Did I screw up by accepting this dirt

Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, Centipede, Bahia, Paspalum, etc
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JaxBeachBermuda
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Did I screw up by accepting this dirt

Post by JaxBeachBermuda » July 19th, 2017, 8:28 pm

A buddy texts me and asks if I need any dirt and since my yard is extremely bumpy I said I did. He said to come to his house, 4 houses down, where I find a tractor dropping off a trailer of dirt from a construction site around the corner. The tractor driver said he had another load and I said I would take it, my buddies dirt looked good, but I was hesitant because it looked like rounded dirt and not jagged dirt that I've read about for leveling yards. When it got to my house it had a lot of concrete chunks and roots and other debris. I now have a mound of dirt in my front yard that I need to figure out if it's a good thing or a bad thing. Did I screw up? What kind of short or long term problems am I facing? I'm in FL with Bermuda.


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PW405
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Re: Did I screw up by accepting this dirt

Post by PW405 » July 20th, 2017, 12:34 am

From others I've spoke with who have done something similar, they end up having weeds badly after the dirt is worked in to their lawn & starts getting regular irrigation. Now... certainly isn't the end of the world. I may suggest to prepare your weed killing products/plan in advance for if/when they begin to sprout. I think you would need Celcius in order to apply in the hot summer weather. Just remember, most post-emergent weed controls aren't supposed to be applied if day time highs are 85° or more.

Good luck moving all that dirt!

JaxBeachBermuda
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Re: Did I screw up by accepting this dirt

Post by JaxBeachBermuda » July 20th, 2017, 9:11 am

Thank you. Weeds are definitely a concern but I do have Celsius and Prodiamine to battle them. I got a Logan Labs soil test done and have been following Andy's soil advice, I know this dirt is going to change the nature of my soil and I'll probably have to start over.

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1977212
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Re: Did I screw up by accepting this dirt

Post by 1977212 » July 20th, 2017, 9:36 am

Wouldn't worry about weeds if you put a pre m back down after leveling.

TimmyG
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Re: Did I screw up by accepting this dirt

Post by TimmyG » July 20th, 2017, 2:22 pm

Rounded dirt vs. jagged dirt? Say what now?


JaxBeachBermuda
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Re: Did I screw up by accepting this dirt

Post by JaxBeachBermuda » July 20th, 2017, 4:52 pm

Yeah, I had the same reaction when I read about it. Those little tiny grains of sand/dirt have a shape. That shape can either have rounded edges or jagged edges. It's recommended to use the type with jagged edges so the grains interlock and are less likely to wash away with heavy rain or down a slope.

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andy10917
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Re: Did I screw up by accepting this dirt

Post by andy10917 » July 20th, 2017, 7:27 pm

Everything will hinge upon whether you got topsoil or "dirt". Topsoil would be fabulous, fill dirt would be a disaster. Fill dirt (subsoil) is not what you want under any conditions.

JaxBeachBermuda
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Re: Did I screw up by accepting this dirt

Post by JaxBeachBermuda » July 20th, 2017, 8:57 pm

andy10917 wrote:
July 20th, 2017, 7:27 pm
Everything will hinge upon whether you got topsoil or "dirt". Topsoil would be fabulous, fill dirt would be a disaster. Fill dirt (subsoil) is not what you want under any conditions.
Any way to tell which one I have? Can I swing by the construction site (I haven't yet) and take a look? Color, feel, testing?

JaxBeachBermuda
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Re: Did I screw up by accepting this dirt

Post by JaxBeachBermuda » July 20th, 2017, 10:43 pm

Well, I might have a disaster on my hands. My buddy that also got the dirt thinks it's fill dirt. Thankfully I haven't spread it all around yet but I have spread some. How do I get rid of a pile of dirt from my lawn?

JaxBeachBermuda
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Re: Did I screw up by accepting this dirt

Post by JaxBeachBermuda » July 21st, 2017, 10:47 am

Alright quick update, I drove around the neighborhood this morning and the only construction I saw was a sidewalk going in by a school, they still had piles of dirt that look like mine. Any idea how deep they have to dig for sidewalks? Seems like it wouldn't be too deep, right?

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Re: Did I screw up by accepting this dirt

Post by Fronta1 » July 21st, 2017, 11:34 am

So, do this. Grab a handful of it and squeeze it. If it sticks together and is hard to pull apart, if it doesn't stick together at all and just falls apart. Good dirt should be somewhere in between. And you can always amend it if you want to.

Fronta1
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Re: Did I screw up by accepting this dirt

Post by Fronta1 » July 21st, 2017, 11:41 am

Also you can grate the big stuff out of it real easy just nail some 2x4s together and staple some chicken wire to it.

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