Post #1620620

You seem to already know compost is the answer - if you have the space it does not take very long to get a good pile going and start seeing some results. But if you absolutely need soil now, check if there are any local community or industrial composing facilities nearby and call them to see if they offer fresh composed soil directly. For drainage, leaves and sticks are the free option. Also if it fits your space, you could consider swapping from hard pots to softer cloth pots which have great drainage and allow air to reach more of the roots. For mixing in uncomposted food, it's easier to balance acidity if you have a bulk compost setup, but if you're selective about what goes in, chucking a few low-acid veggies in the bottom of your bins probably won't hurt anything. Hell, some things may even prefer acidic soils. Just bury them deep or critters will come searching.