only option some people have. If I had to buy compost I would purchase one bag, take it home, and take a really good look at the stuff. What does that "compost" smell like (compost should always smell of good rich earth and nothing else), what appears to be in this stuff (very little of the original material should be easily identifiable), put some of this stuff in a 1 quart jar and fill it with water. There should not be anything on the bottom of the jar because that would be soil and not compost.

I googled "organic compost chicago" and it turned up lots of leads to locally-produced products. You also can go to a local, independently-owned garden center and see what they have. If there are great local sources of soil amendments, they will know where they are. Local is usually cheaper because of reduced shipping costs.

With high-nitrogen substances that cross the line into fertilizer, wait until no more than 3 weeks before planting to mix them in. Compost can go in sooner, or you can leave it piled on the surface and wait until the soil warms to dig it in. Minimal biological activity will take place until soil temps rise above 45F, and meanwhile digging about in wet soil can ruin its structure.

I have a friend who has a restaurant, and on my advice he just mixes food scraps and leaves. He never has to buy any manure, and he has a large garden AND an orchard to fertilize. Composting goes really fast with food scraps.

Compost in a bag varies quite a bit by region, so the products I have here just a couple hundred miles away are probably not the same ones you see. The quality varies a lot, but generally you get what you pay for up to a point. The cheapest ones are generally poor, and the moderately priced are the best bang for your buck. I'm talking commercial bagged stuff from big box stores and nurseries.

@japus

I'd love to make my own with restaurant garbage but seeing how its directly behind my restaurant I don't want to attract a family of city rats, which tend to not be very nice for restaurants. At the end of last season I actually had a family decide to move in underneath my above ground pond. I gave them water, vegetables droppings, shelter and they started a colony. Kind of ruined the end of The season. I took the pond down and had a company come out and catch/ kill as many as possible. But im still worried some are there Ans from what I understand they multiple fast. Long story short im crossing my fingers Ans hoping they aren't back this year. Im hoping the bagged compost I eventually buy doesn't attract them.

@kimmsr

Im in Chicago is freezing here right now but has been a very mild winter with not any snow at all. The soil doesn't even seem hard at all In boxes. I dug it all toward middle And left the soil all in mounds. Thanks for the steps. My soil is obviously probably freezing will all those tests still work at this time of year?
And where should I take it to get tested?

Deli:

I don't know how big of a space you have but I found that buying it in bulk is really the way to go. I get mine for $12/yd in my pickup. Even if you only use half of it initially, you can mulch with the rest. Google bulk compost chicago.

Kevin

I also get mine by the truckload. We have a small truck and get a load from the dump each year to either top off (asparagus) or mix into our raised beds. Our dump has certified organic compost.
If we don't use it all I start a new bed! ;) I do this about every other year and use my own compost in between.
I can relate to the Rat problem! I butt up to a neighbor's barn and her rats were getting into my chicken coop,compost and eventually the house!
BUT after moving the compost piles away from the house, having to get the pest control out to eradicate the vermine! We now have several "mousers" (feral cats that the Humane Society fixed, vaccinated, chipped etc for free, then returned to us) Much better!

There are a number of resturants in the Chicago area that compost their waste with no problem. There are also a number of them with roof top gardens where they grow some of the produce they use in the resturants. Having a compost pile and having rats are not necessarily what happens, many of us with compost piles do not have a rat problem.
Talk with the people at your local office of the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service about where to have soil tests doen.

Here is a link that might be useful: UI CES

This is great stuff:
http://www.compostmatters.com/organimix.asp

Here is a link that might be useful: Organimix compost

"the start of the season I was using liquid miracle grow and was quickly Told to stop fast and start using organic Fertilizer."

Typical.

True, my friend the restaurateur just brings all the scraps home at night, and mixes them the next morning. But he does not have a rat problem at home either. All you need is bins made out of hardware cloth, with a tight lid. You would also need a pile of chips, which are denser browns, if space is an issue.

People thinking of buying compost might want to read this article first.

Here is a link that might be useful: About purchased compost

@ChicagoDeli37

The purists will tell you use your own compost, go organic, etc. And that is probably your end goal. But the reality is that it takes time, usually years to get there. You want to be ready to go this Spring. Here is what I did in the same situation. I built three 4'x12' raised beds that are 24" high. I didn't have enough of my own compost to fill them. So I supplemented with bagged compost (OMRI approved) from my local big box store. After 2 years of composting, I was able to fill my beds full of my own compost last fall before the snows hit.

I would go ahead and add your compost and mix it in now to let it start any bacterial processes and blending with your soil. By the time you plant in 2 months it'll be ready to go.

As you continue to garden, you will be able to make your own compost and mulch. Like anything else, it's a process. You don't start out with the desired results, you have to work towards it. But that's what I enjoy about these forums, I read the posts, use what I can at the time and work towards my goals.

Also you say you have a restaurant. Do you have a basement? Here is what a local restaurant here in Boise is doing to compost their scraps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bitter Creek and worms

Hey Grumpy,

What a cool Boise restaurant. If we lived there, we would definitely support such an environmentally sensitive business and I sure hope home gardeners in that part of Idaho do. Thanks for the link.