As noted in this link darker topsoil is usually considered better, but this
is not always true.
http://www.ladybug.uconn.edu/PUrchasingTopsoil.htm
The price you paid seems fair as this works out to $61.50 a ton
Here at least I can get good topsoil for $10.00 to $20.00 per ton delivered
depending on fuel cost and the total number of tons required.
I would recommend applying an even layer of topsoil over the existing uneven
ground tilling the new with the old, and seeding now and also again in the
fall. One comment once the grass and the turf are established then the soil
color will be less apparent, and the stock question have you had a soil
analysis performed, what you described may not have been topsoil but fill
dirt, or may be lacking in amendments applied to the other areas of your
yard.

wrote in message
...
Thanks, Frank, for the asnwer about old fertilizer. I'm going to sell
or give it away.


Now I have another problem. My yard is missing grass where the deck
used to be, and the ground is not high enogh everywhere. So I bought
a 40 pound bag of topsoil.

I opened it and it's black, but the rest of my dirt is dark brown or
light brown. I put a little down and it looks bad. Do they sell
brown topsoil too?

I thought it would be dry like a big powder, but I guess it got wet
inside somehow, and now when I use a 4 inch putty knife, it cuts like
fruit cake. Is it ever going to get powdery? So it isn't totally
clumped, so it has no clumps that don't break up when I hit them, and
I can just pour it out, and mix it with other dusty dirt?

I only paid 1.23 for 40 pounds. That seems cheap, even for dirt. (The
last time I bought some was 20 years ago.) Is there more expensive,
better topsoil? (not counting miracle-grow that's 7.50 a bag and say
it has nutrients that will last for 4 months.)

Thanks.