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  • Out of Stock Gardener's Gold™ Premium Bagged Compost
    Gardener's Gold Premium Bagged Compost
    $24.99
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  • Out of Stock Natural Beginnings™ Seed Starting Mix
    Natural Beginnings Seed Starting Mix
    $34.99
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  • Out of Stock Alive!™ Soil Activator
    Alive! Soil Activator
    $24.99
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  • Out of Stock pH Tester & Hydroponic Gardening Maintenance Kit
    pH Tester & Hydroponic Gardening Maintenance Kit
    $29.99
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  • Out of Stock VermiPods™ Encapsulated Earthworm Cocoons™
    Direct Gardening Association Award Winners.Green Thumb Award
    VermiPods Encapsulated Earthworm Cocoons
    $29.99
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  • Out of Stock Garden Nurture Soil Inoculant
    Garden Nurture Soil Inoculant
    $27.99
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  • Out of Stock Fruit-Boost™ Pelletized Calcium
    Fruit-Boost™ Pelletized Calcium
    $16.99
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  • Out of Stock Fuhgeddaboudit! Mycorrhizae-Based Root Fertilizer
    Fuhgeddaboudit! Mycorrhizae-Based Root Fertilizer
    $22.99
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  • Out of Stock Essential Garden Seat with Tools
    Essential Garden Seat with Tools
    $44.99
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  • Out of Stock All-Natural Wool Fertilizer Pellets
    All-Natural Wool Fertilizer Pellets
    $19.99
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  • Out of Stock Coir Brick
    Coir Brick
    $12.99
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  • Out of Stock Four-Way Soil Analyzer
    Four-Way Soil Analyzer
    $59.99
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  • Out of Stock Gardens Alive!® Dried Bat Guano
    Gardens Alive!® Dried Bat Guano
    $44.99
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  • Out of Stock 100% Pure Earthworm Castings Plant Food
    100% Pure Earthworm Castings Plant Food
    $24.99
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  • Out of Stock Blueberry Success Mix
    Blueberry Success Mix
    $34.99
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  • Out of Stock Liquid Kelp Concentrate
    Liquid Kelp Concentrate
    $24.99
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  • Out of Stock Perfect Start™ Natural Potting Soil
    Perfect Start Natural Potting Soil
    $34.99
    $33.24
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Garden Soil & Amendments

Garden Soil and Amendments from Gardens Alive!

For more than 30 years, Gardens Alive! has been offering gardeners effective and environmentally responsible gardening solutions. We've spent years learning and testing to find the best garden soil amendments for home gardeners. Gardeners count on us when they want to buy garden soil online--and our garden soil for sale will help you grow strong and healthy plants.

Choosing the Right Soil or Amendment for Your Garden

Soil is the foundation for your garden. Healthy garden soil promotes good plant growth. By choosing and using the right garden soil amendments, you can improve the health of your garden soil.

How to Improve Garden Soil

Depending on where you live, your soil may be sandy, loamy or clay. Loamy soil is ideal. You can improve sandy and clay soil by adding organic matter, such as compost, dried bat guano or wool pellets. Adding organic matter, such as our Coir Brick, can improve water retention and the soil structure. Organic matter can also provide the soil with nutrients. Other ways to improve the soil are adding earthworm castings and all-natural fertilizer.

If you are starting seedlings or potting plants, many gardeners opt to buy soil online and seed starting kits. Products like our Perfect Start Natural Potting Soil will get plants started off right.

Getting Started with Garden Soil & Soil Amendments

When using soil amendments, take time to read the label for application instructions.

  • How To Prepare Soil for Garden

  • How you prepare the garden soil with amendments depends on what type of amendments you use. Often all-natural fertilizers are scratched into the soil. Compost is often used as a top dressing or mulch. Some soil amendments, such as coir bricks, are tilled or mixed into the garden soil.

  • How Much Garden Soil Do I Need?

  • Garden soil is often sold by volume. Determining how much you need will be based on whether you are using it alone or mixing it with other soil.

  • How to Test Garden Soil

  • Depending on the test, a soil test can show your soil's pH, nutrients in the soil and the percentage of organic matter in the soil. You can test your garden soil with a soil test kit or by sending soil samples to a laboratory. When testing your garden soil, take soil samples from several different locations. The soil should be taken in slices about 6 to 8 inches deep. The slices should be mixed together.

Garden Soil and Composting

Composting is a great way to improve your soil, to use less fertilizer and to reduce landfill waste. In other words, it's a natural, environmentally friendly way to improve garden health. It's safe, effective, cost-efficient, and sustainable. Check out our full line of composting supplies including our handy compost crock, a variety of composters and compost activator for nutrient-rich compost—fast!

Soil and Compost FAQ

How do you get rid of ants in the garden soil?

Here are five ways to get rid of ants in the garden:
  1. Directly spray them with a solution of water and vinegar.
  2. Grow plants such as mint, rosemary, marigolds, lavender and thyme, that repel ants.
  3. Water your garden more frequently and add clay to the soil. Ants like loose, dry soils.
  4. Use commercial repellents.
  5. For fire ants, consider an ant bait. Follow label directions.

What is the difference between gardening soil and potting soil?

Garden soil is meant to be mixed with your existing garden soil as a soil amendment. Potting soil is used alone, without amendments, for container gardening and potted houseplants.

What is garden soil?

Garden soil usually contains topsoil and additional organic matter such as compost or peat as well as fertilizer. It's meant to be mixed into your existing garden soil as a soil amendment.

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