Well, there you go! I'd wager that his soil may be better than the stuff you'll buy. I was very disappointed with the stuff that I bought for my raised bed ... and I paid a small fortune for it when you add in the transportation he charged me.
It may very well be cheaper and more productive to get the free stuff and put your money into some quality amendments like a block of sphagnum moss, vermeculite, some coconut coir, etc. And a good soil test before you plant or do too much amending.
What he has is primarily known as “fill dirt” but it’s free, so after chatting with folks this morning at church, what I think I’m going to do is fill the pick up at his place and then add a few bags of the topsoil. But first I’m going to add a bunch of manure to “dirt”
I didn’t stop at the supply place on my way home this morning because I wasn’t in the truck and my car was starting to act funky again and I just wanted it off the road. I’m not going to be able to do anything about it now until mid week because of the forecast.
Just when I finally get the bug to “do something” I get all kinds of road blocks thrown in my face. GRRRRRRR