I'm really lousy with the zone thingie but if you lived closer to Augusta I'd suggest Bricko farms (www.bricko.com); they make compostost, kricket krap, nursery mix, etc.. We usually drive over and get a pickup truck load but they also deliver if you buy a large quantity. Excellent stuff.

Gail

If you're in Dekalb COunty, they allow you to come and get free loads of pretty decent compost and mulch from the sanitation site on Buford Hwy. I use it in all my flowerbeds adn have had good experiences with it.

Sorry I shoulda said I live in Carroll county just outside the villa rica city limits.

Try googling or looking up the number for your County Extension Service. They tend to have to have good leads on where to find compost. I worked at a landfill (in the office) and know that many county or public landfills have compost piles that they let you take from for cheap or free

Ok you have a small yard.What are you trying to grow/ Grass or gardens both vegies and flowers.

If it is just the lawn remember that you now live in a different climate and that the Grasses are different.

If for a garden/ you can have bags of Manure delivered if over 20 bags. or pick up yourself from Home depot, wal-mart or Lowes. The surrounding Nurseriers will also deliver in bulk.

If for your lawn. find out what grasses you have. Centipede will allow itself to be cut to just one inch and servive. If bermuda it should be cut no more then 2 1/2 inches every one to two weeks during the dry periods.

When we had our yard landscaped, we had two huge dump trucks bring in top soil before the sod was laid. It was about $350. It smelled bad, so I know it was good. The sod (bermuda) has done very well.

Nursuries/garden centers and big box stores (home depot or Lowes) sell it by bulk.

Also, look in the Georgia Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin ads online. See link below.

Or go to Lowes and get the 3 cu. ft. bags of pine bark mini-nuggets for $2.98 a bag (sku # 87940). Mix it in with your dirt. It works great! They also sell an excellent Organic Soil Conditioner by Garden Plus (sku # 97675) made of milled pine bark 2 cu. ft. bag for 2.84. It is better than the Nature's Helper because they don't put all of that sand in it. Sand is volume and weight and cheap, but of no value to the soil. But it breaks down more quickly than the mini-nuggets do. The mini-nuggets keep their volume longer and allow air to get to your plant roots.

Do a soil test to see if you need to adjust the pH of the soil for the plants you grow. Garden centers/nursuries or the U of GA county extension (1-800-AskUGA1)service will test your samples for less than $10.

A good source of free or cheap mulch is from tree removal services. Most of them have to pay to dump their wood chips at a landfill. So if they are local to you they will bring it to you for a few dollars to cover their gasoline expense. I have had some give it to me free, but if it is a hot day I'll have a pack of cold Cokes in the fridge for them.

I have them dump the pile at the side of the yard and spread what I could not use in a mound about 2 feet high. It will grow wild mushrooms/toadstools and such fungus type stuff that breaks it down rather quickly. If you turn it so it gets air it speeds things up. Otherwise it takes a couple of years or so to make good black compost. But don't put these wood chips next to your house. Keep them at least a foot away to minimize the risk of termites.

Don't dig or turn the dirt within a foot of your house, either. There is a toxic chemical barrier in the dirt to keep the termites away from the house.

John

Here is a link that might be useful: GA Farmers & Consumers Market Bulletin ads