Mark and I spent six hours moving about 3 yards of soil on Sunday. That’s a lot of dirt. How much? Let me put it this way. Google tells me there are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard, and a cubic foot of top soil weighs in the neighborhood of 75 – 100 pounds. Do the math and imagine how sore my back is today.
For the past ten years, it’s been Mark’s not-so-secret dream to topdress our lawn.
I would like to take a moment and point out that we’re not “lawn people,” nor are we heavy-duty “gardening-people” but we do like nature. And we like nature to be healthy and green. Besides, Mark has been complaining about the bumpyness of the lawn SO MUCH (whereas I don’t really care how level it is) that it was finally time to take action.
(Is topdressing a guy thing? Mark reported a countless number of men who actually slowed down in their cars to look longingly at – PRACTICALLY COVETING – our pile of dirt. What’s up with that?)
We placed an order with Greely Sand & Gravel. I have recommended them to everyone up and down our street who stopped to comment (“Wow, that sure is a BIG pile of dirt!”). I sure hope they Greely appreciates how much business we’ve probably brought them.
They fellow who dropped it off on Friday was really nice, so much so that we didn’t really even mind the 4″-deep tracks he left as he backed his truck onto our lawn.
The soil was delicious, well, as delicious as soil could be. I believe we bought their special topdressing soil. It’s an organic blend of screen peat, topsoil and mushroom compost with a pH of 6 to 7.3. It was dark and black and smelled earthy and wonderful.
Here is where I confess what noobs we are. We ordered too much. We had actually split the order with a neighbor. They took their share. We topdressed the front lawn. And the back lawn. And then added some to the front flowerbeds. And I filled up some flowerpots. And we did the side lawn. And a stretch of city property. And I did some of the back flowerbeds, piling it on THICK, as if it was mulch. And I asked the neighbors to take more. And I asked some other neighbors to take some. We filled up our back compost bin. And by the end of it we were pitching the stuff under trees, behind bushes, anywhere ANYWHERE, just to get the stuff off our lawn. And there is still one wheelbarrowfull in the garage for yet ANOTHER neighbor.
We have yet to determine whether we helped the grass or killed it.
I was so tired by the end of it I thought my arms were going to fall off.
Mark seeded it all with a happy mixture of grass and clover seed. And guess what? It’s raining. And although the weather forecast might be a little depressing for us – cool, cloudy, rainy – it’s looking pretty good for the grass. I just hope all of our work results in a thicker, healthier, less bumpier lawn, ’cause I’m not going to do this again anytime soon.
