is 3 tonnes of topsoil a lot?

[ckfe]

i'm picking up some topsoil off a man on freecycle tonight.. he says there's about 3 tonnes of it, is that a lot?? i'm afraid i've got no understanding of tonnage.. i only want enough for a raised bed

[Hazel at the Hill]

Each of those big canvas square sacks that builders merchants have is about a ton, I think - and I have a vague memory that a ton of sand/soil is about a cubic metre (yes I know I'm getting metric and imperial mixed, but it gives you an idea), so what size is you raised bed?

[ckfe]

it's only about 6ft x 3ft, think 3 tonnes of topsoil might be far too much!!!

[ckfe]

the other problem is that we've only got a small trailer so it could mean loads of trips backwards and forwards

[rana]

If you are expecting to load it on a trailer or into bags, god forbid, it is a lot of soil. Even if it is already bagged 3 tonnes will need 2 fit people to shift it. Volume wise you could be looking at up to 2 cubic yards (that's a cube with sides of just under four feet).

[Hazel at the Hill]

Ah. My back-of-a-postit note calculation says that half a ton would do the job. I think.

Anyone else agree?

[ckfe]

might have to ask him if we can just take some of it then, think he wanted to get rid of all of it though

also, what's the best way to make the raised bed? i'm making it in the garden which at the moment is grassed.. should i skim off the top of the turf and turn it over then put the topsoil on top? or should i totally remove the turf and dig deep and rake it all about a bit before i put the topsoil on? also should i put a mixture of topsoil and compost in it?

i need to get it done this afternoon before the topsoil arrives

[zazen999]

We bought 2 builders bags of bark for our garden, I had a navara at the time so they loaded it up and we had to wheelbarrow it from the car park to our garden.

We did one on the saturday and one on the sunday.

I was in the truck shovelling, my OH was in the garden shovelling and his daughter [11 at the time] was fetching the wheelbarrow to and from the garden....we also used the brown recycling bin to transport larger amounts.

It was alot of work.

I'd think you would need about half a ton for the space that you mention - ie the volume of half a builders bag, spread over the 6x3ft area....depending on the depth of course. Possibly one of those, max, if your bed is deep.

Good luck.

[zazen999]

Aha, Hazel, I came to that conclusion whilst you were posting!!! Great minds and all that.

[ckfe]

oh heck, i've just remembered we don't have a wheelbarrow!!

[ckfe]

just phoned my mother in law, she's lending us her wheelbarrow and an extra spade.. forget to tell her i'll need to borrow her husband to help with collection of topsoil though

[Hazel at the Hill]

Deffo skim off the turf - then I'd stack it upsidedown in a quiet corner, then I'd give the underneath a rough dig - you can add chicken pellets etc if you like (well rotted manure is better), then fill up iwth the top soil.

BilboWaggins is in the middle of making raised beds - have a look at her blog for inspiration!

[ckfe]

can you buy chicken pellets or do you have to have chickens? sorry if that sounds a bit dumb

[Incy]

I agree with Hazel, take the turf off and stack it to rot down. My OH digs a spade or 2 deep then adds chicken pellets then in goes the topsoil and yes 1/2 tonne should do a bed that size depending on the depth. 3 tonnes did 5 raised beds for us which in area are about the same as 4 beds the size of yours.
We tend to get our topsoil delivered to our drive and then have to barrow it round to the back. It looks like hard work, luckily OH does it all

[ckfe]

BilboWaggins is in the middle of making raised beds - have a look at her blog for inspiration!

just tried finding bilbowaggins blog but it says she doesn't have one