# Would you buy this level mix?



## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

So I drove up to a landscape supply place this morning to take a look at their "golf green top dress mix" and I wasn't very impressed. They say on their website golf courses use it on putting greens which I find hard to believe. Am I being too picky on the amount of debris in it or does it seem excessive to you all? The USGA sand right next to it didn't look too bad but there were some small pebbles in it. I also would like some organic material but maybe I could just throw a lot of Carbon Pro G down before the sand?

What would you guys do? Go with either one of these or keep looking? I've never leveled before so would like to hear your thoughts!


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## Rammy1546 (Jan 3, 2020)

Stuff on the right looks horrible. Looks like a nightmare if you own a reel mower. The pure sand on the left doesn't look too bad. I would choose the left over the right if I had to choose.


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## Highlife159 (May 19, 2021)

Is this Green Brothers Earth Works? If it is I remember seeing somewhere that they put peanut shells in the sand for "compost" and they said it would break down much faster than other alternatives. There's some people that used their sand/compost mix in the neighborhood next to mine and it looked pretty rough for the first week or so but after the first mow 90% of the shells were shredded.


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## La24 (Aug 15, 2020)

I'm still a noob, but seems kinda pricey. I guess I'm lucky where I'm at, a cubic yard around here is between $25-45.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

The sand on the left doesn't look too bad but that price is crazy expensive. I would keep shopping around and try and get it straight from the supplier/quarry.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

Hell at that price you should just get the super sacks of Level mix from super sod delivered if you are in atlanta. Clean clean sand and clean compost blended 70/30.

That stuff on the right looks like garbage.


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## LittleBearBermuda (Sep 25, 2020)

FATC1TY said:


> Hell at that price you should just get the super sacks of Level mix from super sod delivered if you are in atlanta. Clean clean sand and clean compost blended 70/30.
> 
> That stuff on the right looks like garbage.


I recently used three big yellow bags of level mix from super sod. It was full of rocks. I've spent a lot of time picking up all the rocks. I will never use them again.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Golf green mix ....what an insult

Riversand inc has usga sand, if that's what u want.

I just paid 45$ a yd for mason. soil3 for me 2 yrs ago was nice but $$$ and convenient.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

LittleBearBermuda said:


> FATC1TY said:
> 
> 
> > Hell at that price you should just get the super sacks of Level mix from super sod delivered if you are in atlanta. Clean clean sand and clean compost blended 70/30.
> ...


Interesting !! I wonder if their high demand has made them cut corners.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

I'd ask which golf courses use that stuff on their greens. 

If you are going for level, use straight sand. The organic matter will come with fertilizer and root cycling.


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## rotolow (May 13, 2020)

Almost every golf course will be ordering sand direct from a supplier (not from a landscape yard). USGA mix is almost inevitably marketing wank if it's coming from a third party. USGA isn't doing QC on any of that stuff they just publish the standards.

My local course is punching greens and tee boxes recently and they ordered ~100 tons of sand. Washed and screened mason sand with as little OM as possible seems to be their go-to. Also, bunker sand and top dress sand can differ significantly.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

There are no noticable pebbles in true USGA mixes.
Go to Home Despot or Lowes and get you mason sand (not playground sand). Or better yet, call your local mulch place and have it delivered. 0.5-1 ton per 1000 sq ft.


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## Jeep4life (Jun 19, 2019)

FATC1TY said:


> LittleBearBermuda said:
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> > FATC1TY said:
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They probably rushed everything through production. I called them to get compost for my garden back in late March and they were backordered (said level mix was backordered too). Something about the wet spring causing production issues (from calling around there were multiple places struggling to get topsoil too around that same time). I've used their level mix and compost several times in the past with no issues and great success. My only complaint has been how high they are priced compared to other options.


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## Jeep4life (Jun 19, 2019)

Highlife159 said:


> Is this Green Brothers Earth Works? If it is I remember seeing somewhere that they put peanut shells in the sand for "compost" and they said it would break down much faster than other alternatives. There's some people that used their sand/compost mix in the neighborhood next to mine and it looked pretty rough for the first week or so but after the first mow 90% of the shells were shredded.


I've used Green Bros sod dressing in the past and can confirm they have peanut shells in them. The peanut shells DO NOT break down quickly. I tried to sweep or rake a majority off as a solution that seemed better in my head. I've heard of others who made a screen to filter them out before putting down on the lawn. All said and done, the shells were ANNOYING and caused me not to use it again, but the lawn looked amazing once everything recovered.


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

LittleBearBermuda said:


> FATC1TY said:
> 
> 
> > Hell at that price you should just get the super sacks of Level mix from super sod delivered if you are in atlanta. Clean clean sand and clean compost blended 70/30.
> ...


That surprises me. I'd be pretty mad if I paid that much and it wasn't pure as can be.


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## LittleBearBermuda (Sep 25, 2020)

Lawn Smith said:


> LittleBearBermuda said:
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> > FATC1TY said:
> ...


I was and still am. I find more rocks everyday when I get home. We made a large order, I got 3, another neighbor got 4 and one other neighbor bought 1. I would have waited longer for it and it been clean instead of all the rocks. The rocks are big enough to do major damage to a reel and one smaller one even got stuck in my rotory scissors.


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## LittleBearBermuda (Sep 25, 2020)

Just for reference. Did a quick walk and found more rocks.


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

jayhawk said:


> Golf green mix ....what an insult
> 
> Riversand inc has usga sand, if that's what u want.
> 
> I just paid 45$ a yd for mason. soil3 for me 2 yrs ago was nice but $$$ and convenient.


How did you like the Riversand Inc sand? Was it pretty clean and debris free? I think that's who I'm leaning towards


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

I never have, @Lawn Smith. @Atlanta_Zeon I think has. You can probably find others searching riversand in the Atlanta only thread?


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## Atlanta_Zeon (Sep 15, 2019)

jayhawk said:


> I never have, @Lawn Smith. @Atlanta_Zeon I think has. You can probably find others searching riversand in the Atlanta only thread?


I can't remember exactly why I didn't go with Riversand Inc. I think it was a location/delivery/logistics issue.

Last year, my brother came over from Aiken with his dump trailer and we got the USGA sand from Luxury Landscape supply. Great sand but it was pricey.

This year, I got masonry sand delivered from Georgia Landscape supply. Not a single pebble. I'll be getting my sand from them again.


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## Groundskeeper Willie (Feb 22, 2019)

@LittleBearBermuda Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm deeply appreciative. Sometimes when things go wrong we don't want to talk about it. Your information came in just the nick of time for me.


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## LittleBearBermuda (Sep 25, 2020)

Groundskeeper Willie said:


> @LittleBearBermuda Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm deeply appreciative. Sometimes when things go wrong we don't want to talk about it. Your information came in just the nick of time for me.


No problem. That's why we are here!


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## agrassman (May 26, 2019)

I used the USGA top dressing from River Sand inc 2 summers ago. Was planning to use them again next month. It was very good with no pebbles or stones.


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## 1stKnuckleHOC (Sep 7, 2020)

Their "greens grade mix" is pure rubbish for top dressing/leveling. I leveled 4 weeks ago with their masonry sand and I was pleased with the quality of that. They are pricey, but I wanted to top dress that day and just went to their site to pick up a couple yards. I am definitely gonna find a better price for my masonry sand next time I level.


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## Buytheballs (Jul 26, 2019)

I'm down here in Atlanta too just like y'all. Did anyone ever get a quote from Level Lawns?

I'm curious if i should try doing it or should just have someone else do it.

Also, anyone ever fill a large hole? I have an old construction sinkhole that has been filed once and sunk a bit after that. Was considering adding some red clay and then sod over that to finally get it level.

Thanks!


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Buytheballs said:


> I'm down here in Atlanta too just like y'all. Did anyone ever get a quote from Level Lawns?
> 
> I'm curious if i should try doing it or should just have someone else do it.
> 
> ...


I've filled maybe a 2-3" depression with sand, and the grass is very slowly growing into it. I would do a mix of like soil and sand or something rather than all clay or all sand.


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## Buytheballs (Jul 26, 2019)

SCGrassMan said:


> Buytheballs said:
> 
> 
> > I'm down here in Atlanta too just like y'all. Did anyone ever get a quote from Level Lawns?
> ...


Unfortuantely what i have in the back is a 4.5" drop (7" in the deepest spot). A house was torn down up the street and i'm going to ask them for some of the dirt they are hauling away. Figure i can use that red clay and pack it down to fill the hole. After that i'll get some topsoil and new sod for the area.


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

Buytheballs said:


> SCGrassMan said:
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> > Buytheballs said:
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You'll have swallow roots if you choose to go that route


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## cyrjm (Apr 6, 2020)

Jeep4life said:


> Highlife159 said:
> 
> 
> > Is this Green Brothers Earth Works? If it is I remember seeing somewhere that they put peanut shells in the sand for "compost" and they said it would break down much faster than other alternatives. There's some people that used their sand/compost mix in the neighborhood next to mine and it looked pretty rough for the first week or so but after the first mow 90% of the shells were shredded.
> ...


I'm in Marietta and used the Green Bro's mix and it was awful, full of rocks, bricks, other debris. Got 20 yards of it last year and ended up getting half my money back. I'm getting 10 tons of masonry sand delivered today from Mountain High Mulch which looks infinitely better. Also really suprised about the SuperSod mix having rocks in it...


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