The title should read "bagged products" but I can't edit it.

In the last three years I've bought all manner of soil products... Topsoil, potting mix, garden soil, raised bed soil, compost, manure, etc. The remarkable and worst part is that they seem to be very similar much of the time. There is so much filler sand and ground up pallet they often appear to be the same, just in different bags. I've been meaning to write this for some time. Sunday I opened a bag of something branded as topsoil. It was mainly same and shredded wood with A LOT of gravel. Given past experience it was far from surprising. Anyway, the photo isn't great but I've seen beaches with fewer rocks and sand. It should be noted that the darker material underneath the more tannish brown bagged product is compost I made.

The hardware store got us too. We were looking for bags to fill holes. Purchased top soil and it turned out to be shredded wood.

I know, right! You have to pinch the bag and rub the stuff real good to see if it's really soil. If it doesn't feel like fine sand, move on. The other clue I use is weight, if it's not heavy it's not soil. The other option is poke a hole and get a good look, stores hate it but "you gotta do what you gotta do". It's YOUR money and if they're not going to be honest about what's in the bag then that's a cost of being in business. I find that big-box stores tend to be worse than independent nurseries. The independents are more concerned with customer satisfaction because it hits their bottom line harder. GO MOM AND POP!!!!

I hear you! Everything I've bought that isn't straight peat, pearlite vermiculite.. anything with a soil/compost label is just junk dirt. Sifted fill at best.

With bagged garden products, to a great degree, you get what you pay for.

Check the company, and some times, you can go online and see if there are bad reviews or comments on that companies product of c, d or m .

I thought that as well but even expensive products seem to be chocked full of ground up pallet wood and are still excessively sandy. Not to the degree of the bag I started the thread with, and nowhere near as bad gravel-wise.

Oh for peat's sake! All I ever get is PEAT! We are fortunate to get real top soil and humus with manure. But the rest of the stuff is all peat! I don't even buy "Potting Soil" any more. I have to mix up stuff into it to make it worth something. Why pay the inflated price? I bought so many bagged parts this year, I am thinking about buying it in bulk next year.

I was questioning this earlier in in the month asking the cashier at tractor n supply chain store. I was asking what the difference was with different bags he said they are all the same. I said ok well then I can buy the budget stuff by me he said don't cause it's all trash. I was wondering if he was trying to sell or speaking truth.

@scgibbs if it is peat material that you are buying there are better peat than others. I stick to organic when I can get it.

There is a big run on "Soil-less" mixtures. I get that. But when it is 90% peat not all plants can handle the moisture it holds.

I agree with what everything that's been said. If I'm buying top soil, I go by weight. If I find a product I like, I makes sure to put it in my plant journal. If it's s@#t, I write that down, too! If all the brands are unfamiliar when I go to buy, I buy just one and take it home and try it. I usually find what I want in the cheaper prices, and with the store brands. I know that sounds weird. I do like Ace Hardware brand. My Ace Hardware store is a small town business, so I like buying from them. The cheapest top soil at Wal Mart is also acceptable, and because I'm extending my annual bed by around 4 to 6', I will need a lot of it. I'll be mixing it with my compost.

I only use bagged topsoil if I'm filling in holes or a raised bed. I use potting soil when I'm planting in pots. I use compost or fine mulch to mix into planting beds to improve texture.

My favorite brands are Uni-gro, LGM, and E.B. Stone. For cacti I use Kellogg, it's a little coarse but good for big pots.

Miracle-Gro is usually to "peaty" for me.