Rhizo, thanks for the heads up. I thought mushroom compost was the good stuff. Anyway, the price was prohibitive -- not the vendors' fault; he's just too far away and it added a LOT to the cost. They were pleasant and helpful folks and I just wish they were closer. My soil looks rich. It's more brown than red, but I know the kind you are talking about. I have clay but it's not CLAY. It's even dark on top... half an inch! It helps that the land probably hasn't been anything except pasture for decades since Alabama was settled by white men. If you think that means I have more henbit and wild garlic than grass, you're right! I have been away for a long time, but I grew up in the South so my first reaction was more like resigned acceptance than grief. :) I already had it turned to tear up the thick sod and after we get a good rain we'll plow it up. After the first year -- and maybe the second -- I hope to go plow-less and tiller-less. But getting holes dug for my berry bushes was slow enough; I could never have done the garden by hand. I did find out that the Decatur-Morgan Landfill gives away FREE compost at the dump. I seriously don't think my muscles are up to showing up with a shovel and getting a significant amount. How good it is, I don't know. I am guessing I need 5+ cubic yards, but at least half of that could be in a stable form to just break up the soil a bit, like maybe humus. If all else fails, I will price shop for bags of it and make a very trips. After I get the spring chores done, I'll hit the Hartselle dump for a $5 pickup truck load of mulch (they scoop; free if you scoop) and compost it for next year along with my weeds and food scraps and coffee grounds and so forth. It's just this year that's a problem. I found topsoil locally in Hartselle; $95 for a small truck (8 ton), $145 for the big truck. I did not ask if it was screened, because my primary use is to fill an area and put ground cover on top for erosion control.

You can get leaf compost for free from the city compost pile next to the Botanical Garden. You have to pick out some trash and it tends to be semi-finished, but "free" is hard to beat. There's a loader 1st and 3rd Saturdays in the summer, starting May 4th this year, I think.

Give JT Brockwell in Calvander a call. Located between Carrboro and Hillsborough. They clean their soil and my garden is based on many dump truck loads from them. I'm pretty sure they have the clean compost you want, but ask them. 942 3001 Also, if you want bags of organic cow compost, go to Lowe's and look for the Timberline brand. It's under $3.00 a bag and I use it all the time now that my garden is planted up. Cameron

I added this to the vermiculite source list ... http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/sqfoot/msg030226157705.html