Soil, stone and materials
Most garden problems start underground. Thin topsoil, heavy clay and poor drainage show up later as patchy lawns, sulking plants and puddles. These guides cover what to buy and how much.
Soil and materials guides
Living with clay
Clay soils are common across Tyneside, Wearside and County Durham. They are fertile, but sticky when wet and hard when dry, and they drain slowly. Working organic matter into the top layer over time improves the structure; walking on clay when it is wet undoes that work quickly.
Where water lies for days, drainage comes before anything else. Depending on the garden, that might mean breaking up compacted subsoil, adding a gravel-filled drain or building a soakaway, usually with aggregates bought by the tonne.
Bags or bulk: a rough guide
| Job | Usually best bought as |
|---|---|
| Topping up a few beds or pots | Bags from a garden centre |
| Top-dressing a lawn | Bags, or a bulk bag for a larger lawn |
| Levelling a whole garden or a new-build plot | Bulk load by the tonne |
| Sub-base for a patio, path or shed base | Bulk aggregates by the tonne |
| Drainage trenches and soakaways | Bulk aggregates by the tonne |
Bulk suppliers
For big jobs, two North East suppliers deliver in loads of five tonnes or more per material: Newcastle Topsoil for topsoil and Newcastle Aggregates for aggregates, with each load quoted. For smaller quantities, a garden centre or builders' merchant is usually the simpler choice.
