[Brittany]

I hate the idea of paying for dirt! I want to use raised beds because I really do not want to till. I have some homemade compost and I’m adding leaves and cardboard in the bottom. Any leads on where to get cheap or free soil?

[Judith]

Depending on the depth of the beds can fill lower half with branches and sticks. Have you seen hügelkultur on YouTube?

Applies to raised beds too. I filled my barrel garden halfway with branches and sticks. Top off with compost, leaves, manure annually. These barrels were my way of keeping critters and pests out.

[img]https://i.ibb.co/7JndvVV/leaves.jpg[/img]

Don’t miss: Has anyone had a summerhouse in the garden that’s been turned into a bedroom?

[Katrina]

Fill with leaves & small sticks from around your yard/the woods. Sawdust also makes good filler.

[Denise]

Some cities have compost you can come and pick up…or try a friend’s city.

[Mandy]

Just make sure you get good soil and not “fill dirt” there’s a big difference. It seems crazy to pay for dirt but quality soil is an investment that pays for itself quickly.

I bought amazing river bottom dirt 10+ years ago for my raised beds and still using it, I just add compost throughout the year.

Have you seen: I’ve let the chlorine evaporate from our pool’s water in order to use this water for our gardens / my plants

[Leah]

Join a horse group in your state. A lot of farms love to give away their manure. I fill my raised beds with twigs and then manure… followed by just a bag of potting soil.

My plants did great last year!

[Sarah]

It’s worth it to get a load of good soil dropped.

Better quality soil, no pests or seeds or anything in it. And if you take care of it, it’s going to last.

I intend to put in raised beds and I will be having dirt delivered…and I’m one of the most frugal people you will ever meet.

[Tracy]

Straw bales and compost, it breaks down so well together.

[Missy]

I get compost from a nearby cattle farm. $25 for a bucket load (a bulldozer bucket that is, fills the back of our truck in a heaping, steamy, stinking pile of goodness!).

[Sarah]

County girl here but in neighboring towns people sack their raked leaves and put them beside the road for the city to pick up. I can stuff 3, 4, maybe 5 big black lawn bags into the back of my little SUV!

Maybe not a this year thing for you but makes good filler, compost and mulch.

Take a peek at: How to start a cheap home garden in Florida?

[MaryElizabeth]

Any brown paper that you have. Cardboard boxes, paper that comes in the boxes. Newspaper paper. Cereal boxes. Any other type of food boxes. The pressed cardboard egg cartoons. Avoid any that are shiny/coated. Twigs and branches from around your yard and leaves. Any kitchen scraps that you have.

Once you get a good base down, water it really well and cover it with a tarp, or something to keep it warm for at least a week. Then you can start adding container soil.

Do not add any garden mulch.

[Donna]

I have 3 ft deep beds because I’m old and don’t bend like I used to! I filled the bottom of mine with plastic. Milk cartons, juice bottles, whatever that takes forever to break down in landfills. Discussions will be had after I die and the next owners move the beds and find all the wine bottles in the bottom.

I then filled in with some nice rich dirt.

My plants are happy campers!

[Polly]

They say not to fill with too many sticks/wood chips because they take a long time to break down.

Maybe offer to rake leaves out of neighbors flower beds etc. This could be a help to an elderly neighbor while giving you free materials.

[John]

Be careful how much paper or other plant or manure you add. It can cause the soil to become too hot for plants to grow.

I just went around and asked friends with gardens if I could have a bucket of soil or if I saw someone digging for some reason. It adds up fairly fast.

The catch though, is that you can and probably will bring home new weeds. My dad turned his garden into a lovely patch of amaranth when he brought home a load of horse manure.

[Author]

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