Where to Buy Compost and Join Workshops in Bristol
- Alex Montgomery
- Dec 16, 2025
- 3 min read
If you’re looking to grow healthier plants, boost your garden’s fertility, or simply learn how to compost food waste properly, Bristol is one of the best cities to start. With a thriving sustainability scene, dozens of community gardens, and local compost producers like Generation Soil, there are now more ways than ever to buy living compost and learn hands-on soil regeneration.
Why Local Compost Matters
Most commercial compost sold in garden centres is sterile, bagged, and often shipped long distances. While it may look clean, it’s missing something essential... It's life.
Living compost is different. It’s teeming with beneficial microorganisms, fungi, and organic matter that actively build soil structure, improve water retention, and feed plants naturally. When you buy local compost in Bristol, you’re supporting a circular food system that:
Keeps nutrients in the city.
Reduces emissions from transport.
Restores soil life and biodiversity.
Strengthens community growing projects.
At Generation Soil, every bucket of compost we sell began as Bristol food waste collected, fermented, and composted with wood shavings and biochar to become living soil again.
Where to Buy Compost in Bristol
1️⃣ Generation Soil
We produce microbe-rich, regenerative compost made from locally collected food scraps. Our compost isn’t just nutrient-dense, it’s alive.
🪱 Perfect for: gardens, allotments, houseplants, and food forests.
🚚 Delivery: available across Bristol and surrounding BS postcodes.
You can also pick up other regenerative products, such as biochar, soil art, and even crochet worms or sew-on Rebel Patches that support our composting hubs.
2️⃣ The Community Farm (Chew Magna)
An organic farm just outside the city, offering peat-free compost and volunteer opportunities. Buying from them supports local growers and soil regeneration.
3️⃣ Better Food Company
A well-known Bristol retailer that stocks a small selection of eco-friendly composts and soil improvers.
🛒 Ideal for quick, small-bag purchases if you’re shopping for groceries too.
4️⃣ Local Garden Centres
While many sell imported compost, some independent centres, like Riverside, Elmwood Nursery, and Brackenwood Plant & Garden Centre, are beginning to stock locally made or peat-free options. Always check for “peat-free” and “organic” on the label.
Join a Composting Workshop in Bristol
Buying compost is a start, but learning how to make your own is even better. Bristol’s regenerative movement offers plenty of workshops that teach practical, hands-on skills for creating and caring for living soil.
1️⃣ Generation Soil Workshops
Our Composting & Soil Health Workshops are designed for absolute beginners and curious gardeners alike.
You’ll learn:
🌱 How to compost at home (bokashi, wormeries, and traditional bins).
🧫 The science of microbes, biochar, and nutrient cycling.
🌾 How to use compost to improve soil health and grow nutrient-rich food.
📍 Held at our Bristol Food Forest Market Garden at Roots Allotments Leigh Woods Meadows site and our Bedminster-based composting hub, these sessions combine theory with real-world practice.
2️⃣ Bristol Food Network & Grow Wilder
Both organisations host gardening, composting, and permaculture sessions that complement what we do at Generation Soil. They’re ideal for anyone wanting to dive deeper into sustainable growing and soil ecology.
3️⃣ Compost Clinic (by Generation Soil)
Need personal advice? Our Compost Clinic offers one-to-one guidance on soil health assessments, troubleshooting compost systems, and selecting the best soil amendments for your space.
Book a session through our Compost Clinic page to get tailored recommendations.
Why Choose Living Compost Over Store-Bought Bags?
Store-Bought Compost | Living Compost |
Sterilised, lifeless medium | Teeming with microbes and fungi |
Often peat-based and imported | Made locally from Bristol food waste |
Short-term fertiliser effect | Long-term soil regeneration |
Plastic packaging | Reusable buckets and circular delivery |
When you buy from Generation Soil, you’re not just buying compost, you’re investing in Bristol’s living ground.
Learn, Grow, and Regenerate
Joining our workshops and buying locally made compost are two of the simplest ways to make a tangible impact. Together, they form the foundation of a regenerative city food system, one that turns food waste into healthy soil, nourishes community gardens, and helps people reconnect with the earth.
Whether you’re a home gardener, an educator, or part of a community group, you can help grow the next generation of soil stewards right here in Bristol.
How to Get Involved
Buy Living Compost: Shop online
Book a Workshop: Learn composting and soil regeneration skills.
Become a Member: Sign up for the Bristol Living Compost Project.
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