Oh, good, I'm 23 miles ne of Knoxville; we'll almost be next-door neighbors.
Cheapest compost: free from tree trimmers, all you have to do is ask.
Also horse stables often have piles (snicker) of the stuff, weathering outside.
In Knoxville: the best price we've found is from Shamrock Organics just west of downtown; they sell by the scoop.
Monterey Mushrooms (there's a local number in the Knox phone book) sells various mixes of mulch after the mushrooms have grown in it. Theirs is steamed and dried after use, so weed seeds that may have survived the livestock initial users are killed; they do deliver, as well.
And we are SO much warmer, even now, than Wisconsin.
Ann

well when you get settled in, I'm over here in Dandridge which is about 43 miles east of Knoxville off of I-40. I agree that you can ask the chippers for their truckload of chips. The pile they guys left me only took two years to break down into black soil. I've also used the mushroom soil as well, but not sure as to the price now.

Any Lowes or Home Depot or even Wally world (Walmart) has broken bags of mulch and soils for half price, and I made a wonderful discovery after buying 20 bags of 3 cu. ft. mulch from Lowes and spreading it in the paths of my garden boxes (I have nine raised beds),in one year ONE YEAR, the mulch has broken down into black soil that is just begging to be put into the boxes and replaced with more mulch!

Don't despair about the clay soil. the plants LOVE this stuff. Yes it seems like you can make pots out of it, but when you dig it, it tenders up nicely after a bit. I did raised beds because that's what I love doing. I did them when I had real soil to dig up in Nashville. The clay soil just challanged me to make my beds the way I wanted to.

Preparation will be everything. don't panic, there are wonderful gardeners out here that will help and advise and share with. And if all else fails, this is what extension agents are paid for. To help with problems. And you can always call UT. Agriculture and ask for help as well. That's what they're for too..........

when you get to "town" e-mail me and I'll say howdy to you if you'd like.

madgardener (marilyn) up on the ridge, back in Fairy Holler, overlooking English Mountain in Dandridge, TN. zone 7, Sunset zone 36

Marilyn , Do you go eat at the Thai Kitchen in Newport ? I have not been there in at least ten years . I was glad that it was there as Newport needed it . Do you have an Acer palmatum 'Fairy Hair' to go in Fairy Holler ? Beaver Creek off 75 N is a cool place to visit and spend some money . Their arboretum is great . I want that Sciadopitys . Mike , Brenda , and Duane are all cool . I encourage anyone to check them out , especially Honeybunny , that is a cool name . Yeah for Hamamelis !

Thanks for the help, and Marilyn, I will give you a holler when we get to town.
Susan

I haven't eaten at the Thai Kitchen. I tend to go into Morristown, and then to a few places I know is good in Knoxville (there are soooo many!) Living in Dandridge has made me more apt to search out good Mexican and Chinese/Oriental restaurants that are "safe". (my friend ate at a Japanese restaurant yesterday and apparently they ALL got food poisoning from a "pink sauce".....sheesh...

No, I don't have "Fairy Hair". When my husband and I return to Grand Haven Michigan this spring to start with the settling up of property and stuff from his mom's estate, there is a beautiful Acer that her nephew planted in her teeny yard. It's coming home with me.....

I've visited Sunlight Gardens a few times. Marty isn't the warmest person, but maybe it's just my personality and aggrivating habit of identifying perennials by leaves.....(I had asked to work there when she lost her female worker, but apparently despite that her greenhouse manager wanted me, it wasn't possible.I assured her my truck was dependable and the drive wasn't far, but she either didn't believe me or I was more than what she wanted)

I am finally going to take the plunge and go visit Oaks Daylilies this spring. That may be my financial undoing! LOL. And I am determined to visit Iris City in Primm Springs this year as well......

I am about to embark on the removal of as much Vinca major as I possibly can before I go utterly insane. I will keep ONE plant clump and that will be in a large pot that I will keep trimmed to control. period. I've been trying to control this since bringing it from Nashville in 1992. It only went insane when we bought this house in 1995, but rich, loose, black worm soil was EXACTLY what it wanted. And now it roots in the red clay, so it's just laughing at me while it tries to make Fairy Holler into Vinca Ridge........ I have quite a dauting task ahead of me, but if I do a few clumps, I'll have almost all of it out by 2015.................(I measured another tendril the other day as I was trying to trace it down and it was over 20 foot long) thanks for hollering back. I look forward to hearing from you once you settle in.

madgardener up on the ridge, back in Fairy Holler, overlooking English Mountain on the north side of I-40 in Dandridge. zone 7, Sunset zone 36

Hi, I was looking for compost and found this loop. I hope to get in my best garden ever this year as I am not pregnant or recovering from having one :) for the first time in a while. I live in Hancock Co. and homeschool. I am glad to cybermeet you! Thanks for the info! I appreciate it very much!
Kim