"simy1" wrote in message
ps.com...

jeffrey lohn wrote:
We are about to grade a small vacant lot which we own (it's adjacent to
a
small commercial building which we're renovating-- location is urban
America... New York City!). The lot get's fantastic sunlight... nearly
all day long..... so we want to plant trees, shrubs, gardens(tomatoes,
etc.), grass.....
We need to order a lot of topsoil to fill in the lot....
Question is: ... is topsoil good enough for planting? somewhere i've
heard that topsoil is not good for planting(has no nutrients??).... but
i
have no idea about that.
Should we mix in with the topsoil bags of so called , "tree and shrub
planting dirt" and "flower and vegetable planting dirt"?

All suggestions greatly appreciated

have you noticed that virtually all plantings in virtually all malls in
America are mulched with wood chips? Wonder why? The chips are free
(tree companies will save money if they dump them on your property
instead of paying for landfill space), they make excellent soil
eventually (far better than topsoil, with good macro and micro nutrient
content, except N), and they last longer than other organic mulches.
You need to order enough to put one foot of chips on the part of the
lot that you intend to cover, so you are looking at tens of cubic yards
which you can spread with a pitchfork, or if the lot is big, by renting
a Bobcat for a weekend. You will be rewarded by many years of low
weeding, low watering, and no fertilizing except for nitrogen (buy a
bag of urea). Call a few tree companies and see if one will dump a
couple trucks in there for you. Because winter is coming, you are
better off doing it now rather than in the spring. If you want free
gourmet food from those chips, as well as something that will turn the
chips into fertilizer faster, please consult www.fungi.com (I do eat
gourmet mushrooms about a dozen times a year).

simy

How big are the woodchips you get where you live (I presume the USA)? When
people say woodchips to me that describes something fairly large, not saw
dust or wood shavings. I don't know about your experiences in the US however
here in New Zealand we wouldn't go near mixing woodchips in to top soil, I
have never come across anyone suggesting it. Untreated wood chips are used
as a mulch and wood shavings and shredded tree prunings are used in lighter
grade composts and possting mixes. Even those however are composted along
with the likes of manures, blood and bone, limes, sand etc.

rob