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1. Jeremy Hreben

   

   0 posts
   
   11/25/2013 4:11 PM

   I am doing a decent size fwy drainage project. Traditional, remove soil using a 13" bucket(yes i know a little wide but its what i got), at least 2" 3/8" pea gravel on the bottom, 4" perf NDS pipe, approx 2" pea gravel on top and sides. I want to leave about 3" of room at the top for soil( i do this so anybody taking big divots won't hit gravel). My question is what soil should i use on top? I don't want to use straight sand. Just screened top soil? maybe a 60/20/20 mix? Any suggestions would help greatly.

   
   
   
   
2. Larry Stowell

   

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   11/25/2013 6:11 PM

   Jeremy,
   
   You should send the soil you want to use to a lab for physical analysis and a moisture release curve to determine the depth of soil needed to drop the surface soil moisture to not more than 20% volumetric water content. If the soil on top of the gravel is too shallow, there will not be sufficient mass of water to suck the water out of the surface to drain - the soil over the drain will always contain hold too much water. Maybe if the area over the drain was narrower, it might not matter as much, but lateral drainage of about 6 inches might not provide sufficient suction to dry out the surface over the drain. You could end up with a black layer problem over the drain.

   
   
   
   
3. Harris Russell M

   
   11/26/2013 1:11 PM

   Jeremy,
   Last spring we did 2 fairways here. I used a 70-30 mix on top of gravel at about a 3 inch depth. The mix worked great for drainage but also dried up very quick resulting in droughty drain lines. I think the 60-20-20 mix might be a better choice to help avoid that.
   
   Russ

   
   
   
   
4. Jeremy Hreben

   

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   12/6/2013 9:12 AM

   We are going to use a 70:20:10 an see how it goes. See you next week!!!!

   
   
   
   
5. Justin VanLanduit

   

   0 posts
   
   12/7/2013 8:12 AM

   We used a 6:3:1 mix when doing XGD in our native push up greens and that worked great. Not the cheapest material but find that it helps hold the moisture a bit more so you aren't seeing drainage lines light up when things get dry.

   
   
   
   
6. Keith Pegg

   

   0 posts
   
   12/7/2013 1:12 PM

   Jeremy Hreben said: I am doing a decent size fwy drainage project. Traditional, remove soil using a 13" bucket(yes i know a little wide but its what i got), at least 2" 3/8" pea gravel on the bottom, 4" perf NDS pipe, approx 2" pea gravel on top and sides. I want to leave about 3" of room at the top for soil( i do this so anybody taking big divots won't hit gravel). My question is what soil should i use on top? I don't want to use straight sand. Just screened top soil? maybe a 60/20/20 mix? Any suggestions would help greatly.

   
   
   I vote for a soil test and get a mix then that will work also cost of a 9" or 10" bucket will pay for its self fast most sod cutters are 12" and the amount of trucking of the soil also much lower.
   
   Keith Pegg
   Zama Japan