Hi y’all, I’m not a landscaper so I hope this isn’t a dumb question. My dog likes to dig holes in the yard and I have not been diligent about filling them in afterwards, so it’s at the point where I have to buy dirt to fill them in. I’m renting so I don’t want to dig up the whole yard to shift dirt around and fill the holes up.
I was going to use leftover potting soil and then buy the cheapest dirt from the hardware store to fill them in. Is this okay or does it matter what kind of dirt I use?
Also, we got some light snow a couple days ago so the ground is nearly frozen, if not already. Does this matter too, or can I just pack down the new dirt and that’s good enough?
Any suggestions or advice appreciated, thanks 🙂
by toiletparrot
8 Comments
Your neighbors!
Buy bags of topsoil from the hardware store
You do not need anything fancy for dog craters. Skip potting soil for the holes, it is fluffy, dries out fast, and your dog will love re digging it. Grab the cheapest “topsoil” or “fill dirt” you can find, ideally something that looks like actual dirt not barky potting mix, and use that. If you want grass to come back there later, mix a little compost into just the top couple inches and sprinkle seed when it warms up.
Because your ground is close to frozen, do this on a milder day if you can. Kick or shovel the edges of each hole so you do not have hard vertical sides, toss some soil in, pack it down with your boot in layers, and leave it just a hair higher than the surrounding grade since it will settle. If it is frozen solid and you cannot break the edges, just fill and tamp, worst case you will add a bit more in spring when it sinks.
Biggest thing is dog management, or you will be doing this every weekend. Temporary fencing, giving the dog a dedicated dig zone, or more exercise helps a lot. When you are ready to actually make that area look decent again, you can snap a photo and play with layouts in the GardenDream web tool, it is handy for testing “what if I just turn this whole chewed up strip into mulch and shrubs” before you spend money.
Brown
Topsoil is what you want . Potting mix is ok to add but by itself would be too light and fluffy , topsoil is sold at big hardware stores , Home Depot or Lowe’s . You can also get it delivered if you need a big amount.
You’ll want to pack the dirt tightly into the holes and tamp the top .
After a few days you’ll probably need to add a bit more and tamp again.
If you want an area to recover like springtime to grow grass I’ve had success using temporary fence and cheap metal stakes to hold it .
Buy the cheapest soil you can find, the less organic material, the better. Rich soil is half organic material, that will decompose over a year and will leave you with holes again. Home Depot sells some non Scott top soil that has little organic material in it.
Just use the dirt that is there. Looks like enough there to move around into the holes. It should all be there unless it’s washing off into the street or something. Unless you are blocking your dog from that area or actively training it not to dig I wouldn’t get too excited about making it look that good anyway. Just take a shovel and fill in the holes with what you have there so someone doesn’t break an ankle. Then do it again after your dog digs them out again lol.
Hole filling dirt. You can get it at your local nursery/hardscape supply