I use the Dekalb COunty free stuff that they give away at several sites. It is a little course, but I find that it breaks down nicely as a top dressing. By the next season, it is fine and crumbly and full of worms. Best of all, it's free.

I've checked and it is made from yard waste only- no sewage sludge, etc.

I was wondering about the free stuff.I don't really need it as a mulch, my main concern was adding nutrients to the soil. Does anyone know if it is fully composted or will I have to worry about introducing new weeds and such into my garden?

The Dekalb stuff has NEVER given me weeds, and although it is full of wood shreddings, it has lots of really nice nitrogen. I used it several years in a row for digging in and top dressing my ornamental beds. I do not use it on my vegetables, I use only home compost for that.

GGG

I've never had problems with weeds from it. I use it to top-dress existing beds and to create new beds (for which I need LOTS of dirt and am unwilling to pay for it.)

I'm just starting to use my home compost, so the Dekalb stuff is all I've used til now. I made my veggie beds out of it this year because I couldn't make enough home compost fast enough. I've also used it for potting soil for outdoor containers (although I find it a bit heavy for lack of vermiculite, etc.) Truly, I can't imagine paying for bags of dirt at a garden center for most of my ordinary uses.

A word of warning if you do buy compost to be delivered: a lot of places just back a truck up to the county pile, load it up, and deliver it to you for a big fee. I know this because I have talked to the workers while we were both loading our trucks. If you do buy from somewhere, make sure they're not just charging you for the same old free stuff.