Discussions

Is there a fee to pick up compost or wood chips at the dump? thanks

.... but cheap.  
 
I just picked up 12 5 gallon buckets of their compost for just over $3.00.  
 
First time using their stuff so not sure how good it is.  
 
The wood chips are equally cheap. Bring a good garden fork if you’re getting those.

The wood chips have been free all summer, although I'm not sure if they still are. Not at the dump, though, but at the Parks Complex on MacGregor. Last time I was by there about a monthor so ago they still have a good mountain. We've gotten them a few times this year.  
 
https://www.brandon.ca/public-notices-details?var=5919

Also, FYI - I've heard the compost from the dump is very full of weed seeds. Lots of people I know throw their "weeds with seeds" in there instead of their home compost vs. the garbage. Lots of plants we consider to be weeds produce very long-lasting seeds that will remain dormant until they're given a chance to grow.  
 
So if you're going to use it, especially if you're doing a new patch, I would suggest that you amend your soil but then water it well (to get the seeds to germinate), but then cover it with black plastic mulch and wait 2-3 months. That way, the seeds will start to grow but then die from lack of sunlight. Here's a good link for explaining the do's and don't of the black plastic stuff, except she's using it on existing weeds - for weed seeds you'll need to water it first. https://lovelygreens.com/using-black-plastic-kill-weeds/

...there is bits of plastic and glass but they are small and infrequent. There is also pebbles. I sift it and get fine compost to  
Add to soil and a course that makes a great mulch.

They guy there told me it cost $26 dollars to pick up compost. I questioned him but he repeated $26.  
Yeah I wondered about the quality of their compost. Thinking of starting my own.

Composting is fairly easy. We use a 3-bin system made of pallets we scrounged wired together with electrical wire we had kicking around, so it's basically free. We cut the pallets down to 1/2 size otherwise we found the full height ones were too tough to turn effectively. We currently fill one, let one rest a season, and remove finish compost from the third, and just rotate through them.  
 
Lots of info out there about how to do it, just make sure you're a good neighbour and cover it frequently with leaves (browns) and/or dirt (introduces good bacteria and helps break it down faster).