LOL, looks like it came off a scrap barge! It didn't have a detailed ingredient list?

That looks like what I see that is called "topsoil" quite often and is one of the reasons why I urge people to forget about spending money on something called "topsoil". I have never seen a "detailed ingredient list" on any bag of "topsoil".

Yes, that material could be used for mulch, over newspaper. The primary purpose of this stuff would be to hold the newspaper in place while it (the paper) does the job of mulch, and hide the paper from view.

kimmq is kimmsr

Hardly anyone lists ingredients on bagged products. I always recommend finding a torn bag (or making a discrete hole, accidentally of course) to examine the contents of ANY bagged compost or soil to see what you're getting. I've bought stuff labeled 'topsoil' that had more compost than the stuff next to it labeled 'compost'. Sometimes I think those guys will bag up whatever they have when they need to ship some out.

Thanks for the comments everyone. I spread some in my garden yesterday and it looked great, but later found that a local mulch yard has triple ground hardwood bark mulch on sale for $12/cubic yard- so I'm going to go with that!

tox, not sure where you got that info, but many companies list the ingredients.

There is nothing that requires the producer to list "ingredients" of things such as soil, "topsoil", "garden soil", etc., on the bag, but there are rules about "fertilizers" and potting "soils". Companies that make such things would not list what is in the product unless something, a law, forced them to.

kimmq is kimmsr

"Companies that make such things would not list what is in the product unless something, a law, forced them to."

Nonsense!! Many bagged soils and amendment providers do list what's in their products. Kelloggs, Dr. Earth, SunGro, Fafards, ProMIx, even Miracle Gro soils have an ingredients list. It's much more a matter of purchasing goods from a known and reputable supplier who does list ingredients than buying the cheap, generic stuff that has no list of ingredients.

While those products you listed, gardengal, may labeled "soil" they are not. They are potting mixes, soilless mixes. I have never seen a bag of "topsoil" or "soil" with a list of what is in it, the ingredients. Those laws do not regulate what goes into a potting mix, just that what is there must be listed.

Many of us question whether some of the suppliers of the products you listed are reputable.

kimmq is kimmsr

Before you write these silly responses, maybe you should actually LOOK at the products and read what it says on them.......how's that for a novel idea!! Many of those suppliers carry products far beyond just what is called 'potting soil'. Just because you have never seen it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I'm not sure how laws got involved in the discussion - their presence or lack have no bearing on on the issue.

"Many of us question"...........since when do you speak for the masses? That is a seriously disturbing thought!

kimmq, decided to go check.... first bag of "TOPSOIL" I turned over said, Peat, Decomposed Bark, Humus and Sand... If that's not an ingredient list someone is "high"
FWIW, I was commenting on the statement:
"Hardly anyone lists ingredients on bagged products"
That is a false statement. (especially since it didn't even mention topsoil)

Folks, for what it"s worth, this bag of soil did not have the ingredients written on it...

"tox, not sure where you got that info, but many companies list the ingredients."

OK, I probably did overstate, I have looked at (and bought and used) a lot of bags over the years. I would say I've seen a lot of bags that did not have much of an ingredient list, but you're right, a lot of them do.

Even so, you can't always tell what the stuff inside really looks like from the label. "Processed forest products" for example can be anything from humus (compost) to shredded wood. So I always look regardless of the label.