A note from BuildASoil

Over the last 13+ years, we've grown into a much better company — and a lot of that growth came directly from our critical reviews. Every 1, 2, or 3-star review on this page taught us something. New formulations, better packaging, improved shipping, clearer instructions, stronger customer support — almost all of it traces back to a customer who took the time to tell us what wasn't working.

If you haven't tried BuildASoil in a while — or you tried us early on and it didn't go great — we'd genuinely love another shot. We get better every year, and we have the receipts to prove it. See what's new at buildasoil.com →

Showing 5175 of 158 critical reviews

Ashley
☆☆☆☆VerifiedDec 5, 2023
This soil wasn't for me. I've tried plenty of different recipes when it comes to making your own soil and the plants were 100x happier. I found some big pieces in the bags, I'm not even sure what it is. It looks like some coal Santa dropped into Jeremy's stocking for being on the naughty list. Even more annoying than this is you can only get the Dominion blend online and the shipping charges are outrageous. Can we get the dominion blend shipped to your current grow stores and throw away all of the 3.0 soil?
on BuildASoil Potting Soil Recipe 3.0
Brandon R.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedNov 5, 2023
Unreliable and glitchy. Started out ok but then the meters started giving off random readings and even said the soil was at 35 for a week straight when I came in to find a plant completely wilted because the soil was bone dry. Can’t make adjustments/calibrations to the meters without having a math degree and understanding calculus to read the formula in the manual. No longer trust any of the meters to give an accurate reading.
on Ecowitt WH51 Soil Moisture Sensor
Reply from BuildASoil
So sorry you are having issues!! This is the first time out of thousands that we have heard of and we would be happy to help troubleshoot or replace.
Rowland H.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedNov 3, 2023
I dont feel like I should have to pay for shipping protection. Build a soil should back everything up-even shipping
on BuildASoil Shipping Protection
Mike K.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedNov 1, 2023
hardly any nutrients in this soil. I had to feed brand new clones with external nutrients right away to mitigate any further deficiency. It says this soil is strong enough for flower but that is not true. it's way too weak its not strong enough for brand new clones. waste of money.
on BuildASoil Light Recipe Soil
Noah D.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedOct 31, 2023
I love the 60. But the 20 you have to use it quick and open the bag as little as possible or it will turn to concrete and be almost unusable. Im out here chiseling pieces off on the block. The 60 is way more expensive but definitely worth it. The 20 I wouldn't buy again.
on BuildASoil Quillaja Saponaria Extract Powder 20
Reply from BuildASoil
Dang Bricks!! Sorry About that. New lower pricing on the 60 and the New Q20 is less likely to brick up!!! We are currently receiving and then bagging the new material. Tip: That Q20 will completely break down if you toss a chunk into water and wait awhile. Thanks and really hope you enjoy the new version direct from Chile.
Ryan J.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedOct 21, 2023
I have used the Q60 and love it, though it is quite expensive now. So when this came out I bought one, came as a nice powder like the Q60, so I purchased 2 more. The next two came as a solid rock in the bag. I have to constantly squeeze the bag to break the solid powder into smaller pieces to make it usable. Also gets quite sticky in the bag. I am still using it because I bought 3 bags, and I dont want my money to goto waste. Will not be buying this again.
on BuildASoil Quillaja Saponaria Extract Powder 20
Reply from BuildASoil
UPDATE!!! Newer batches are less hygroscopic and the new price is much better!!! (The New 60 is best price ever) We recently wend direct to Chile and are currently bagging the new material I think you'll be really impressed. Reach out to customer service and I'll be happy to offer a discount to help offset this trouble. Tip: If you leave a chunk of the Q20 in water for awhile it will completely breakdown into the water.
Keigan O.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedSep 27, 2023
It’s a waist of money, cannabis has to be over dried for it to work. Pretty much the cannabis has to be ruined for it to work. Even cannabis that been slow dried in an all dark room below 60degrees for a month still isn’t dry enough to work for the trim bag. I left a message regarding the trim bag and never received a call back. I called the day I received it. I’ve tried using the trim bag several times and it hardly works. This is the worst Investment ever, it’s pointless to get and is a complete waist of money. I love all of build a soil products. But this product should be taken off the market completely.
on TrimBag
Nate F.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedSep 21, 2023
I got the two gallon bag. It was super loosely packed and the bag was hardly full. Barely enough to do a super thin mulch layer in a 3x3 bed. First time being disappointed with a BAS product. Worth springing for the inoculated straw although those sometimes have other critters tagging along for the ride.
on Certified Organic Straw Mulch
Esmond
☆☆☆☆Sep 16, 2023
Driver couldn't find my address so I had to reorder items
on BubbleSnake Compost Tea Aerator by TeaLAB
Barry S.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedSep 14, 2023
Same thing as the growing organic shirt. Says it’s a 4xl but more like a 3xl but wash one time and now a 2xl.
on Rootwise - Biological Farmer 100% Organic Cotton T-Shirt
Barry S.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedSep 14, 2023
Ordered a 4xl. On the tag it says it’s a 4xl but had to stretch it to wear one time. After wash more like a 2xl. Expensive one time wear.
on Growing Organic - 100% Organic Cotton T-Shirt
Richard H.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedJul 12, 2023
Bad batch this time . Always has been on point . This time over moistureized , moldy . Looked nothing like in the past . Not even sure if I want this around my beautiful ladies .
on BuildAFlower Top Dress Kit
phil r.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedJul 4, 2023
I have had to reach out to bas several times because they forget to ship my order. I ordered this on the 20th and received it on the 16th after contracting them.
on BuildASoil Home Brew 6 Pack
phil r.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedJul 4, 2023
Showed up with icepack melted and none of the rover beetles survived. I ended up going with another company for insects and was blown away by the quality of the new company I used. I will no longer be ordering insects from bas.
on Beneficial Insect Combo Packs (Medium)
Tyler
☆☆☆☆Jun 17, 2023
Great Product. But something happened between shipping and receiving. The ferment was spoilt before I received. I've boughten this product serval times. But buildasoil will not even listen to my complaint or give me actual time of day. Lesson learned, I'm no longer ordering ferments online especially not from buildasoil. Sorry nothing personal it's just business.
on Sprouted Quinoa Ferment
Bryan k.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedJun 12, 2023
This product was advertised as being 3.0 because it has 3 compost. A bas youtube video explained this same fact. Now it has 2 compost but they have not acknowledged this to public and have not changed labels on bag or pic of product in site to make it accurate! Cmon guys this is a lawsuit waiting to happen😬 THIS PRODUCT IS 2.0 NOW!
on BuildASoil Potting Soil Recipe 3.0
Ryan A.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedJun 4, 2023
I told you guys to cancel this order, but you sent it to me anyways
on Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss
Chuck D.
☆☆☆☆May 21, 2023
28g quinoa, soak overnight, ready in one/two days max. Blend and add to 5G water. Much cheaper, no smell, bomb results. Not sure why this is even sold let alone the bad smells and bad packaging. Doubt this review will be up long, so take it and run with it! Same goes for alfalafa seeds and corn eventhough the sprout process takes longer.
on Sprouted Quinoa Ferment
Ron P.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedMay 21, 2023
I haven't made a final judgement on the product. It arrived late because it busted open in the mail. The second batch sent to me also busted open and I received a leaking bag full of ferment. I received a letter from the post master, and my whole post office reeked like porto john, my trunk of my car reeked, and where the bottle exists now reeked for days until I washed the bottle. All it takes is a little styrofoam seal and some glue. I'm not the first to have this problem.
on Sprouted Quinoa Ferment
William H.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedMay 4, 2023
I had all kinds of problems with your "dry" worm castings. When I contacted your team about it, they said just add water. I mean, come on man. I tried to use my discount code, couldn't get it to work. I again contacted your team and they were not willing to make it happen. It's a 10% discount. Come on man. I am disappointed with my purchase and will be happy to take my bussinnes elsewhere. Sincerely, William Hather
on #1 BuildASoil Worm Castings
cody h.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedMay 3, 2023
these did not work at all DESTROYED MY ROOTBALL ON EVERY PLANTER was so frustrated just trying to keep my root ball from crumbling apart instead of easily coming out payed a lot for my seed these stupid planters almost RUINED will never use again should take off the site
on Grassroots - Transplant-Inator
PATRICK H.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedApr 28, 2023
The mulch was fine when I got it, but I ordered it when your boss was bragging about shipping time. I needed it in the time it was supposed to ship not 10 days later. And that was my best case dealing with this company.
on Certified Organic Straw Mulch
Hans B.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedApr 26, 2023
I really like BuildASoil and what they do. I'm giving a 1 star because Zach Branson (Customer Service) was such a jerk. I payed for a Take N Bake soil kit. It took a few weeks but I received everything except a 2 OZ pack of Saponaria (20$). No problem. I already had some so I was fine. So I messaged customer service to simply inform them. I know what it's like to run a business. I would want to know that. So I just spent like 375$ on my first order and it's taken 2 weeks to get. Zach's response was to provide proof (photos of my order) to prove my claim. There is no claim Zach. I was just letting you know. Burnt out Zach ??
on BuildASoil Take 'N Bake - Artisan Soil Building Kit
Andrew F.
☆☆☆☆VerifiedApr 2, 2023
Use these bags for live mulch..Usually great but this last order was a bag of wet straw with little to no inoculation.
on Blue Oyster Mushroom Straw Log (Living Mulch)
Ole t.
☆☆☆☆Mar 7, 2023
Added this to poor draining soil and was left with straight mud, worse than what I started with: "A Parboiled Rice Hulls (PBH) disadvantage that cannot be overcome is their shape. PBH resemble the shape of a tiny canoe with a long slender pore shape. If a growing mix’s other components are poor quality, such as a peat with a lot of fines, these fines can fill the PBH pore space and actually hinder drainage and increase the water holding capacity of a mix. A growing mix is only as a good as its components. PBH cannot work independently of the other mix components. The highest quality PBH are no match for a mix composed of poor quality peat, bark fines and other materials that are commonly available. Quality raw materials at their earliest stages lay the foundation for growing success."
on Rice Hulls - Par Boiled