I was at WalMart yesterday to get more potting soil to pot up my new plants and seedlings. As I was ready to check out one of the garden center employees told me she had broken bags of soil that she was marking down to a $1.00 a bag. So I got out of line and put the 1 cu. ft. bag of Miracle Gro back and headed back out to check out the markdowns. I cam home with three 1 cu. ft. bags that each had a small hole and taped over for for a total of $3.00 which was less than I was going to spend on the one bag. I ended up with almost 3 times as much mix for $3.97 less. This should keep me busy for a while.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Congrats on the bargain! If my Lowe's doesn't get my money very often for their plant selection, they do get it for their mulch and potting soil, for which they have a half price policy on ripped or open bags. Feels good to get a bargain!...although they're still probably making money anyway.

Zone 7B
North Carolina Piedmont

Matt
I have already bought 4 bags of soil this year and had a half bag left when I bought these yesterday so it will all get used up quickly. It was like a gift after all the money I have already spent.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Hey Penny,

Do you "SHOP" with a box cutter???

Pam NJ 6B

Pam,
You have s sinister mind LOL!

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Penny-- That is really great bargain on the potting soil. . I still have two 40lb bags of it left over from last year. Not sure how far that will go but it should get me started.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

I just got back with a 40 lb. bag of topsoil that is sand and peat based for heavy clay based soil. It works great to lighten up our heavy clay. I will probably go back and get a couple more bags when they restock as they only had two left and one bag was all broken up I want to make sure that I have really good drainage for these new plants.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

I want to shop with you Penny.

kathy t.
shebly twp., MI
Zone 5/6

My friend Carrie in Texas is always getting really good buys on broken bags of potting soil, etc. Here, they either won't discount them at all, or do so minimally (talking about the Big Box stores). We have a local hardware/garden store chain that I bought a large, torn bag of perlite from. It took a little asking, but I paid about 1/3 of the original price & very little had been spilled.

As for potting mix, because I have LOTS of brugmansias that need large pots, I buy potting mix by the yard...$35 for a generous pickup load, which is almost always about 1.5 yards. I go thru 1 or 2 loads of that per year. I've saved large bags from when I purchased bagged potting mixes, so I refill them with any excess mix, then store them on my porch. If I can do that late in the gardening season, I have several bags to get started with in the spring.

Patrick
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place

Patrick normally they don't discount the bags here either but this particular store is going to be closing when the Super Center opens this summer so they are treying to move as little stock as possible. One worker told me that as they sell out of something it won't be restocked until they move into the new store and they will sell everything else off at reduced prices so I am making a lot of trips out there I was hoping they would open by Easter or shortly after so that the plants would be over there and maybe a little better selection since they will have more room

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Patrick,

That would be a HUGE savings! I use alot of containers on my deck, some are huge. The question is do I have the patience to stuff all that soil into those little bags????

Pam NJ 6B

You fill all your pots first then you fill all the pots that you can scrounge around the neighborhood and then you add some to your new plantings. and then with whatever is left THEN you fill those little bages...or big garbage bags or little garbage bags or coffee cans, you get the idea LOL!

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Yes, it's just the leftover potting mix that I bag up...and I don't mess around with the little bags! I used to buy the large bags of MG potting mix, before my needs got to expensive too continue that way. So I have 8-10 large bags to work with. I may be a packrat, but there ARE times I'm glad I didn't throw something away. Pam, I have a visual of you bagging up soil in plastic grocery bags & bread bags!

Patrick
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place