Soil labs, gardens, compost, nurseries, and more around Rapid City & Black Hills, South Dakota.
Mulch and materials Commercial
A bulk landscape material supplier with a plant shop and nursery. Its bulk materials page lists cedar mulch and topsoil, along with rock and gravel, for pickup or delivery. It does not list compost.
Community garden Shared
City-run garden open to all Rapid City residents: 20 in-ground beds (6 by 13.5 feet), 8 raised beds (4 by 10 feet) and 10 raised beds (2 by 10 feet). $20 per year. Call for information about getting a plot. A 2022 news report said the garden had a waiting list, so ask about availability.
Other Free
The local conservation district for western Pennington County, at the USDA Service Center. Its site lists trees, shrubs and supplies for planting (its 2027 tree sale takes orders until April 1, 2027), weed barrier fabric, no-till drills to rent for seeding, and visits to help with conservation on your land. It holds an annual conference on soil and water conservation, and its board meets on the first Thursday of each month at 1 pm. Email penningtoncd@sdconservation.net.
Other Free
Volunteers trained through the SDSU Extension Master Gardener program. They answer garden questions at the Black Hills Farmers Market on Saturdays in summer, normally 8:30 am to noon depending on weather, and at some garden centers early in the season. Their Garden Hotline is (605) 394-6814: leave a message and a gardening expert replies. They also hold a Plant Share each May and help people become Master Gardeners. Their website has a contact form; no email address is listed.
Other Shared
A garden club that meets on the fourth Thursday of each month at the Canyon Lake Activity Center (June to August meetings are held in its gardens). Dues are $15 for one person or $25 for a household. One visitor may attend a meeting free. Its website lists a Butterfly and Bee Gardens, the Ralph Coe Arboretum and Memory Lane, and an Education Garden. Email rapidcitygardenclub@gmail.com; mail to PO Box 1725, Rapid City, SD 57709.
Compost site Commercial
Sold at the Rapid City Solid Waste Division landfill by weight, with no minimum: 3/8 inch compost $20 per ton, 3/4 inch compost $15 per ton, wood chips $10 per ton. Cash, credit card or local check. IMPORTANT, from the city (advisory dated 3/2/26): testing in 2024 found persistent herbicides in the compost, and the city advises against using the compost or the wood chips where broadleaf plants will grow, such as garden vegetables, flowers, ornamentals and trees. It describes the compost as fine for grass, lawns and turf. The city page suggests a home test: grow peas or beans in pots of 1 part compost to 3 parts potting mix, next to pots of potting mix alone. The compost page gives no street address; this is the landfill address from the division's home page.
Extension office Free
The Pennington County office of South Dakota State University Extension. Email pennington.county@sdstate.edu. Office hours are not listed on its page, so call before you go.
Demonstration garden Free
An educational herb garden kept by Pennington County Master Gardener volunteers, in the Bill Noordermeer Formal Gardens in Sioux Park: native herbs on the north side and culinary herbs on the south side. The plants are labeled, a brochure is in the garden through the growing season, and it is wheelchair accessible. Volunteers work there May to October. The map pin marks the park, not the garden itself.
Soil testing Commercial
SDSU no longer does commercial soil testing. Its Extension page (updated April 11, 2025) lists labs that test by mail. SDSU says private labs are not necessarily recommended or endorsed, but many will give university recommendations when asked. The page does not say which labs take home-garden samples, so ask the lab. South Dakota: AgLab Express, Nisland, (605) 257-7637; Next Level Ag, Alpena, (605) 849-5227, nextlevelag.com. Nebraska: Ward Laboratories, Kearney, (308) 234-2418, wardlab.com; Midwest Laboratories, Omaha, (402) 334-7770, midwestlabs.com; Regen Ag Lab, Pleasanton, (308) 627-0065, regenaglab.com. Minnesota: Agvise Laboratories, Benson, (320) 843-4109, agvise.com; Minnesota Valley Testing Laboratories, New Ulm, (800) 782-3557, mvtl.com; University of Minnesota Soil Testing Lab, St. Paul, (612) 625-3101, soiltest.cfans.umn.edu.
Other Shared
A South Dakota organization based in Pierre that publishes soil health resources for farmers and ranchers, many of them useful to gardeners too. Its website has the South Dakota Healthy Soils Handbook, cover crop posters, a soil health assessment scorecard, grazing worksheets and tools, and information on a virtual fence collar rental program. It also runs Growing Connections, a mobile app that links producers with mentors and technical experts, and a Soil Health Improvement and Planning Project (a 319 program) that offers financial and technical help in certain South Dakota watersheds. Memberships and donations are listed on its site. Email sdsoilhealth@gmail.com.
Nursery Commercial
A nursery and garden center that says it looks for trees and shrubs adapted to the High Plains, including native plants and local selections, and grows its annuals in its own greenhouses. For soil, its garden supplies page lists bulk and bagged topsoil, Soil Pep (composted bark fines), a garden mix of one third each topsoil, manure and Soil Pep, bagged cow and chicken manure, and Western red cedar, Western bark and cocoa bean mulch. As with any manure or compost, ask where it came from.
Other Free
USDA Service Centers are where farmers, ranchers and landowners can get help from USDA agencies, including the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which gives technical help with soil health practices. Federal directories list this address for NRCS and USDA Rural Development, and OpenStreetMap marks the Pennington Conservation District here too. Suites and which agencies are at this address differ between sources, so call ahead to confirm who can help you.