Do they offer free soil at the Garden Center? And if so, how and when to get it.
Thanks

You can get free recycled compost at the Recycling Center in Fairmount Park. Loads and loads! A lot of folks use it instead of potting soil.

I'm not sure what you mean by Garden center but I doubt if you would be able to get any decent top soil for free anywhere. You can however get free compost from Fairmount Park. What you could do is if you have a real shitty clay like soil at home, throw around 3 inches of compost on top, then rototill it in to the clay. You can also get a material known as "PhilOrganic", there and at PWD. PhilOrganic is human **** that is decomposed and baked (just think, everyone on this blog has contributed to this material). It's baked down untill it's a soil like texture, and most of the smell has dissipated. Don't get me wrong, it has a smell, but it's not a shitty smell. It does have a very funky kind of odor, but it doesn't smell like ass. It works well as a soil amendment if you're planting shrubs, tree's, flowers, etc... But if you're trying to grow vegetables, stay away from it. The philorganic is high in heavy metals. The plants will grow great, but the fruit/vegetables that are produced are slightly toxic. In fact, one of the sick things about philorganic is some things, during the heating and decomposition, just don't break down. I had picked up a bunch of it for a perennial garden I was making for my mother, and I completely blew the project off, and left it in a pile. 3 months later I noticed there were plants growing out of the pile. They were tomato's. Pretty disgusting, yet pretty amazing if you think about. That tomato seed made it from someone's salad, through somebodys body, through the sewage pipes of Philadelphia, survived microbial decomposition, and heating, and it still germinated.

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In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
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Yes, at the Garden Center in Fishtown (corner of Berks and Frankford), you can get free mulch. Not sure what the details are--but I think it closes at 6pm everyday. It's open on Saturday for sure.

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Resident of Fishtown, Moderator of Fish/No. Libs/Kenzo forum, Real Estate Agent-Prudential Fox & Roach

One thing you'll want to do is dig around to see what kind of soil you've
got to start- good loam soil is a mix of clay, sand and organic/mulch.

If you're in a neighborhood that's within 1,000 feet of the river, there's a good chance your backyard will be dredge spoil- anything from fine mud to sand to gravel, cobbles and Luca Brazzi's concrete shoes.

If you're really unlucky, and in Logan or Wissanoming or Wingahocking, the backyard may be old coal ash which hardens to something almost like concrete, except it doesn't crack, and weeds won't grow in it.

Most likely, the real soil under you is a clay that's derived from weathered Wissahickon Schist- not a bad soil, but you have to add some sand to break it up, and some organics - composted yard clippings, EarthMate biosolids from the water department etc.

Hal

Yes, the New Kensington Garden Center at Frankford and Berks does sell soil. They have large bags for $5 and smaller bags for $2. The Garden Center is only open seasonal though, on Fridays and Saturdays. It should be open this year at least until Memorial Day. Then it closes for the summer, and then opens back up around August and September. The hours for May are: Friday - 12pm to 5pm, Saturday - 10am to 3pm.

They also have free compost and mulch which is available 24 hours a day. Just pull your truck up and dump it in, because it's all sitting outside the fence.

http://www.nkcdc.org

You can get free compost and mulch at the Garden Center, Frankford & Berks. The bins are outside the fence so you can go anytime.

i know this isn't exactly on topic but sand and dirt are kinda similar, right?? ;-) i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about how i could get rid of a ton of sand i have in my back lot area? on two sides of my lot there's an edging area where i could eventually plant stuff -- but right now there's just a bunch of sand and weeds. anyone know how i can get rid of the sand?

Okay I need some to fill in where a root cellar used to be in my backyard. I'll trade you for some firewood...lol.

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Resident of Fishtown, Moderator of Fish/No. Libs/Kenzo forum, Real Estate Agent-Prudential Fox & Roach

Since you guys love to talk about dirt (except for Brooke, who justs wants to get rich of her imploded shack), stumbled across this on PhillyFreeCycle and thought it might interest you dirty Fishtown folks:

I don't know if this is the right heading, but it is neither an
offered or a wanted or a taken. I saw a couple of requests for
these, and just thought I would point out that the City of
Philadelphia offers free compost bins to residents of the city of
Philadelphia when you attend a free seminar about composting. It is
a really good deal, especially for those who pay city taxes. Check
it out at: http://www.phila.gov/streets/compost.html. I think there
is one more session this spring, and they will probably have them in
the fall again.

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“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” - Jane Jacobs