Absolutely had a wonderful experience with service and it's fun to get lots of dirt loaded into your truck. We have now gone twice for our small veggie garden needs. Great price. Friendly people. read more

When I first emailed this company a few years ago, I had no idea that they only dealt in bulk. On my email, I stated the size of my raised bed and they responded that I will probably need 1/2 a cubic yard to cover it. So I made the schlep down to their location thinking that I would be getting 1/2 a cubic yard's worth. When I got there, I could see giant mounds of different types of mulch and compost and whatnot. Large trucks were coming and going being loaded by construction vehicles. And there I was in my tiny minivan. When I entered the main office, there were signs everywhere stating that the minimum order was one whole cubic yard. Uh oh. I only needed 1/2 a cubic yard. I whipped out my phone and reread the email I had received. No where did it explicitly say that they would sell me 1/2 a cubic yard. Then again, no where did it mention that the minimum order was one cubic yard either. I showed the nice lady in the office the email exchange and she immediately understood the confusion. She thought for a moment and then allowed me to purchase my 1/2 cubic yard. STAR NUMBER ONE! A year later, I absentmindedly came back thinking that I could buy another 1/2 cubic yard of mulch. It wasn't until I stepped into the main office and saw those Minimum-One-Cubic-Yard signs glaring at me that it dawned on me that the previous year had been an exception she had made for me. D'Oh! What am I a going to do? As we both stood there looking at each other, she again relented and allowed me to buy less than the minimum. STAR NUMBER TWO!! So I went out to the yard and started shoveling my 1/2 cubic yard of mulch into trash bags that I had brought. While I was doing this, one of the workers there came over and handed me one of his shovels which were bigger and deeper and more suited for the job. I'm sure he justed wanted me out of there ASAP, but it was a nice gesture nonetheless. STAR NUMBER THREE!!! On my third visit, on the following year, I decided to do it properly and brought a pickup truck. I bought the minimum one cubic yard and they promptly dumped it into my truck bed. When I went to cover the mound, however, I realized that the tarp I had just bought for the occasion did not have any rivets for me to tie it down with! Gahhhh! How will I transport this mulch home on the freeway? Lo and behold, one of the guys working there came over and weighed down my tarp with various tree stumps and promptly sent me on my way. STAR NUMBER FOUR!!!! Well fast forward to yesterday when I came back again for my annual mulch needs. One cubic yard was way too much. Even 1/2 a cubic yard was more than I needed. I decided to bite the bullet and pay the premium for the individual 1.5 cubic feet bags this time around. By now, I have a son and he's 2.5 years old. He loves playing with his construction toys so I thought I'd take a video of the life-size construction vehicles in action to show him when I got home. Unfortunately, they had already finished loading all of the trucks by then. So the owner (presumably) came out and directed one of his workers to SIMULATE PICKING UP A LOAD AND DUMPING IT INTO A WAITING TRUCK! Just so that I can video-record it! How awesome is that??? STAR NUMBER FIVE: THE BIGGEST STAR OF ALL!!!!! I'm sorry to read some of the negative reviews on this company. I can only tell you that my experience with them has been nothing less than stellar! I am obviously not their target customer, yet I have received nothing but the best service from them. 5 stars all the way! read more

Would have loved to love this company! Had 6 cu. yards of soil delivered to our home to fill large raised beds. I had an in-depth conversation about the requirements I would need to grow fruits and vegetables, with no native soil being utilized in the mix. I was assured that the mix they had would be perfect for that. Customer service was great and delivery was quick. (Hence the 1 star) Fast forward a few weeks and my seedling are not doing well. I can barely get anything to grow. I use a simple soil test and the results say the soil is waaayy to acidic. I get in touch with the owner and he promptly comes out to take a look and take samples to run tests on, assuring me they will do everything to fix the situation and I would get copies of the results. Fast forward again 3 months and we have had nothing but avoided phone calls and no proof of and actual soil test, and have dumped hundreds of dollars into trying to adjust the soil ourselves. I would absolutely not recommend this company unless you are looking for basic fill dirt! read more

I wrote my first review on this company on February 20, 2015. I gave it two stars. I wrote a second review following my experience with the president on July 13, 2015. I lowered the company to one star. I find myself now writing a third review about a year later. I increased my rating from 1 to 4 stars. Below is my experience. In early 2016, I received an unexpected telephone call from the company's owner. I had moved on after my earlier experiences and forgotten about this company. Apparently, they had not forgotten about me. The owner had been aware of my earlier issues, but had believed my situation had been resolved to my satisfaction. He learned otherwise when his company began updating their Internet presence and found my Yelp review. He asked to come take a look at my mulch so the company could correct my problems. I told him to forget it. I considered the matter resolved in that Aguinaga fulfilled its side (abeit belatedly) of the deal to refund my money (discussed in my July 13 review). He was respectfully persistent and continued to want to explore ways to "make things right" so we arranged to meet. The owner arrived at the meeting with his certified composting programs manager and his daughter (heads up the online business platform). It had been more than a year since my first issue with trash and I had removed about 99% of it by hand by the time of the meeting. Although there was no significant trash for them to observe, a visual inspection indicated to them that the mulch I had received was, for lack of better words, a "one off" from their typical product. Following our talk, Aguinaga agreed to remove the old mulch and replace it with new mulch. Given that I had picked most of the trash out of the mulch and because it was already breaking down into the existing soil, I did not want it removed. Therefore, it was agreed that they would provide new mulch to go on top of the existing. They handled all the product and installation at no cost to me. In addition, Aguinaga has been working on a coconut coir mix for gardens and want to test it out in my garden. It was agreed that come late summer/early fall Aguinaga would return and plant a garden test bed with their mix. Again, at no cost to me. Following the above, I thought I'd give Aguinaga another chance so I ordered 25 cubic yards of mulch. The certified composting manager came out on the delivery date to make sure everything arrived in good condition. It took four people about 8 hours to move that much mulch. Aguinaga provided free delivery, but otherwise, I paid the standard price for the mulch and moved it myself (with help, of course). I wish I could write that there was zero trash, but I can't. However, I can write that the amount of trash was very nominal. Although I consider any non-biodegradable trash problematic in an environment being maintained as organic, I think the cost of the mulch ($17 cubic foot) has to be weighed with the quality of the product. In this case, I am satisfied and only needed to remove about a handful of small plastic debris (almost 100% small bits of plastic bag that made it past filters). The process to remove trash and debris from the product was explained to me. It seems to be a very sophisticated process requiring a significant investment in equipment. Overall, I think it works and the product is very good. I will use it again. In addition to the much improved product (or perhaps the product had always been good and I just received a "one off" bad product), I am increasing the number of stars in my review because of the interaction I've recently had with the company's owner and employees. I had completely written this company off and even if the product improved, I still had no plans to ever buy from them again. But, after interacting with the owner/employees and seeing their resolve to make the situation right, I changed my mind. So, I have changed my rating. read more

I am a serious home gardener, and this is one of my favorite companies. The mulch, amendments, and soil are generally excellent. The cheapest ground cover, Forest Floor, is only okay. The organic matter, consistency, color is good, but there are some bits of trash (pieces of plastic, styrafoam, aluminum that got chopped into the composting). The problem is the top mulch decomposes, and leaves the trash on the surface. My favorite is GPS-1. It is basically free of trash. I use it primarily as a mulch, but it is really designed as an amendment. It is dark in color and the fine grade is very consistent. Also, it has some gypsum (calcium sulfate), which is excellent for my clay soils on the top of one of the hills in Irvine. Calcium acts to loosen heavy and compact clay soils, it takes some time, but between the gypsum and lots of organic matter, my soil is *beautiful*. The materials are very affordable, if you have your own truck. A cubic yard fills my truck bed for around $20, and a truck load of Kellogs GroMulch would cost hundreds of dollars. If you do not have a truck, the delivery charges is around $50 or more, and makes the mulch a lot more expense. This is a cash business place unless you set up an account. read more

I built two 16 X2 X1' garden boxes for vegetables. I was able to fill them both for $40 instead of $100 or so the same amount of garden soil would cost at the depot. I was in and out of the place in less than twenty minutes. I bought a yard of the vegetables mix. The soil looks, feels and smells right! I One yard filled up my 6' Ranger bed. read more

Aguinaga Green - Test of vegetable soil. - Nurseries & Gardening Near Me - Irvine, California

I own a tree business out of Costa Mesa California and I have been using aganaga services for more than 20 years love these guys and gals will never take my business anywhere else read more

If you're a serious gardener in the OC and you have a truck, then you absolutely must come here! I went here for the first time on 6/6/15 with a buddy just to check it out. When you walk into the office, they have bags of their products so you get an idea of what you're looking at/buying (you can even take some samples home - for free!) My friend and I were really lucky to walk in at the same time as the owner, Rodger Aguinaga. If you ever have the fortune to meet him like we did, let me say this: the only way to aptly describe him is that he knows a *stupid* crazy amount of knowledge of gardening, his products, and the local soil conditions. He was able to explain how why my friend and I had hard clay soil, even down to the local street my friend lived on. Long story short, Mr. Rodger was very attentive to all of our questions, and it felt like you were talking to a buddy of yours even though it was our first time meeting him. He was even kind enough to give us burlap covers since we didn't have a tarp, as well as two sifters so we could make a seed starting mix. Regarding the products - If you're looking for cheap compost, mulch, or planting soil, this is it! One cubic yard of their General Purpose Compost 1 (good for clay soil since it contains gypsum to break it up) is $18! Their Forest Floor mulch is $17 for cubic yard. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so imagine how much you'd be paying for the same amount, especially if it costs $6-10 per bag (and one bag is about 1.0-1.2 cubic feet). The only caveat is that they only sell by the cubic yard, but it's worth it if you need a lot of compost/mulch/soil mix. You can view their complete list of products on their website. Sometimes the description don't seem like enough, but if that's the case just call the center (not the 1-800 line) and someone should be able to help you decide what best suits your gardening needs. Anyway, like I said, I'd highly recommend coming here! Plus they have a cute small doggy getting customers too! read more

I had the worst customer service ever here. The owner is the worst person here. He talks down to you as if you are a baby. Don't go here if you want respect. read more

They have all kinds of mulch. But the best deals are those that are dropped into your pick up truck by the pound. Bagged ones are hefty and more expensive than Home Depot. But I like that they are all natural. read more

Went there this past Saturday and had a great experience. I arrived about 10, and just had to wait behind one person. I imagine first thing in the morning it might take longer, but I was in and out with a pick up truck full of bark pieces in less than 15 minutes. Upon arriving went into the trailer and the gal in there was very helpful showing the different samples of what they have. I debated between their brown mulch ($40/yard) and small deco bark pieces ($60/yard) and decided to go with the bark. She said the feedback on the mulch is it stays nice for about a year. Also they do accept credit card. I will definitely go there again whenever I have need a large amount of dirt or mulch. read more

Have used their compost, planter mix and recently forest floor mulch. Can not be happier. The mulch has a good color and consistency. Only found a few pieces of trash in 20 yards. read more

Recently purchased brown colored wood chips as floor covering for my front and backyard. I read on the website that the colored wood chips would be great for floor covering and walkways. It said on their website that it was dyed with vegetable based dye. While the mountain of wood chips laid on my driveway, I noticed that it left a bright brown stain on my driveway the same color as the wood chips. As I was spreading the wood chips throughout the front and backyard, I noticed that the bottom of my shoes were completely stained as well and resulted in my brown footprints throughout all of the cemented areas that I walked through. I called Aguinaga to see how I could clean the stain and was told there's a disclaimer on the receipt that I should have paid attention to. She sounded a little defensive like this question gets asked very often and so she was making it sound like they're not liable. I remind you, all I asked was what was the recommendation in getting rid of the stain that resulted from the wood chips and I was referred to the receipt. The receipt says to be warned to not use the wood chips close to sensitive plants. How does that help me with getting rid of the stain? Ridiculous. She ended up saying maybe use some dishwasher soap. I felt a bit belittled when she made it seem like it was common sense that the dye will activate and "oxidize" when it's not dry. I know it doesn't rain often in Southern California but there is often condensation. I didn't know that the dye wouldn't be completely dried/baked onto the wood chips. Now I will always have to be worried about walking on the wood chips if I needed to. I have a 1 year old that loves to run around and now I can't have her play in the front and backyard because the soles of her shoes would get stained and she would leave footprints when she runs out into the yard and then runs back into the cemented area. That's not to mention if she falls on the ground and get the stain on her clothes. I'm in big trouble. There should be a disclaimer on the website, not on the receipt after you've received the delivery. This is completely ridiculous! read more

As Chris G said of Aguinaga, I had a very similar experience and will never use this company again. I called last summer 2015 and spoke with the owner about the soil I had delivered directly by them, that cost me over $400. My vegetables died within a few weeks of planting. There was a lot of wood in the soil and I had huge yellow mushrooms growing but no veggies. I also had a lot of trash and some blue pellets. This was to be organic vegetable soil. I was given a long song and dance over the phone and assured that they stand behind their soil. Needless to say that is not true. I did a soil test at that time and it came back that the soil was so strong nothing could grow. I just did another test in January 2016 hoping my soil could be used this spring. It also came back very strong and cannot be used. I sent a letter and copies of my soil tests asking for them to reimburse me and have not had the courtesy of a reply. I would never recommend this company to anyone in the future. read more