DIY: What To Do With Extra Dirt After a Landscaping Project

You have just completed that spring landscaping project and have an unsightly mound of extra dirt in your backyard.

What can you do with the extra fill dirt?

Here are 3 ideas to use up leftover dirt from your DIY home landscaping project.

1. Fill In Holes and Low Spots in Your Yard

   Use your extra soil to fill in low spots in your yard. You can also use the leftover dirt to fill in holes from dogs, cats, and rodents on your property. Filling in low spots in your lawn and garden can help improve drainage and prevent property. Simply dig up any existing plants, fill the area with soil, rake the area even, and then replace your plants. 

2. Raised Beds

1. You can use excess dirt to fill raised concrete beds. Raised beds can add interesting elevation to your landscaping as well as improve drainage. You’ll want to make sure that your topsoil is lighter than your regular garden soil so mix it with materials. 

   Here is a great mixture that will create a suitable topsoil:

   1 part peat moss or mature compost

   1 part garden loam or topsoil

   1 part clean builder’s sand or perlite

3. Berms

A berm is a planted hill or intentional mound in your landscaping. Berms can be used to hide unsightly features in your yard such as compost piles, utility stations (such as faucets or hoses).

Berming adds a whole new landscaping opportunity and can be used to create transitions from one part of your garden to another. A thoughtfully placed berm can do wonders to transform the design of your garden and landscape. 

Make the slope gradual for a more natural look, this also helps prevent erosion. You’ll want to keep your berm under 2 feet. The base can go as wide as 5 feet for every one foot in elevation. Make sure to rake and tamp your soil and wet it with a hose to remove any air pockets. Keep in mind that many plants will need at least 6-12 inches of soil to take root. 

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At Metro Materials we can help with all of your landscaping and DIY needs. Use our handy calculator here to calculate how much soil and sand you’ll need for your next DIY landscaping project. We provide our customers with consistent quality products, dependable delivery times, and all the information they need to make a smart purchase. 

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If you are in the Norman, Oklahoma City, or Edmond, Oklahoma area give us a call and let us deliver your stone, gravel, soil, or mulch to your home today.