Hollins Organic Products, Inc. — Local services in Towson

Update , about a week later:

Tyler Hollins called me after my initial review was posted. He and his father, the president of Hollins Organic Products, came out to see me and follow up on my concerns. I dug down past the level where I've been able to ameliorate the sand/clay compositon of what the "Leafgro mix" I ordered to show them what it was like.

Mr. Hollins (the elder) told me that they get their topsoil when developers strip all toilsoil from sites to be developed, and sometimes it's just all clay because that was the topsoil condition where they got it. The soil is not sterilized so may contain some seeds. Mine may as well have been seeded in some sort of agricultural setting - thicker with weeds than my yard, which is saying something, and with weeds that never grew here before this dirt came. Leafgro, he said, may be sterilized by the temperatures it reaches while composting (which I suspect is the case - I've never heard of this happening with leafgro alone), but that they don't sterilize the soil because it takes all nutrients out. Well. This wasn't AT ALL clear from the product description on the website, which currently reads:

"Our leafgro Soil is a special blend of our quality screened Top Soil and Leafgro to produce a high quality blend for planting and lawn use. It is our premium soil mix which provides all the organics you will need for your gardening needs."

... when, as another reviewer on Yelp pointed out, you do not want this in your garden if what happened to me is a possibility. For fill, sure. Not for growing. Maybe for a lawn if you don't care what you're mowing (you probably shouldn't) or if you spread invasive plants (you probably should).

To my mind, it is absolutely their responsibility to tell you both that the topsoil may be all clay, and to tell you that it may also be chock full of seeds.

The Hollinses offered to refund my payment, to update their website to make it less misleading, and to help me remove the old soil and replace it with something less problematic at the end of the growing season. I told them they didn't have to do all that, but they insisted, and I reiterated that clarity to future customers was my priority - gardeners have got to stick together, especially in an area rife with folks trying to make bay safe gardens full of native plants. Well, I got the check today, so I'm updating this, but the website remains unchanged. When it changes, I'll feel better - and update this again. I could really use the help getting soil in and out to fix this, and appreciate that offer, but honestly I feel weird about that on top of other stuff - or without the truth in advertising.

Original Review:

Worst decision I have ever made as a gardener: ordering soil for my raised beds from Hollins.

In the two years since, the incredible quantity of invasive weeds that have dominated my beds have struck our entire neighborhood with awe. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to undo the damage.

Additionally, my "leafgrow soil blend" turned out to be almost entirely clay and sand with no discernable sign of compost.

Do not do business with...

I purchased compost from two different places this past fall. I purchased all remaining compost from Chesapeake Compost Works (5 yds), as they stopped producing compost for the year to move to a new facility. It was enough to topdress my back yard. I then ordered 5 more yards (leafgro) from Hollins the following weekend, to topdress my front and side yards. The results between my back yard and front/side yards is like night and day. My back yard has zero weeds this spring. My front and side yards are literally covered in every type of winter weed found in Maryland. I've spent 20 hours pulling weeds, and I'm only about halfway through. The choice is yours, but thought I'd share...

I can't possibly express how fortunate we are to have Hollins in our area. I've purchased yards of their Pine Fines for decades and can't imagine putting any other mulch on my garden. When I've suggested it for neighbors, I believe they too love it. Not only is it very easy and relatively light to move, Pine Fines is also a soil enhancer, meaning it is better for the health and texture of the soil. I do believe that Hollins has other good mulches which I haven't used. Also, in the past I've ordered many yards of Leaf Grow compost when I was building my garden beds. In short, I can't recommend Hollins Organic Products...