How do I add nutrients to "fill soil"?

arian10daddy

Hi there community!

I'm in the process of setting up the backyard in my new house. A lot has gone into it so far.

I initially thought I would need a lot of fill soil to fill up the garden before even thinking of adding top soil and laying grass on the 12m x 3m area. I ordered 3 cu.m. "fill soil" from one of the nurseries and went to town with my backyard. Now I realise I didn't need that much fill soil under my top soil.

This brings me to my question. Is there a way to make the fill soil into a nutrient rich top soil/sandy loam? If so, what would I need to add in to it to make it good for laying grass over?

The fill soil seems to be fine particles, more gray than brown. Seems to hold into a good non-clayish lump when damn but very easy to dig a shovel into. The image attached shows the ground soil (brown, sticks to the bottom of the boots like crazy when wet) and the fill soil (grayish, on the left).

Would really love to hear about any way to utilize the fill soil instead of giving it away just to buy more top soil.

MitchellMc

You'll most likely need to add composted organic matter to it @arian10daddy. I would advise to mix it 50/50 with another ANL 1m³ NSW Organic Top Dressing - Bulk Bag Would that be too much mix? Alternatively, if you don't have much fill to convert, you might do so with Scotts Lawn Builder 25L Organic Lawn Soil Topdress & Underlay.

You should also find this step-by-step guide useful: How To Lay Turf.

Let me mention one of our experts @Adam_W to see if he could add to the conversation.

Mitchell

arian10daddy

Hi Mitchell,

Thanks for responding with great suggestions.

I wasn't able to access the first link you provided (probably because I'm based in Melbourne and I see NSW in the product name).

Regarding your suggestion of the top dress and underlay, I was hoping for something less expensive considering I would need at least 1 cu.m. of this stuff for the 1:1 or 1:2 blend (ratio of compost to fill soil). I would like to know your and other experience people's thoughts on maybe like https://www.bunnings.com.au/richgro-25l-all-purpose-organic-compost_p2961502 or https://www.bunnings.com.au/fine-farms-25l-blended-cow-manure_p2961628 to add organic content to the fill soil. I'm hoping a 1:2 blend would still keep the soil sandy enough for the grass turf to be laid over it.

Varun

MitchellMc

Hi Varun (@arian10daddy),

I apologise for that link not working for you. Here's another Mother Earth 1m3 Lawn Mix which you should find available in the Melbourne area. I believe the bulk product would be a higher quality mix than the Richgro 25L All Purpose Organic Compost. The Richgro compost, being a budget product, has a significant amount of bark in it. It will also be more cost-effective to order the bulk mix.

You could use the Fine Farms 25L Blended Cow Manure. However, if you were to mix it 1:1 with fill, you might end up burning the grass as it will have a very high manure content. I recently used it 1:1 in a raised garden bed and found the plants struggled until it aged.

Mitchell