{"title":"Soil \u0026 Compost","description":"\u003cp\u003eHealthy well balanced soil and living organic compost are the backbone of a thriving garden ecosystem. Our soil is a locally produced custom blend that we have developed using our decade long career of growing plants and planting gardens for people all over South Florida. We also carry compost from a few different local composting initiatives, which means its soil life is regionally appropriate and very much alive. Read more about our soil \u0026amp; compost options below. \u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"little-river-coop-garden-soil-2-cubic-foot-bag","title":"Little River Nursery - Garden Soil, 1 cubic foot (7 gallon) bucket","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e*if you are ordering soil for delivery to your home we have set a maximum of 10 buckets per delivery for the fall* \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLittle River Coop Garden Soil (\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e1 cubic foot bucket)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eContains: Florida peat moss, Canadian peat moss, pearlite, composted organic material, humus, pine bark, dolomite\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eOur garden soil is the backbone of our veggie gardening system and while it may seem like a simple product theres actually lots of considerations to be taken when picking what soil to fill your new veggie garden bed with. South Florida based veggie gardeners mostly choose to make a raised bed and fill it with new soil because we have no naturally occurring topsoil due to our unique geological situation. We spent 5 years formulating our custom blend of materials to suit the needs of vegetable plants, which are a bit more sensitive and less hearty than things like hedging and ornamental plants. The peat moss \u0026amp; composted organic material are included to hold moisture and water soluble nutrients, while the pine bark and coir are included for aeration and drainage. The dolomite is a pH balancing mineral that is included to offset the acidity and the humus is critical decomposed and stable organic matter formed by the decomposition of plant \u0026amp; animal matter over time (similar but different to compost).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIf you head to Home Depot and buy the cheapest bags of “dirt” (we never say dirt, instead try to get in the habit of calling it “soil”) you’ll be shooting yourself in the foot, as the soil you fill your garden bed with is a big step towards success in the garden. Its so important we have a whole workshop just about building \u0026amp; caring for it!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eOur soil mix is NOT certified organic (we are working on it with our soil company) but it contains no chemicals and is made entirely of organic material. One reason why getting it certified is proving challenging is because it contains compost made from local tree trimmings, which we think is cool and very important, but its hard for the organic certification board to think about because it isn’t easy to regulate. If you choose to buy bags of soil from Home Depot make sure it doesn't have non-organic fertilizer added to it, because miracle-gro loves to sneak it in there (gross)! Also, the bags of soil medium you buy from a big box store came from a different state and thusly had to be pasteurized to cross state lines. That means it's 100% completely dead and devoid of any naturally occurring soil life. Our soil is made locally in South Florida and bagged on site so it isn’t pasteurized.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAll bagged soils DO NOT contain the vital macro \u0026amp; micro nutrients that your plants need to thrive, so wether you buy from us or elsewhere you must add a granular OMRI certified fertilizer to your soil before planting. Heed our warning! This is the most common mistake we see beginner gardeners make in their garden. While adding compost and getting your soil fertile in other ways is also an option, its a slower one that takes lots of time and effort, so if you'd like to plant in your soil right away you absolutely cannot leave out the addition of granular organic fertilizer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHow to figure out how much soil you need…  If you're trying to fill a raised bed from scratch you’ll want to use a simple soil calculator like this one: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.gardeners.com\/how-to\/soil-calculator\/7558.html\"\u003ehttps:\/\/www.gardeners.com\/how-to\/soil-calculator\/7558.html\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eTo help you out, there are 25 cubic feet in a cubic yard, and we use 1 cubic yard (thats 25 buckets) to fill a 4 x 8 foot raised bed that is 10 inches deep (thats our standard raised bed depth, if yours is deeper we recommend filling it with a draining medium like pea rock until its 10-12 inches deep, then adding soil). \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eIf you’re wanting to refresh your 4 x 8 foot raised bed for the fall planting season, we recommend getting 5 buckets of soil.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIf you just want to amend your native soil when planting a fruit tree, we recommend getting 1 bucket of soil per fruit tree.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy do we sell soil in \"buckets\"? and why did the price increase? \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe tried single use plastic bags a few years ago and we really didn't vibe with it. Our soil comes with some naturally occurring moisture and so the bags were H.E.A.V.Y.! like customers couldn't get them out of their trunks heavy... Plus, single use plastic always weighs heavy on our sustainable hearts. So for now we've switched back to our bucket system. The buckets are basically 7 gallon nursery pots with handles. If you need pots for your garden they are perfect for that, so keep them and reuse them. If you don't need them, please save them and bring them back and we will give you your deposit back.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e$2.00 of your soil bucket purchase is a deposit on the bucket, so for every bucket you bring back we will give you $2.00 in cold hard cash, or credit for a new purchase. Heck, if you have 7 gallon pots in good shape (with handles) that you didn't get from us we will buy those from you too!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Little River Cooperative","offers":[{"title":"1 cubic foot (7 gallon) bucket","offer_id":42651616510034,"sku":"SOIL002","price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0535\/4461\/products\/9535FF5E-F973-4D26-AB02-0D9F665C5EE7.jpg?v=1597447895"},{"product_id":"a-zero-waste-culture-local-compost-2-pound-bag","title":"A Zero Waste Culture local compost","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Zero Waste Culture compost\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eWhen we teach gardening classes or talk to home gardeners about how to keep their garden happy and healthy the conversation inevitably turns time and time again to the importance soil life, and thusly of compost. Not the bagged “composted stuff” that home depot sells, but real living organic matter full of beneficial soil microorganisms, worms, and biodiversity that brings your soil to life. They say there are more living organisms in a tablespoon of soil than there are stars in our galaxy! Imagine how complex a system like that is, and on such a microscopic scale, in your own backyard! And the most beautiful thing about it is that its made out of waste (some people call it garbage but that seems too derogatory a term for such valuable material). Home composting groups have become more popular over time as more and more people realize how important it is to divert organic material out of the mainstream waste stream and make use of it instead. \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/azerowasteculture.org\/\"\u003eA Zero Waste Culture\u003c\/a\u003e is one such organization located in Key Biscayne committed to composting home food waste, and hundreds of families have joined in the efforts of composting at Bill Baggs State Park.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eWe recommend at least 10 pounds of living compost be added to a 4 x 8 foot raised bed as a way to activate the biological activity in your soil during fall planting. Compost isn’t forever and is used by your plants and oxidizes into the atmosphere so if you have continued access to finished compost use it to top dress your garden once its planted throughout the season. And if you don't have continued access to compost, then we highly recommend you consider starting a compost pile at home to fix that problem! Composting is a critical step in your veggie gardening process and in increasing the environmental sustainability of your home. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Little River Cooperative","offers":[{"title":"2 pound bag","offer_id":40033282621522,"sku":"","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"6 pound bag","offer_id":40033282654290,"sku":"","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0535\/4461\/products\/IMG_3315.jpg?v=1657834224"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0535\/4461\/collections\/IMG_4975_1.jpg?v=1599365077","url":"https:\/\/littlerivernursery.co\/collections\/soil-compost.oembed","provider":"Little River Nursery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}