Last Updated on January 3, 2024
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Read our updated post about Aldi garden soil here.
Aldi is one of my go-to stores for gardening supplies during the spring and summer months. Whether I want seed packets or live plants such as tomatoes, bell peppers, or flowers, or whether I want planters, raised beds, greenhouses, or solar lights, the discount grocery store rotates all kinds of garden supplies onto its shelves during this time of year.
One of my favorite larger items to pick up at Aldi when it happens to be in stock is garden soil. Aldi sells several different kinds of limited-edition bagged mixes in the spring. What you want to buy depends on where you plan to do your gardening. If you intended to garden with containers, pots, and planters, you’ll want to purchase potting mix, which is specially formulated for container gardening. If you plan to garden in the ground, or even in large raised beds, you can go with a cheaper garden soil mix that is intended to amend the existing topsoil.
Aldi sells both bagged potting mix and bagged garden soil in the spring. Today, I’m looking at Aldi garden soil.
Gardenline Garden Soil cost $3.49 for a one cubic foot bag — with a net weight of 18 pounds — at the time of publication. That’s a decent price for garden soil, considering that one cubic foot of Miracle-Gro garden soil cost about $6.50 at Walmart at the time of publication. You might be able to purchase other less popular brands of garden soil for around the same price as the Aldi soil. In my experience, Aldi private label products tend to be better than other store brands.
This is an Aldi Find, which means it’s only in stores for a short time. Aldi does not offer online ordering for its specials if they’re not in stock at your local store.
The back of the package, part one. (Click to enlarge.)
The package states this soil is ideal for flowers, roses, bulbs, herbs, vegetables, trees, and shrubs. It is natural and organic and claims to feed plants for up to four months. It also offers moisture retention and improves aeration and drainage.
The bag instructs to add a 2- to 3-inch layer of Gardenline Garden Soil to your landscape bed or garden. Work the Gardenline soil into the top 6 inches of native soil and level the garden area with a rake.
The back of the package, part two. (Click to enlarge.)
This soil is regionally formulated and may include:
- pine bark
- aged forest product and /or composted rice hulls
- Canadian sphagnum peat moss
- reed-sedge peat
- ground dolomitic limestone (pH adjuster)
- fertilizer
Guaranteed analysis is as follows:
- Total nitrogen: 0.10% (0.010% ammoniacal nitrogen, 0.030% other water soluble nitrogen, 0.060% water insoluble nitrogen
- Available phosphate: 0.06%
- Soluble potash: 0.10%
Like the Gardenline Potting Mix that Aldi sells, this Gardenline Garden Soil was made in the U.S. and packaged by Oldcastle Lawn & Garden Inc., a common producer of landscaping and lawn and garden products in major retailers such as Home Depot and Lowe’s. I recently purchased some Oldcastle planter wall blocks from Home Depot for a gardening project, which I will use Aldi garden soil with.
A look inside the bag.
So, is Aldi garden soil any good? I’d say yes. I’ve been gardening for years and use Gardenline Garden Soil whenever Aldi stocks it. It’s helped me grow bumper crops of tomatoes, bell peppers, herbs, and flowers for a fraction of the cost of name-brand bagged soils.
Gardeners on reddit forums tend to agree it’s good soil, especially because it’s produced by Oldcastle, a known brand. Some people speculate that the Gardenline soil may be cheaper because it potentially is packaged in lower-quality plastic bags that aren’t as sturdy. When I purchased my latest batch of garden soil at Aldi, I did spot several slightly ripped bags, so you may want to carefully select your bags.
Otherwise, this has been a good garden soil in my home gardening projects, and I’ll continue to use it.
The Verdict:
Gardenline Garden Soil is produced by Oldcastle Lawn & Garden, a common name in the landscaping and gardening supply industry. This soil has always worked well for me and costs less than name brands, so I like to buy it whenever Aldi carries it.
