Transporting Soil, Compost and Mulch to Your Garden

How much do you actually need

Transporting soil, compost and mulch almost always goes wrong on weight, not on space in the vehicle. A gardener works out the area of a flower bed, buys the material and finds out at the collection point that the quantity ordered weighs more than they imagined. An hour spent with a calculator before you buy saves a second trip and an overloaded vehicle.

Work out the volume from the area and the layer thickness

Multiply the area of the bed by the thickness of the layer you want to spread. Ten square metres and five centimetres of compost makes half a cubic metre. For mulch, you allow for a thicker layer, because it's meant to prevent drying out and weeds. Add a tenth to the result as a reserve for topping up.

Weight is a different matter

A cubic metre of moist soil weighs over a tonne. The payload of vans differs by model, usually 1 100 to 1 450 kg, so one cubic metre of topsoil is the ceiling for one trip. Potting composts and peat mixes are much lighter, and mulching bark is light but takes up a lot of space. We have an overview of the vehicles in our fleet.

Bagged or loose

Bagged goods belong in a box van. You load the bags, line them up and, above all, carry them out again. Loose soil has to be shovelled out, and that's a job for a long afternoon. If you're buying a larger quantity loose, have it delivered by a tipper truck and use the van for the rest of your garden shopping.

Buy when it's dry

Material stored outside soaks up water and gains weight. Bags that have been lying in the rain for a week are noticeably heavier than those from a dry warehouse. If you're planning to buy up to the maximum payload, keep an eye on the weather and on where the seller stores the goods.

Know the difference between soil, compost and mulch

Each of these materials has a different function and is bought in a different quantity. Topsoil is used for filling and levelling the ground, potting compost goes into plantings and window boxes, and garden compost is worked into the soil as nourishment. Mulching bark or wood chips are spread on the surface at the very end. If you get this clear in advance, you won't be buying expensive potting compost where ordinary soil would do.

Ask how the goods are packed

The packaging determines how demanding the loading will be. You can only move bulk bags with the help of a trolley, and you won't get them into the garden on your own. Smaller bags can be carried by hand, but there are many more of them and both loading and unloading take longer.

Loading, unloading and cleaning up

Protect the load area in advance

Spilt soil is harder to clean off the load floor than rubble. Line the floor with an old tarpaulin or thicker plastic sheeting and pull it up the sides. When you then pull out the tarpaulin in the garden along with its contents, the clean-up is done in no time.

Spread the weight along the whole length

Stack the bags in a low layer across the whole floor, not in one pile. Heavy material belongs closer to the bulkhead behind the cab. Stacked columns topple over when you brake, and if a bag is split, the contents spill over the whole area.

Repack split bags straight away

Check any damaged bag while you're still at the shop. A crack you can't see will tear open completely while you're driving. Bring a few extra sturdy bags with you and transfer a torn bag's contents straight away, before you load it.

Tighten the straps a second time

Loose material settles and the strap slackens. Strap the load to the anchor points in the floor, stop after the first few hundred metres and tighten the straps. It's thirty seconds' work and you can be sure the pile won't shift at the first sharper bend.

Consider how much you can manage in a day

Loading and unloading a tonne of material is physically demanding. Split the work into two parts or get some help. Carry the bags close to your body, with a straight back and without twisting at the waist; otherwise you'll feel your day in the garden for weeks.

In the garden and when returning the vehicle

Prepare the place where you'll put it

Before you set off, think about where you'll put the material and how far it is from the vehicle. A wheelbarrow, a plank over the kerb and someone to hold the gate save a lot of walking. Unloading bags straight to where they'll be used is always quicker than carrying them twice.

Sweep up the rest straight away

Dried soil sticks firmly to the floor. Sweep the cargo area while you're still in the garden, while the material is loose. A brush and dustpan fit in the cab, and returning the vehicle is then a matter of a few minutes.

Dates and return

Garden work depends on the weather, so book your date carefully. You can cancel a booking free of charge no later than 72 hours before the rental starts. The vehicle is picked up and returned with a full tank at the same location, and mileage within the Czech Republic is unlimited, so a trip to a garden centre outside Prague doesn't complicate anything. You'll find other people's experiences in the reviews.