Fuck haha that's crazy. My dad would just buy a roll of sod and replace what needed to be done maybe I should just try that for my few spots then it'd be level
I just buy the cheapest top soil I can and some cheap grass seed. I mix the two in a wheel barrow then spread that mix over the areas needing to be patched (usually dog pee spots). Grows great and costs me about 60 bucks to do all the spots and usually improve some area that was thin.
That’s going to be a lot of topsoils that aren’t specifically advertised as “screened”. You can buy a small section of 1/4” wire mesh and some wood to make your own screen for less than $15.
It's not even just the cheap stuff. I bought a few bags of Miracle Gro topsoil figuring that would be better than the generic. It was still like 50% wood chips, with tons of shredded plastic.
Shredded leaves. People and contractors bag up what they rake, which often includes plastic garbage. I stopped using free county mulch for this reason. 10 bottle caps and a syringe per cubic foot.
I have no idea! It's infuriating though, most of it looks like mulch or soil bags that got shredded. I've seen plastic grocery bags and hard plastic/pvc too. I know that a lot of the organic matter comes from composted wood chips (hence why there's so much wood in it; they didn't let it fully compost before bagging it), so I imagine they just have giant wood chippers and dump truckloads of stuff in at the same time.
I had the opposite experience with Menards soil. Very nice, dark soil that spread well. I’ve bought “premium” topsoil from a local nursery before that was filled with clay lumps and wood chips 🤷♂️
Sir, cheap grass seed?! This is r/lawncare where monostands of elite cultivars are held up to godlike status. If you are thrown cheap seed, then maybe head over to r/landscaping or r/nolawn. :/
I use in ground potting soil from a local yard. Weed free…unlike my topsoil. I mix and add water and sit it out in the sun for a few days and chia pet the sludge into the bare spots.
Oh man!
I was really excited to have discovered n bought a different brand of similar lawn soil just yesterday.
Dealing with brown spots and was planning to spread seed and then this soil on top of that.
So, bad idea?
Any recommendations for a good alternative to spread over some new seed?
This. I had heard how bad bagged topsoil was but I thought everyone was being dramatic and used it anyway. When it rains all the wood makes its way to the top and collects in various piles around the yard. I’ve been bagging wood chips for weeks. Never again.
the only way i will use this is with a rolling peat moss spreader. filters all the bullshit out. but yeah it's more than half actual junk. ive regularly found actual pieces of trash in it multiple times.
It's crap...loaded with chunks of stick, plastic, mulch.
Look for Kellogg Topper. Much cleaner bagged soil. I get it at HD...cheaper than Scotts trash as well..
Edit: With a larger yard, prepare for a larger cost to maintain and care for properly. There are a lot better options that anything from Scotts. If you have a SiteOne store near you, pay them a visit and they will help with better recco's and products.
Finally someone that understands! Bought my first home a few years ago, I don’t know what the prior owner did but there is a section of my “lawn” that’s more like picking shells on a beach walk. Interestingly I talked with a friend who owns a landscaping company in the area, and he said he had never heard of “top soil” with shells.
Is there any benefits that you know of?
Also, some people get on a "calcium kick". They read something somewhere once, didn't quite understand it, and start dumping large quantities of egg shells, bone, shells, etc into their yard.
Odd.
Second this, I just leveled/ over seeded a 300sq ft area on my lawn with this and it was very chunky and inconsistent — a couple of the bags were straight up 1/3 mulch which negated the leveling effects.
Most of these products in general are bagged regionally or locally, so it’s kind of a crapshoot. It doesn’t make much sense to ship a bunch of dirt and sticks halfway across the country.
Sometimes they will list the regions it’s bagged in, sometimes not. There are also state laws. In some cases it’s illegal to ship soil products due to invasive species. The low end stuff is especially a problem.
Where I live, Walmart's locally sourced Top Soil is fantastic quality.
Dark, rich soil, out of 50 bags maybe 5 were about "average", but still significantly better than what other brands put out or that I see others use on the internet.
I ended up buying 100 bags since it was of good quality in that lot and you never know when it will become terrible again.
Huge amounts of tree bark from Alabama and Mississippi forest product operations are barged 1000 plus river miles to Chicago area everyday. These operations use it to make the topsoil and potting soils you are buying at big box stores. Source/ my job as logistics manager for barge line with forest product interests.
I just use it for patch seeding on small areas. Like dog urin spots, where I may have had a disease previously, etc. It has worked well for me, but I wouldn’t use it on a large scale, and once my compost is ready to utilize, I may no longer use it at all
I use it and like it. I haven’t had the mulch or rocks everyone is talking about. Maybe the plant that produces for my area has cleaner product, as the production plants are regional. I’ve definitely had issues with their top soil though.
Lots of hate for this stuff but I find it works bloody great for top dressing and patch repair. The cheaper options tend to resemble mulch while this has some actual soil in it.
Tbh, I'm surprised at the negative reaction here. I used this stuff for all sorts of patch repair and even larger areas such as a spot where I put a temporary fireplace and killed all the lawn underneath. It's worked great for me! Recently used it in an area near my fence line that has super hard ground and no vegetation and within 2 weeks I had grass for days.
Agreed. The described junk is out there, but for years I have found this Scott’s product to be clean and very effective. Three different lawns in three different areas, always happy with this as a spot seeding medium.
I do landscaping, and deliver in bulk.
The best thing is called “lawn dressing” or “hydroseed blend”. It’s ultra fine screened sand, soil, and fish compost.
It’s $125/yard here in Canada, but it’s the best possible way to fix or make a new lawn.
This is good to know, I have a section of our side yard that's maybe 5x15 (and 85% healthy grass) that I need to level out and fill in w/grass and wondered if this would work ok. I think i'm going to try it.
Find a local soil yard. Even though most of their business is bulk by the cubic yard, many will sell in smaller bags. It might be a little more expensive than a bagged mix like this at a big box, but it will be much better.
I have no way of proving this, but I used this once to top dress my St. Augustine and I think it was littered with Bermuda seeds.
Got a massive Bermuda invasion in the months to follow which is still poking out in pouches despite mowing high, hoping the St. Augustine just chokes it out one of these days because I like the uniformity, even though I kinda wish I had Bermuda growing anyhow.
I've got the same Augustine/bermuda dilemma. I end up just literally tearing the bermuda out a handful at a time at the battling edges, or around patches of Augustine. Its slow going... but the Augustine starts to win doing that. I just can't POSSIBLY do that for my whole yard (size).
I always use quality compost. If you can find a landscaping yard around you that has compost certified by the US Composting Council you'll be much better off. I don't have a huge lawn but I always spread a yard of compost each year when I overseed. The lawn loves it and the stuff I buy is only $42 for a yard. Much cheaper and better than any bagged stuff I've found.
I used this (probably 30 bags) all over my lawn to grown new grass over several large spots in my lawn. There are wood chips all over my lawn. I wont use this again.
I've used it a few times for repairs. I put it over the top of topsoil before seeding. Works well, and the organic material I've found in the bag wasn't as large as some say. Must be luck of the draw I suppose.
I've quickly learned to avoid almost everything Scotts and Pennington. You're paying for the brand and distribution, not the product. Find a local source (SiteOne, or local gardening spot) and you'll be much happier with the investment.
I have used it. And am not very happy with it. I feel it not doing anything. Also what is good topsoil to use in the north east. Upstate ny and what is good seeds for new grass.
I used it and it worked really well, but we had a hole that I put it in that had a bunch of dead grass from the drought and it filled in much faster than an empty hole with no fertilizer.
I've wondered about using a spreader like that to 'filter' it. Then just empty into my mulched beds lol
I have a lot of high and low spots and figure a spreader like that MIGHT help even those out.
Bought it last year to dress some of my trouble spots and it was garbage. Lots of huge chunks of sticks and bark etc. this year I just used stuff straight from my compost pile which was totally unsifted and it was several magnitudes of order better.
I did try that once, and didn't think it's worth the cost. The grass came up fine, but no better than when I use Scott's topsoil instead (which is cheaper). It always comes up great when I mix that in, and I'm not even fertilizing it.
Yea, no.. I bought cheap topsoil from Lowe’s for my garden bed..
Three bags @ 60 lbs s bag.. cost me 7 bucks for all three.. was a buy one get one deal..
so six total bags…thought it was a good deal…NOT!
I might as well have bought bags of dusty wood chips..
I now top dress my yard with screened soil from a landscape nursery.. it’s 25 $ a cubic yard, but I don’t have to pick out rocks, sticks, wood chips, plastic and nails..
I just used about 15 bags of this mixed with 5 bags of sand to regrade a section of my yard. Most of the bags were good quality with very minimal sticks/mulch. There were a couple bags that seemed to have more crap in them. Overall though, I’m happy with it. The regrade worked out well and the grass is already sprouting and looks consistent (I spread Rapid Grass about 2 weeks ago).
Find a farm or landscaping supply and have a yard of topsoil/compost delivered. Some places will even mix sand in. Usually isn't super expensive and WAY better than the bagged stuff from a home center.
I used to spend a lot of money on buying it, it’s way overpriced and not that great but better than the $2 bags. Best solutions is screened topsoil from a local supply/nursery. Share with your neighbors.
Its largely composted forestry product according to scotts last time I asked them via email.
I hear many people complain about it containing sticks/garbage etc.
personally I must luck out or maybe geographically the soil is sourced differently.
I buy it annually for over-seed/top dress and have always had supperior or same results when compared to other store brand top soils.
You're unlikely to find any actual soil bagged up at home improvement stores. They are all filled with various debris, and won't become soil for 2-3 years.
Options:
1. Get actual soil from a landscaping provider
2. Use a 1/4" screen to sift the bagged stuff, and add some compost. After sifting you'll end up with about 30% of the content in the bag.
3. Dig up local soil around you (if you have it) and sift it. Add compost, sand (if needed), and as a bonus some vermiculite and perlite.
4. Check local nurseries; They might sell bagged soil that's actually soil.
Yes i used it to fill and level larger areas but its more of an ease of use than anything else. I know it’s full of “crap” but that’s where compost on top helps. Everyone may say otherwise but for my clay ass backyard compost and this Scott’s stuff has made life easier. When I have time I’ll truck in some good quality compost/sand/topsoil mix but no way I’m getting through that much in a weekend myself without risking rain.
I had a bad experience with it. I have heavy clay soil and when I went to dig up the areas (year later for a sewer issue) where I used this, there was obvious sand that was nowhere else in the yard. I understood what they mean by sand making clay soil into concrete. That was the heaviest, hardest soil I ever had to shovel.
I recently got 4 trees cut down with the stumps grinded. I raked the chips (best I could) and put 1-2 bags of this on each spot and seeded. I have plenty of grass growing in each spot and I water once to twice a day. If the spots were bigger I’d have called a local place but this worked perfectly fine for what I needed.
yeah its ok. it is "manufactured soil", so you will find some wood chips in it.
I use scotts "top soil" for planting the grass seed in, and then lightly spread the scotts "Lawn Soil" on top as a sort of mulch to hold in the moisture.
Its the best Home Depot will have. but it is not like organic loam you get from Farmer Joes place.
all of those scotts "water smart" products have stuff in there to hold water in the case of insufficient watering. as long as the area is properly watered, conventional dirt & seed works better
This is confusing- first the discussion about the product which is mediocre and plenty of alternatives, but I’ve used a bit in a pinch. Ordering a few yards of topsoil is usually cheaper than just a few bags of this
Second your comment really suggests you want to weed and feed your lawn. What size lawn?
These are awful. Tons of non plant material. Higher end nurseries will have better bags options if it’s a small project. Anything requiring 3 yards or more I would just get delivered in bulk from a reputable supplier of turf grade top dressing. Just be careful, lot of sleazy wholesalers out there that will sell borderline fill or barely screened soil when you ask. It needs to be heavily screened if you’re putting it on your yard and will likely cost more than you expect. I would make sure you are present for the delivery before they drop it.
It works, but honestly some refine topsoil, seed and starter fertilizer works better. I only use this stuff when I have to cover bare spots on a hill because the sticks in it prevents seed wash away. Had sprouts within 9 days though when I used it.
Buy cheap top soil usually $2- ish and sod $5 a roll
Don’t spend hundreds like I did on better seed and other bs
Did that last year and this year I bought sod and wallah everything is fine
You should put lawn seed and fertilizer once a month to maximize your sod and grass
I've used it and it's a good product. Works better than regular bagged soil for some situations not as good in others. It holds water better than most other bagged soil. For small patch filling this is my go to.
I use this for patches when needed. Holds moisture. The seed seems to like it. Worked way better than bagged top soil, but at 3 times the cost. You gotta weigh your options ⚖️
We just used this stuff a few weeks ago…really not worth the price in my opinion. Results were no better than when I used regular topsoil. Lesson learned!
I got it this year. Wasn't too bad this this. Before I saw a lot of wood hips but this year it was good and my seeding was successful. So far, summer may tell another tale
I'm going to be in the minority here and say this is actually a nice product. I really like it for filling in big holes or patching. Soil is ultimately local and what's made up in Wisconsin is at a decent facility and is well screened. I've never had an ounce of plastic or glass in mine, and pretty minimal wood chips. Plus, if you get a bad back, you can technically put it back in a trash can and return it to Home Depot.
The claim for growing grass 50% thicker seems ambitious, but 50% faster does seem accurate IME. With that aid, I'm aiming more for an organic lawn and cost effective options, so I generally use Scott's manure & humus mixture and then their starter fertilizer with weed protector. A few more steps, but better results. Of course Lesco's starter fertilizer is the best product of that kind, with mesotrione.
I have used about 40 bags of the Scotts lawn soil this year. There have been pieces of plastic, bark and a couple rocks here and there, but less of that garbage than other topsoils I’ve used.
When dry, which apparently doesn’t happen often, it’s super easy to top dress with. I’ve liked using it, and my lawn is doing better, but I bought because it was on sale.
50% not soil (rubber, sticks, some rocks, etc).
I’ve used it many times, it does work. But it also causes hideous bumps and uneven spots in the grass. Not totally unfixable mind you, but annoying. Quick and easy to buy, that’s the biggest pro. It’s expensive compared to ordering top soil from a local yard, but that will probably give you way too much soil, also.
Jersey here, we got this at lowes on sale and honestly had no issues. No glass no trash just soil. Mixed my seeds in the wheel barrow and laid it on the ground. Watered 10 minutes or so twice a day and seeds were sprouting within days instead of the weeks it took at the last house using the cheap stuff.
This year, I bought some nice grass seed from United Seed in Nebraska, a yard of topsoil from a local place, and 6 yards of mushroom compost. The top soil I used to fill in low spots (will need to do more in the future), the seed I used to overseed the whole yard, and then I put the mushroom compost over that, across about 7000 square feet or so. Grass has never been so green, definitely standing out from neighbors.
Don't use that crap from Scotts or Pennington. You can do better by buying smart and buying local, and getting in a little exercise while you are at it.
I like it. The small chunks of wood/mulch break down over time and provides nutrients. Good for moisture retention too. Lots of people don’t like it specifically because of the ground up wood pieces
Bought it to revive a big dead part of my grass. Didn’t seem to work so far… 2 weeks in
https://preview.redd.it/ptok4skzcu3d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8bb2e593ef3f4036d9f3d84c90985ac24451d874
I've used this in the past, and it has a lot of mulch in it. I would go with a mix of topsoil, manure and peat moss, but if you want to keep it simple, I've used Scott's top soil fertilized with revive to grow grass in some bare spots and it worked really well.
Black Kow composted cow manure is my go to. It’s not too expensive and gives good results. Certainly better than bagged top soil, which really is good for nothing other than filling holes in a driveway.
I use it and love it up in Canada. Haven’t had any problems with mulch/rocks/plastic etc that has been mentioned. Works great for patching and top dressing!
Home depot and lowes both sell compost top soil mixed with manure. Still has some small wood chips in it but it's way better than scotts, that bag is mostly not dirt.
We have a local Home Base store (used to be Sutherlands) that has bays of bulk top soil, sand, and gravel, The have a small tractor with a front end loader on it (can't remember if it's a quarter or half a yard), and they will load it in your pickup bed or on your trailer for you. Much cheaper than buying it by the bag.
We did, just a few bags. It was mostly small bark pieces and other stuff that didn't compress and stay put. l ended up putting topsoil over it to hold it down and have something to anchor the grass seed.
Cheap too soil, your choice of seed, peatmoss to cover. And keep moist. Water 3 times a day for a couple of minutes. Just enough to keep it moist. Or as much as you reasonably can. Simple
If you have a cool season grass, you're going to have a hard time germinating and growing new seed with summer coming up. I'd wait to do this in the fall. If you have warm season grass, you don't really need this. Fertilizer and watering alone will cause the grass to spread and fill in.
Aside from glass and plastic, this stuff does works and I have used it. It’s really the fertilizer that feeds and the mulch that retains the moisture to help it grow. You can do better with a bag of topsoil and starter fertilizer than this stuff.
it's among the most efficient ways to fill your yard up with plastic, glass, and wood chips on the market
Fuck haha that's crazy. My dad would just buy a roll of sod and replace what needed to be done maybe I should just try that for my few spots then it'd be level
I just buy the cheapest top soil I can and some cheap grass seed. I mix the two in a wheel barrow then spread that mix over the areas needing to be patched (usually dog pee spots). Grows great and costs me about 60 bucks to do all the spots and usually improve some area that was thin.
I made the mistake of buying the cheap “top soil” at Menards. Was barely more than wood chips. I’ll never cheap out again lol
That’s going to be a lot of topsoils that aren’t specifically advertised as “screened”. You can buy a small section of 1/4” wire mesh and some wood to make your own screen for less than $15.
yea let me tell you i just did that and it was a ball buster with "screened" topsoil....didnt know topsoil came with glass, nails, and pebbles.
It's call cheap as dirt for a reason. You can literally get a half yard+ of screened top soil for $20. Why waste your time?
It's not even just the cheap stuff. I bought a few bags of Miracle Gro topsoil figuring that would be better than the generic. It was still like 50% wood chips, with tons of shredded plastic.
Yep. Forestry industry scraps are really cheap. A lot of cheap bag "topsoil" is mostly shredded waste from lumber mills and whatnot.
You could buy “topsoil” directly from the lumber mill I lived near years ago.
Where does the shredded plastic come from?
Shredded leaves. People and contractors bag up what they rake, which often includes plastic garbage. I stopped using free county mulch for this reason. 10 bottle caps and a syringe per cubic foot.
I have no idea! It's infuriating though, most of it looks like mulch or soil bags that got shredded. I've seen plastic grocery bags and hard plastic/pvc too. I know that a lot of the organic matter comes from composted wood chips (hence why there's so much wood in it; they didn't let it fully compost before bagging it), so I imagine they just have giant wood chippers and dump truckloads of stuff in at the same time.
Geeze no wonder why cancer rates are through the roof
I had the opposite experience with Menards soil. Very nice, dark soil that spread well. I’ve bought “premium” topsoil from a local nursery before that was filled with clay lumps and wood chips 🤷♂️
It's like $2 for .5 cu ft though. It's fine for a lot of uses, but not patching grass. Filling holes or backfilling your foundation it's just fine.
Right. I was using it to patch grass…didn’t work so well haha
Same. If I need a decent amount I go get a yard of soil dumped into my pickup bed.
I can’t do the cheapest topsoil anymore. It was basically soggy wood chips the last couple times
Sir, cheap grass seed?! This is r/lawncare where monostands of elite cultivars are held up to godlike status. If you are thrown cheap seed, then maybe head over to r/landscaping or r/nolawn. :/
I have brought shame to my family.
I use in ground potting soil from a local yard. Weed free…unlike my topsoil. I mix and add water and sit it out in the sun for a few days and chia pet the sludge into the bare spots.
Your lawn will look like a patchwork of whatever random sod grasses you used, if that doesn't bother you then it's a good option
Only this year. It typically evens out the following spring
Get the $3 bag of compost/manure dude
This is the answer
Your local hardware store should have mushroom compost. My sprinkler guy recommended and it’s great. No wood chips and other bs
Doesn’t it breakdown?
What do you mean?
Everything eventually breaks down.
So cheap also. Bit of labour and your done.
Oh man! I was really excited to have discovered n bought a different brand of similar lawn soil just yesterday. Dealing with brown spots and was planning to spread seed and then this soil on top of that. So, bad idea? Any recommendations for a good alternative to spread over some new seed?
It is Kellogg Topper Organic Plus. But I’m guessing they are all the same.
This. I had heard how bad bagged topsoil was but I thought everyone was being dramatic and used it anyway. When it rains all the wood makes its way to the top and collects in various piles around the yard. I’ve been bagging wood chips for weeks. Never again.
I bought three bags of that shit a couple years ago, every one of them had glass in it.
And weeds
You forgot to add weeds as well. Most of their products also contain weeds…
This is absolutely my experience with this stuff. There was so much plastic trash and large wood chips.
The amount of plastic waste in all of these kinds of products is ridiculous.
Good for patching driveways too.
the only way i will use this is with a rolling peat moss spreader. filters all the bullshit out. but yeah it's more than half actual junk. ive regularly found actual pieces of trash in it multiple times.
I know this is true, but this stuff makes my yard go so fucking thick it’s crazy
Source? I’ve used this stuff for bare spots and it works really well.
It's crap...loaded with chunks of stick, plastic, mulch. Look for Kellogg Topper. Much cleaner bagged soil. I get it at HD...cheaper than Scotts trash as well.. Edit: With a larger yard, prepare for a larger cost to maintain and care for properly. There are a lot better options that anything from Scotts. If you have a SiteOne store near you, pay them a visit and they will help with better recco's and products.
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Finally someone that understands! Bought my first home a few years ago, I don’t know what the prior owner did but there is a section of my “lawn” that’s more like picking shells on a beach walk. Interestingly I talked with a friend who owns a landscaping company in the area, and he said he had never heard of “top soil” with shells. Is there any benefits that you know of?
I am also from Maine and wonder if it’s related to some of the seashell compost that are sold in hardware and plant/garden stores.
I’m pretty sure some places take soil from the bottom of water bodies. I’d bet that played a role but who knows
Also, some people get on a "calcium kick". They read something somewhere once, didn't quite understand it, and start dumping large quantities of egg shells, bone, shells, etc into their yard. Odd.
Yup, I tried it once and had a bunch of crap in it
Bag of weed seeds, and other crap for sure!
Better off going to your nearest farmers co-op
Second this, I just leveled/ over seeded a 300sq ft area on my lawn with this and it was very chunky and inconsistent — a couple of the bags were straight up 1/3 mulch which negated the leveling effects.
Some of the bags have tons of wood in them, some don’t. Very hit or miss
Most of these products in general are bagged regionally or locally, so it’s kind of a crapshoot. It doesn’t make much sense to ship a bunch of dirt and sticks halfway across the country.
Now THIS makes sense. Because some of the complaints I see definitely don't match my experience (haven't used THIS product, but others on here)
Sometimes they will list the regions it’s bagged in, sometimes not. There are also state laws. In some cases it’s illegal to ship soil products due to invasive species. The low end stuff is especially a problem.
Where I live, Walmart's locally sourced Top Soil is fantastic quality. Dark, rich soil, out of 50 bags maybe 5 were about "average", but still significantly better than what other brands put out or that I see others use on the internet. I ended up buying 100 bags since it was of good quality in that lot and you never know when it will become terrible again.
Huge amounts of tree bark from Alabama and Mississippi forest product operations are barged 1000 plus river miles to Chicago area everyday. These operations use it to make the topsoil and potting soils you are buying at big box stores. Source/ my job as logistics manager for barge line with forest product interests.
Process waste maybe but you aren’t shipping soil unless it’s sterilized because the southwest is under federal quarantine.
I just use it for patch seeding on small areas. Like dog urin spots, where I may have had a disease previously, etc. It has worked well for me, but I wouldn’t use it on a large scale, and once my compost is ready to utilize, I may no longer use it at all
Same . I actually used it on a 3x8ft rectangle to try it out and it's working pretty good
It’s like a blend of soil and compost. Not a huge fan of it for lawns.
Same here... too much junk in the bag for the price
I use it and like it. I haven’t had the mulch or rocks everyone is talking about. Maybe the plant that produces for my area has cleaner product, as the production plants are regional. I’ve definitely had issues with their top soil though.
Same experience. It’s works well for my applications.
Lots of hate for this stuff but I find it works bloody great for top dressing and patch repair. The cheaper options tend to resemble mulch while this has some actual soil in it.
I’ve used a lot of this in my backyard and the it’s while sometimes it does have a lot of wood in it my grass is noticeably greener and stronger
Tbh, I'm surprised at the negative reaction here. I used this stuff for all sorts of patch repair and even larger areas such as a spot where I put a temporary fireplace and killed all the lawn underneath. It's worked great for me! Recently used it in an area near my fence line that has super hard ground and no vegetation and within 2 weeks I had grass for days.
Agreed. The described junk is out there, but for years I have found this Scott’s product to be clean and very effective. Three different lawns in three different areas, always happy with this as a spot seeding medium.
Bad Lots of sticks
Ehhh I buy the cheapest bags of soil/sand when I need to fill an area. The amount of fert / sprays I havs will take care of the nutrients
This. And if its a bare spot, I don't care if there's SOME sticks in it, cause it'll be below the thatch shortly lol
I do landscaping, and deliver in bulk. The best thing is called “lawn dressing” or “hydroseed blend”. It’s ultra fine screened sand, soil, and fish compost. It’s $125/yard here in Canada, but it’s the best possible way to fix or make a new lawn.
I’ve used it plenty and found it much more consistent of dirt than Scotts or generic top soil
kinda pricey, but it beats the pine bark they sell for "topsoil" now. it does work tho - best for me when applied in areas of little/no runoff
Last year I probably use this for a 6 x 10‘ area and then just lay down tall fescue and starter fertilizer. Grass looks great this year.
This is good to know, I have a section of our side yard that's maybe 5x15 (and 85% healthy grass) that I need to level out and fill in w/grass and wondered if this would work ok. I think i'm going to try it.
Yeah, mine was just straight up hard, compact dusty dirt when I moved in last year, and the grass seed took to it very well
Find a local soil yard. Even though most of their business is bulk by the cubic yard, many will sell in smaller bags. It might be a little more expensive than a bagged mix like this at a big box, but it will be much better.
I used it and dont remember any garbage being in it but i was told the wood in it was a “moisture control” thing. It did the job so whatever
It's absolute garbage. Mine was filled with mostly sawdust.
I have no way of proving this, but I used this once to top dress my St. Augustine and I think it was littered with Bermuda seeds. Got a massive Bermuda invasion in the months to follow which is still poking out in pouches despite mowing high, hoping the St. Augustine just chokes it out one of these days because I like the uniformity, even though I kinda wish I had Bermuda growing anyhow.
I've got the same Augustine/bermuda dilemma. I end up just literally tearing the bermuda out a handful at a time at the battling edges, or around patches of Augustine. Its slow going... but the Augustine starts to win doing that. I just can't POSSIBLY do that for my whole yard (size).
Yes and it worked really well
I always use quality compost. If you can find a landscaping yard around you that has compost certified by the US Composting Council you'll be much better off. I don't have a huge lawn but I always spread a yard of compost each year when I overseed. The lawn loves it and the stuff I buy is only $42 for a yard. Much cheaper and better than any bagged stuff I've found.
i get the ace hardware dirt. can't remember the brand but it's easily the best bagged dirt i've ever got. try that instead of scotts.
I used it to patch my yard and grass grew just fine. No glass, rocks, plastic, or sticks either!
I used this (probably 30 bags) all over my lawn to grown new grass over several large spots in my lawn. There are wood chips all over my lawn. I wont use this again.
Yeah the big chunks of mulch are a buzz kill Mix topsoil sand and some compost you'll get a nice blend 😉
Fuck Scott’s
Amazing the amount of rocks and sticks that they pit in there. For some reason though i always buy this and then say never again
I use it when leveling. I mix 1 of these bags with 2 bags of play sand.
I've used it a few times for repairs. I put it over the top of topsoil before seeding. Works well, and the organic material I've found in the bag wasn't as large as some say. Must be luck of the draw I suppose.
I've quickly learned to avoid almost everything Scotts and Pennington. You're paying for the brand and distribution, not the product. Find a local source (SiteOne, or local gardening spot) and you'll be much happier with the investment.
Lawn amateur here, but if it has Scotts on the bag it's usually shit.
I got some compost manure and it was totally shit.
I have used it. And am not very happy with it. I feel it not doing anything. Also what is good topsoil to use in the north east. Upstate ny and what is good seeds for new grass.
Dude in my neighborhood used it to top dress his entire yard….. greenest, thickest fucking centipede I’ve ever seen in my life
I used it and it worked really well, but we had a hole that I put it in that had a bunch of dead grass from the drought and it filled in much faster than an empty hole with no fertilizer.
Love it
Just bought some sight unseen cause it was cheap and on sale and my dogs dug some big holes in my yard, not happy. It's basically mulch.
This stuff has plastic, wood chips, rocks. I have a Lanzee spreader and it revealed a ton of crap about to go right on my lawn and in a bad way.
I've wondered about using a spreader like that to 'filter' it. Then just empty into my mulched beds lol I have a lot of high and low spots and figure a spreader like that MIGHT help even those out.
It works GREAT. My complaints are 1. Cost. 2. I had to pay extra money for a decent length handle. The one it came with is for little peoples.
It's worked out for me in latching an area with plugs
Bought it last year to dress some of my trouble spots and it was garbage. Lots of huge chunks of sticks and bark etc. this year I just used stuff straight from my compost pile which was totally unsifted and it was several magnitudes of order better.
Use it every year here in Quebec, Canada and no issues with wood chips or mulch. I would recommend if you’re in my Region.
Overpriced mulch
I did try that once, and didn't think it's worth the cost. The grass came up fine, but no better than when I use Scott's topsoil instead (which is cheaper). It always comes up great when I mix that in, and I'm not even fertilizing it.
I used it seemed to work fine
Trash stuff . Go to a local golf course supplier and take a swim in their supply for the best stuff
Wow I guess I got lucky with the four bags I used when I overseeded two weeks ago. I’ll get a different one next time.
Yea, no.. I bought cheap topsoil from Lowe’s for my garden bed.. Three bags @ 60 lbs s bag.. cost me 7 bucks for all three.. was a buy one get one deal.. so six total bags…thought it was a good deal…NOT! I might as well have bought bags of dusty wood chips.. I now top dress my yard with screened soil from a landscape nursery.. it’s 25 $ a cubic yard, but I don’t have to pick out rocks, sticks, wood chips, plastic and nails..
I just used about 15 bags of this mixed with 5 bags of sand to regrade a section of my yard. Most of the bags were good quality with very minimal sticks/mulch. There were a couple bags that seemed to have more crap in them. Overall though, I’m happy with it. The regrade worked out well and the grass is already sprouting and looks consistent (I spread Rapid Grass about 2 weeks ago).
Find a farm or landscaping supply and have a yard of topsoil/compost delivered. Some places will even mix sand in. Usually isn't super expensive and WAY better than the bagged stuff from a home center.
Junk. Masonry sand and black cow manure 1/1 bag
I used to spend a lot of money on buying it, it’s way overpriced and not that great but better than the $2 bags. Best solutions is screened topsoil from a local supply/nursery. Share with your neighbors.
Its largely composted forestry product according to scotts last time I asked them via email. I hear many people complain about it containing sticks/garbage etc. personally I must luck out or maybe geographically the soil is sourced differently. I buy it annually for over-seed/top dress and have always had supperior or same results when compared to other store brand top soils.
You're unlikely to find any actual soil bagged up at home improvement stores. They are all filled with various debris, and won't become soil for 2-3 years. Options: 1. Get actual soil from a landscaping provider 2. Use a 1/4" screen to sift the bagged stuff, and add some compost. After sifting you'll end up with about 30% of the content in the bag. 3. Dig up local soil around you (if you have it) and sift it. Add compost, sand (if needed), and as a bonus some vermiculite and perlite. 4. Check local nurseries; They might sell bagged soil that's actually soil.
Damn. I'm glad I clicked on this link and read the comments. I use this shit all the time!
I buy screened premium top soil from the landscape supply store by the yard.
I just top dressed my lawn with comand compost I got in bulk. Seems to be doing well after just a week and half
Anyone used the generic one from Menards?
Yes i used it to fill and level larger areas but its more of an ease of use than anything else. I know it’s full of “crap” but that’s where compost on top helps. Everyone may say otherwise but for my clay ass backyard compost and this Scott’s stuff has made life easier. When I have time I’ll truck in some good quality compost/sand/topsoil mix but no way I’m getting through that much in a weekend myself without risking rain.
I learned the hard way to not use this…..
I had a bad experience with it. I have heavy clay soil and when I went to dig up the areas (year later for a sewer issue) where I used this, there was obvious sand that was nowhere else in the yard. I understood what they mean by sand making clay soil into concrete. That was the heaviest, hardest soil I ever had to shovel.
Bought 15 bags after overseeding. Grass is growing like crazy and looks great but had so much clumps of dirt and bark in it
For your average dude without a pickup truck, it's a good solution to fill in ruts / topdress bare spots.
I recently got 4 trees cut down with the stumps grinded. I raked the chips (best I could) and put 1-2 bags of this on each spot and seeded. I have plenty of grass growing in each spot and I water once to twice a day. If the spots were bigger I’d have called a local place but this worked perfectly fine for what I needed.
yeah its ok. it is "manufactured soil", so you will find some wood chips in it. I use scotts "top soil" for planting the grass seed in, and then lightly spread the scotts "Lawn Soil" on top as a sort of mulch to hold in the moisture. Its the best Home Depot will have. but it is not like organic loam you get from Farmer Joes place.
Yeah worst thing for me is it leaves little pieces of mulch that my now crawling 10 month old loves to suck on :/
Yea is definitely crap. I still get it because it grows grass quick but I do screen it myself and add seed also.
I tried it last year and it’s garbage, almost literally. And the area where I used it became all hard and compact. Stay away.
Hell no
Used it 1 time and never again
Overpriced for what it is.
all of those scotts "water smart" products have stuff in there to hold water in the case of insufficient watering. as long as the area is properly watered, conventional dirt & seed works better
Just look to your landscaping supply company and order some gardening soil or just throw fertilizer into the yard and be happy
This is confusing- first the discussion about the product which is mediocre and plenty of alternatives, but I’ve used a bit in a pinch. Ordering a few yards of topsoil is usually cheaper than just a few bags of this Second your comment really suggests you want to weed and feed your lawn. What size lawn?
These are awful. Tons of non plant material. Higher end nurseries will have better bags options if it’s a small project. Anything requiring 3 yards or more I would just get delivered in bulk from a reputable supplier of turf grade top dressing. Just be careful, lot of sleazy wholesalers out there that will sell borderline fill or barely screened soil when you ask. It needs to be heavily screened if you’re putting it on your yard and will likely cost more than you expect. I would make sure you are present for the delivery before they drop it.
Get peat moss and mix it with grass seed
I'm sure its overpriced garbage.
I use it to fill holes from dogs. It's good....if you screen it and take out 50% of the crap...it's worth what it is
Prefer sand and black cow.
I bought it once and pieces seemed very large. I’d rather use mulch/top soil mixed.
I used it once and I’m never going back to it. Didn’t do shit for me. Just gonna go with my 2–1-2 bag ratio for top dressing spots and filling areas.
I was told to avoid that and try a combo of black kow and leveling sand.
IF IT'S NOT SCOTTSISH IT'S CRAP!
It works, but honestly some refine topsoil, seed and starter fertilizer works better. I only use this stuff when I have to cover bare spots on a hill because the sticks in it prevents seed wash away. Had sprouts within 9 days though when I used it.
Are you giving it away for free I’ll take it
Buy cheap top soil usually $2- ish and sod $5 a roll Don’t spend hundreds like I did on better seed and other bs Did that last year and this year I bought sod and wallah everything is fine You should put lawn seed and fertilizer once a month to maximize your sod and grass
What would be a good mix to cover up pee spots.
Call me crazy but I use potting soil to avoid weed seeds
Go to your local water authority and get some mulch instead.
I've used it and it's a good product. Works better than regular bagged soil for some situations not as good in others. It holds water better than most other bagged soil. For small patch filling this is my go to.
I would never use it again. My lawn is still littered with wood mulch two years later
I use this for patches when needed. Holds moisture. The seed seems to like it. Worked way better than bagged top soil, but at 3 times the cost. You gotta weigh your options ⚖️
We just used this stuff a few weeks ago…really not worth the price in my opinion. Results were no better than when I used regular topsoil. Lesson learned!
I used it on a small area. Worked out very well.
I got it this year. Wasn't too bad this this. Before I saw a lot of wood hips but this year it was good and my seeding was successful. So far, summer may tell another tale
I'm going to be in the minority here and say this is actually a nice product. I really like it for filling in big holes or patching. Soil is ultimately local and what's made up in Wisconsin is at a decent facility and is well screened. I've never had an ounce of plastic or glass in mine, and pretty minimal wood chips. Plus, if you get a bad back, you can technically put it back in a trash can and return it to Home Depot. The claim for growing grass 50% thicker seems ambitious, but 50% faster does seem accurate IME. With that aid, I'm aiming more for an organic lawn and cost effective options, so I generally use Scott's manure & humus mixture and then their starter fertilizer with weed protector. A few more steps, but better results. Of course Lesco's starter fertilizer is the best product of that kind, with mesotrione.
I agree with this. I use it and find it useful and helpful
I haven’t had much issue I’ve never found bad items just sometimes chunk of wood that’s not broken down enough.
This is shit.
I have used about 40 bags of the Scotts lawn soil this year. There have been pieces of plastic, bark and a couple rocks here and there, but less of that garbage than other topsoils I’ve used. When dry, which apparently doesn’t happen often, it’s super easy to top dress with. I’ve liked using it, and my lawn is doing better, but I bought because it was on sale.
I tried it, rocks and sticks everywhere. It was annoying.
50% not soil (rubber, sticks, some rocks, etc). I’ve used it many times, it does work. But it also causes hideous bumps and uneven spots in the grass. Not totally unfixable mind you, but annoying. Quick and easy to buy, that’s the biggest pro. It’s expensive compared to ordering top soil from a local yard, but that will probably give you way too much soil, also.
50/50 mixture of sand and Black Kow would serve you very well.
Jersey here, we got this at lowes on sale and honestly had no issues. No glass no trash just soil. Mixed my seeds in the wheel barrow and laid it on the ground. Watered 10 minutes or so twice a day and seeds were sprouting within days instead of the weeks it took at the last house using the cheap stuff.
Used it two weeks ago to level a spot
Works great for me, swear by it
I do. I love it
This year, I bought some nice grass seed from United Seed in Nebraska, a yard of topsoil from a local place, and 6 yards of mushroom compost. The top soil I used to fill in low spots (will need to do more in the future), the seed I used to overseed the whole yard, and then I put the mushroom compost over that, across about 7000 square feet or so. Grass has never been so green, definitely standing out from neighbors. Don't use that crap from Scotts or Pennington. You can do better by buying smart and buying local, and getting in a little exercise while you are at it.
I like it. The small chunks of wood/mulch break down over time and provides nutrients. Good for moisture retention too. Lots of people don’t like it specifically because of the ground up wood pieces
Bought it to revive a big dead part of my grass. Didn’t seem to work so far… 2 weeks in https://preview.redd.it/ptok4skzcu3d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8bb2e593ef3f4036d9f3d84c90985ac24451d874
I learned also to never get the compost from local city recycling center
I've used this in the past, and it has a lot of mulch in it. I would go with a mix of topsoil, manure and peat moss, but if you want to keep it simple, I've used Scott's top soil fertilized with revive to grow grass in some bare spots and it worked really well.
Junk - hate that stuff - it’s no different than buying a bag of wood chips 🤮
I used that to cover my wife’s burial plot. I went up and watered it daily. It came up well.
Black Kow composted cow manure is my go to. It’s not too expensive and gives good results. Certainly better than bagged top soil, which really is good for nothing other than filling holes in a driveway.
I bought this last year to fill in some bare spots and just had a lot of wood chips everywhere then I had a lot of weeds to deal with after.
Garbage Never had any luck with Scott brand anything and then learned how to read labels from TikTok
I use it and love it up in Canada. Haven’t had any problems with mulch/rocks/plastic etc that has been mentioned. Works great for patching and top dressing!
Have you guys ever heard of earth life?
Home depot and lowes both sell compost top soil mixed with manure. Still has some small wood chips in it but it's way better than scotts, that bag is mostly not dirt.
It's full of junk as most have stated but it can do the trick to fill. It's not very dense so it can/will float away
Just buy some of the organic topper from HD
We have a local Home Base store (used to be Sutherlands) that has bays of bulk top soil, sand, and gravel, The have a small tractor with a front end loader on it (can't remember if it's a quarter or half a yard), and they will load it in your pickup bed or on your trailer for you. Much cheaper than buying it by the bag.
We did, just a few bags. It was mostly small bark pieces and other stuff that didn't compress and stay put. l ended up putting topsoil over it to hold it down and have something to anchor the grass seed.
Cheap too soil, your choice of seed, peatmoss to cover. And keep moist. Water 3 times a day for a couple of minutes. Just enough to keep it moist. Or as much as you reasonably can. Simple
If you have a cool season grass, you're going to have a hard time germinating and growing new seed with summer coming up. I'd wait to do this in the fall. If you have warm season grass, you don't really need this. Fertilizer and watering alone will cause the grass to spread and fill in.
I live in Wisconsin, we have both seasons haha..had days in April thst felt like summer and last week it was only in the 40s haha
Aside from glass and plastic, this stuff does works and I have used it. It’s really the fertilizer that feeds and the mulch that retains the moisture to help it grow. You can do better with a bag of topsoil and starter fertilizer than this stuff.
They sweep the mulch crumbs that fall out of the bags on to the floor up and then toss a little dirt on it and sell it as this.