Cedar Grove

I just wan to add, I find it comical that the top review From Hallie H. is probably due to the fact that she has a business partnership with Cedar Grove, and left an identical review on another composting business’ Unilocal page. It’s easy to Google and find out this info guys. Biased reviews based on business agreements still does not remove the plastic from soil.

Buyer beware! Wish I had read other reviews first but who knew you needed to read reviews on compost?! Like others I was horrified to discover that the bulk compost I purchased from Cedar Grove contained a significant amount of plastic chunks, shreds, and other garbage mixed into it. I contacted Cedar Grove out of concern that this material that is marketed as «organic» has so much garbage in it — surely it must have been a bad batch? Nope — the spokesperson who contacted me said this contamination is allowed per the standards set by the WA legislature and US Composting Council (see
). So Cedar Grove is in compliance with a bad standard — but as a self-​proclaimed «environmental solutions company», it is not honestly advertising its product or itself. A back of the envelope calculation using an average weight for compost puts this allowable amount of garbage at ~7 lbs of garbage per yard of compost; when you consider how light plastic is, that’s a lot of garbage to spread all over your yard and garden.

I used some top soil from Cedar Grove to seed some bare patches in my lawn. I also used some cheaper filler dirt in a bag from another company found at Lowes to seed some of the patches at the same time. The seed sewn in the Cedar Grove top soil performed much worse than the cheaper top soil from the other company. The Cedar Grove top soil was fairly chunky. I had to break down the chunks as best I could. I did not see where I had any foreign objects in the soil though. However, I won’t be using this stuff again and it’s over priced in my opinion.

2015 update to my review in 2013.
To this day we still have GLASS SHARDS and every kind of PLASTIC material throughout our garden area from the soil we bought from Cedar Grove 2 years ago. It disgusts me that I paid so much for this soil that contains chopped up NON-​biodegradable garbage that remains in my yard forever or until I sit and pick out every piece by hand.
IT’S NOT ORGANIC so buyer beware !!!

Cedar Grove falsely advertises their product and provides terrible customer service. Their «topsoils» have extremely bad drainage and are full of clumps of clay which is the worst possible soil to plant in. Cedar grove advertises their topsoils as being good for planting new landscapes, but the poor drainage will kill your plants.
I bought a bulk order of 3 way topsoil (which is described on the website as sandy loam but definitely is not). I mixed some into the front yard and then left some in a pile with a plant (Taxus, yew) in it over the winter. The plant slowly lost it’s color then died. I did my research. The grey color of the soil, the clumps and the fact that the plant lost it’s green color and had poorly developed soggy roots are classic signs of clay soil. I started with sandy soil and thought I was adding sandy loam, when in fact I was adding clay. The clay made matters worse since it created hard pan when mixed with the sand. It turns out there is no industry standard for calling something «loam», so they just slap that label on whatever they have available to sell.
Then I started reading about Cedar Grove online and saw that other people had reviewed the bad quality of their products as well, many saying the same thing about drainage and that they found garbage and glass in the compost. I really wish I had read the online reviews before I spent $ 450 on a pile of sludge that now I can’t even use in my garden. I actually started putting small amounts of it in the yard waste bin every week just to get rid of it.
I called Cedar Grove to tell them that I was unhappy with my purchase. They took a message and told me I had to wait to hear back from a supervisor. I never got a call back. I had to call 4 times before I actually got through to a supervisor. When I did finally get someone on the phone, he was rude and argumentative. He insisted on coming to my house to see the soil, so I let him come see it. When he was at my house, he was a total jerk. In fact, he said the only thing he could do was to have Cedar Grove test the soil I had in my yard and then charge me another $ 300 if the results came back in their favor. I couldn’t believe they were trying to take another $ 300 of my money. It doesn’t even cost $ 300 to get soil tested. They were still trying to make a profit off of me. It was the worst customer service I have ever experienced. They clearly do not value their customers or stand behind their product. Don’t ever buy from Cedar Grove.

Cedar Grove produces high quality compost and goes out of their way to support local community initiatives and zero-​waste efforts. Staff and delivery drivers are friendly and professional!

Cedar Grove compost is not compost. Their may be some compost mixed in but it is mulch. It has tons of wood fiber looks like black bark. Smells like bark. Its still hot! because its has not finished breaking down. Compost should be cool or slightly warm. No distinguishable wood fibers. and NO plastic pieces.
I was contacted by them offering to find a solution. The District manger Bob was great and understanding. Told me the product I got was not finished. That I can go to bellevue and get new finished product. The two bellevue managers were not helpful. They showed me the same crap that I had already purchased. Only thing they would say is they beg to differ and will have to disagree on what my assessment of what compost should be. Also that their product has been tested to be the best. Best at what being mixed of mulch with compost?
Well in the end they offered me a yard of bagged product for the 3 bulk I had purchased. They said that the bagged is screened to smaller particles. Thus less wood bulk. Why not do that for all your product and remove the wood fiber that needs to be further composted?
Stop your false advertisement and sell your product for what it is Bark mulch with compost.
Definitely wont be using them again.

Wish I had read other reviews first… have used this product in the past and it was 5 star then. But like others my three yards has chunks of hard plastics and shredded plastic bags throughout. My beds look like s– — t… This used to be an absolutely PRIMO product! Called to see if something can be worked out… stay tuned… don’t hold your breath!!! Disappointed in Maple Valley! How do I rate zero stars???
Heres is a great update. Called their quality control person and they too were appalled. They made better by providing a yard of quality product! Thank you Davefor facilitating this.

Awesome compost equals great veggies all summer long. Great service from Jeff as well. I have used the S. Seattle site for a couple of years with no complaints and no BS… Unless I asked for it (they call it booster blend)
I found that 2 parts veggie 1 part compost and 1 part booster works great!
Very affordable when you pick up yourself and take advantage of seasonal promotions.

Jeff at the Seattle locating was incredible. He was helpful in every way he could be for us. He recommended the mix based on our application use.
Of course we got our mix and our garden bed looks great! Didn’t expect to have great customer service to boot!

Buyer beware!
I ordered online, high delivery fee ($ 85), I gave a 3 day mid week delivery window, they went with Wed late afternoon. At 30 mins late I called the dispatcher and was told they are a little late, but will be there soon.
At an hour and a half I called again and was told they were running a little behind, no clue when he might make it out, but it should be today… it was 3 hours late from scheduled delivery time till I finally got it, and I live 15 mins from one of their locations.
I wont be ordering from them again any time soon.

Beware of their Vegetable Garden Mix. I filled a large planter box with it and it turned to cement after a few rains. It is not only useless, but damaging to garden soil. I ended up having to remove it all and replace it with compost. What an expensive mistake!

Love this place! Not only can I take my yard waste there and dump it inexpensively (and responsibly), I can buy amazing mulch, organic junk for my garden, etc.