Does Lowe's or Home Depot Sell Plain Fill Dirt?
Lowe's and Home Depot are two of the very biggest names in retail, with locations around the country and the world. But does Lowe's or Home Depot sell plain fill dirt?
You know where to go when it comes to getting new cabinets, buying supplies for a DY project, or hiring a professional to help you with extensive home projects. At some point, however, you will wonder about simpler things, such as does Lowe's or Home Depot sell plain fill dirt?
The Real Dirt on Home Depot and Lowe's
Poets say that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. That's not the case with dirt.
Gardeners and lawn enthusiasts will tell you that actually, there are many different kinds of dirt. And when it comes to picking out dirt, there's really a lot to consider.
You’re going to see a lot of different types of dirt at any given Lowe’s or Home Depot. But which of these dirts are the type of dirt you need for the project you have in mind?
Topsoil
Both Lowe's and Home Depot sell topsoil, which is what will likely come up if you try to do a casual dirt search online through either brand. In fact, you can easily get topsoil delivered to you within a week.
Topsoil is highly nutrient-rich and often contains ingredients like moss and organic materials. Both Lowe's and Home Depot carry topsoil in peat-rich mixtures, but neither famous chain has a big selection of topsoil.
Both stores carry topsoil in standard-size bags ranging from 40 to 50 pounds. So if you need a lot of topsoil, you will have to purchase a lot of bags.
Garden Soil
Both brands also carry garden soil. This is soil that contains fertilizer in order to support a lot of different plant life.
This soil is highly nutrient-rich and it's made to provide nutrients to garden areas that include vegetable, herb, and flower gardens. Home Depot and Lowe's both carry specialized soils that are optimized for flowers or food plants, along with all-purpose garden soil.
Garden soil bags range in size from both stores. Like top soil, this is very high-quality soil that is full of nutrients.
This is the soil you would use for garden beds and other landscaping areas that need to be healthy and beautiful.
Potting Soil
Potting soil is made for just that: growing things in pots. Both indoor and outdoor potting mixes are made and both varieties are carried at Home Depot and Lowe’s.
Typically, you fill the entire pot with potting mix and then place your plants in the soil. No other soil is needed because the potting mix is so rich.
Other Types of Soil
Home Depot and Lowe's both carry these types of soil. Both retailers also carry raised bed soil, designed for use in raised garden and landscape beds.
However, you can find some new options as you shop for more dirt at either store. In addition to all the similarities, there are some different types of dirt you can find at these retailers.
Lowe's also carries a selection of lawn soil, a specialized soil you can’t find at Home Depot. This soil is often grouped with topsoil because it contains fertilizer and nutrients optimized for greener, richer grass.
Home Depot carries a selection of soil amendments, which you can’t always readily find at Lowe’s. These soil amendment mixtures can include manure, Epsom salt, compost, and a wide variety of nutrient-rich blends designed to give soil a shock of what it needs to grow whatever it is you want.
What Is Fill Dirt?
Fill dirt is a bit more serious than those brightly-colored bags of top soil and potting soil that are so easy to find at home improvement stores. Fill dirt is used to fill in large holes and low spots in a lawn, and it’s used for many large construction and improvement projects.
Fill dirt can be used to level a lawn or it can be used to build up the ground to prevent erosion. It can also be used to build up the ground to create a slope for drainage purposes.
Usually, fill dirt is made up of sand and clay. You will also find it in the construction industry, where it is used to create a stable base for various projects.
Fill dirt, unlike topsoil and potting soil, is not for growing plants. It doesn't have nutrients or organic matter.
There are many reasons why you may need fill dirt for an outdoor project. But if you attempt to go through Lowe's or Home Depot for the fill dirt you need, you are going to end up disappointed.
Does Lowe's or Home Depot Sell Plain Fill Dirt?
While Lowe's and Home Depot both sell a variety of different dirt types, including a selection of topsoils, it is not easy to find fill dirt here. You will not find a way to order it online through either chain and it is not a product that is regularly stocked.
Topsoil costs significantly more than fill dirt, so you don't want to substitute despite the fact that both Home Depot and Lowe's do sell topsoil in bulk.
Plain fill dirt isn't really the type of thing that can be stocked on shelves and it is not typically sold in bags. Rather, fill dirt is often sold by the load.
Fill Dirt FAQ
Where can you get fill dirt?
Retail stores, even garden centers, may not have fill dirt even when they have all sorts of other soils on offer. However, there are other places to get fill dirt for your lawn projects.
Local construction companies, landscaping companies, and farms may all have fill dirt for sale. You can often find dirt very affordably by going through these channels.
Sometimes, you can find really good deals for fill dirt online. Remember, however, that fill dirt by nature is not high-quality soil.
Rather, fill dirt is simply a filler used to improve grade, fill holes, and otherwise change the landscape. It will be full of rocks and it will not be nice, rich, moist soil like the kind you find at home improvement stores.
What's the best fill dirt to use?
If you are looking for quality fill dirt that will be relatively free of weeds and rocks and other undesriables, look for clean or certified fill dirt. This dirt will be free of chemicals, acids, and other materials you might not want in your dirt.
What is the difference between fill dirt and topsoil?
Fill dirt is a combination of natural materials found in the ground. That means sand, small rocks, shale, all the various pieces that make up natural soil, will be present.
Topsoil is dirt that has had all the rocks removed so that only quality dirt is left behind. Nutrients that nourish plants have been added.
Fill dirt is used mainly for construction-type projects and landscaping fixes, while topsoil is used to grow plants and give them an enriching environment to thrive in.
How much is 1 yard of dirt?
One yard of dirt equals 27 cubic feet of coverage. A cube is three feet three feet by three feet, so you can get about 9 square feet of coverage from this amount of dirt.
To put that into perspective, one acre of land is 43,560 square feet.
How many yards of fill dirt do I need?
To figure out how much dirt you need to cover any given area, you need to multiply the length and width of the area, in feet, by the depth. Convert the depth of the area to feet by dividing the number of inches of depth you want to cover by 12.
Take that total and divide this by 27 to get the cubic feet measurement for the area you want to fill with dirt. When you divide this by three, you will know how many cubic yards of dirt you need.
Can you grow anything in fill dirt?
Fill dirt is low-quality, rocky soil that has little to no nutrients, so you cannot really grow plants, flowers, or vegetables in this soil. Attempts to intentionally cultivate in this soil are likely doomed, though hardy weeds can always find a way to thrive.
Is fill dirt the same as clay?
Fill dirt often contains some clay content, along with sand and rocks. However, it is not pure clay.
How much topsoil do I put on top of fill dirt?
Place about two to three inches of topsoil on top of fill dirt to create a healthy environment that can support grass and other plants.
Can you use sand instead of fill dirt?
For some projects, sand is a better option than fill dirt. Often, trenches containing plumbing or electrical work are filled with sand rather than dirt because sand does not shrink or swell with weather changes and it is easier to dig than dirt if later maintenance is needed.
What's the difference between Lowes and Home Depot?
In many respects, Lowe's and Home Depot seem fairly interchangeable. Both are huge retailers with very large stores that are stocked with tens of thousands of products.
Both stores price their items competitively, and both cater to building industry professionals as well as DIY enthusiasts. The differences between the two chains really comes down to relatively small details, such as the fact that Home Depot has more locations around the world.
Some customers say that Home Depot seems to be geared more toward selling to contractors and professionals, while Lowe's is more welcoming to DIYers, while others make the exact opposite argument. The biggest difference between these two extremely similar retailers really just boils down to customer preference and availability.
Lowe's - From Small Town to Big Leagues
Lowe's was founded in North Carolina as a small-town hardware store in 1921 by L.S. Lowe. It was called Lowe's North Wilkesboro Hardware.
But that's not all Lowe's sold. Back then, the store shelves were also stocked with sewing materials, dry goods, groceries, and horse tack.
The company grew to two stores after WWII and grew from there. In 1979, it was officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company completes over 17 million transactions a week and in 2022, completed over $97 billion in sales. The average Lowe's has about 40,000 products for sale in the store.
Home Depot - The Bold Innovator
Home Depot was new in the hardware game when it arrived on the scene in 1978. The brand was built on a simple idea: provide everything DIYers want.
Two Home Depot stores were opened in Atlanta, each about 60,000 square feet each and carrying 25,000 products.
Customers had never seen anything like it. Your average hardware store in those days was no bigger than a grocery store, a place to get some quick materials.
However, you would end up ordering most of the large-scale stuff you needed and waiting for it to arrive. But this Home Depot brand, this was something very different.
Home Depot changed all that and changed the scene, launching the age of big-box retailers. Brands like Lowe's were quick to respond, launching their own huge retail spaces in order to remain competitive.
Today, the average Home Depot is around 105,000 square feet in size. In 2022, Home Depot recorded more than $157 billion in sales.
There are more than 35,000 products inside the average Home Depot and more than one million available for purchase online.
Further Reading
Choose the Right Sprinkler System for Your Yard
Difference Between Mulch and Composted Manure
Get Your Lawn Ready for Spring
How to Properly Plan and Maintain a Drain Field
