Do It Yourself Archives | Greely Sand & Gravel Inc.

Category: Do It Yourself

Low Maintenance Front Yard Ideas

Posted on by Greely Sand And Gravel

Are you feeling too busy to keep up with your property, but still want a beautiful front yard? Did you recently purchase a new home and are trying to decide how to landscape? We have so many ideas for you when it comes to designing a unique, beautiful, and low-maintenance front yard!

Usually when we think about landscaping, our minds jump to traditional grass lawns with flowerbeds and maybe an interlock path leading from the driveway to the front door. While this can be a beautiful and timeless look, there are so many more options to customize your outdoor space and reduce the amount of time you spend on maintenance.

Particularly if you live in a townhouse or a home in a recently developed community, it can be hard to figure out what to do with the small area in front of your home, as well as the long narrow areas between homes. Often, it seems impractical to own a lawnmower just to cut a few square yards of grass. That’s when it makes sense to look at different landscaping options for these tricky areas.

Instead of grass, consider using riverwash stone, or one of our other decorative stone options to cover your front yard area. Not only will this reduce the amount of time spent cutting and weeding grass, it creates an eye-catching and unique look for your home. To add visual diversity, consider planting a few trees or perennial flowers or bushes in the front yard. When you mix together trees and plants with different coloured foliage, the resulting array will stand out beautifully against a backdrop of riverwash or decorative stone. Remember to add mulch around the base of any plants to restrict weed growth and aid with moisture retention. This will result in healthier, more vibrant, and longer lasting plants.

You can also customize a low maintenance front yard by adding a walking path leading to the porch or door. Whether you choose interlock or pavers or some more unique and decorative stones to create the path, this will add definition to your front yard and help direct foot traffic.

For narrow areas between homes, consider adding riverwash stone to reduce the need to cut grass and also to promote good drainage away from your home. Perhaps talk to your neighbour and see if you can collaborate on a project to install stone between your homes.

Whenever you are installing riverwash stone or decorative stone, it is important to first excavate the area to a depth of at least 3″ for smaller sized stones and at least 6 – 8″ for larger sized stones. Before adding the stone to the area, use a weed-barrier cloth such as our PRO SILVER PLUS Woven Geotextile. This thick and durable weed-barrier is long-lasting and blends in well with natural-coloured stones. Using a good quality weed-barrier will help reduce weed growth through your stones.

Interested in checking out the options for a low-maintenance front yard? Our convenient online store has photos of all our products, as well as lots of information about our delivery options. While there, you can also use our Cubic Yard Calculator, located on every product page, to determine how much of each product you will require for your project.

Once you have chosen your products and know how much you need, go ahead and place an order. That way, you will already be in the queue when spring deliveries start. You can even select your ideal delivery date to help you plan ahead for your project!

If you have questions about any of our products or need more information before placing an order, give us a call at (613) 821-3003. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff are happy to help!

Plan Your Summer Project

Posted on by Greely Sand And Gravel

With Ottawa and much of Eastern Ontario recovering from multiple snow and ice storms over the past few weeks, it can be hard to imagine that spring will ever come! But before we know it, we will be putting away those snow shovels and winter boots, and working hard to get our lawns and gardens ready to enjoy this summer. The key to a successful landscaping project is having a plan in place ahead of when you aim to start the work. So whether you are starting a new lawn or adding a vegetable garden to your property, why not spend a few minutes forgetting about winter weather and planning for your beautiful new landscaping feature!

There are so many ways that you can add new life to your property by investing in quality landscaping. From adding a pool, to building a retaining wall, fixing up a walking path, or adding some decorative garden boxes, you can make the exterior of your home shine this year.

Once you have decided what your project will be, it is important to do some preliminary work to help you understand the scope of your project. Measuring the area of the space in which you will be working is a good place to start. If you are seeding or sodding part of your lawn, creating a new garden or flowerbed, or adding some decorative stone or mulch to an area of your property, you need to know the length, width, and depth of the space you want to cover. Having these dimensions will allow you to calculate how much of each landscaping product you will need to complete your project.

The next step is to do some research to find out what products your project requires. If you are undertaking a large-scale project or are new to landscaping, it might be worthwhile to give a professional, local landscaper a call to see if this is something that you may need external support to complete. You can also look at similar projects online to get an idea of the options that are out there. This can be particularly helpful when it comes to picking a colour scheme for mulch, interlock, or decorative stone. Our convenient online store is also a great place to browse an extensive variety of high-quality landscape products.

When it comes to selecting landscaping products, you also want to ensure that you have the correct tools and expertise to install them properly. Some products can be more difficult to work with than others, so it is important to go over the installation steps very carefully before beginning any project. This process will also allow you to figure out what tools you will need for the project. There are few things more frustrating than trying to complete a complicated job with the wrong tools!

Once you have your plan in place, the next step will be to execute it! Here at Greely Sand & Gravel, we start taking orders for product delivery in April. So get your order in on time to receive convenient delivery to your door, on your schedule. We offer delivery by dump truck load or in cubic yard bags, so that you have the right amount of product for your project. We can also deliver our Lawn & Garden Tool Rental Kit, if you need some extra tools to get the job done.

For more information on our products, services, and deliveries, visit our website anytime! We can’t wait to help make your landscaping dream a reality in 2024.

Seeding & Sodding in the Fall

Posted on by Greely Sand And Gravel

As we come to the end of this remarkably warm Fall season, you may be wondering if you still have time to work on your lawn before the snow flies. In fact, Fall can be a great time to seed, sod, or overseed your property, to ensure that your grass is strong, healthy, and lush come Springtime!

Contrary to what you may think, cooler weather can actually be very beneficial when growing grass. Scorching hot summer temperatures can make it difficult for seeds to germinate. Additionally, your grass will require heavy and frequent watering in hotter weather, especially if you are trying to get fresh sod to take. When the temperatures drop a bit, grass requires less moisture, which will make your job easier, as less watering will be required!

While you may not be ready to tackle starting a whole new lawn from scratch, October can be a wonderful time to address any bare spots on your lawn and to overseed your grass. Throughout the summer months, your lawn can go through a lot of wear and tear, especially if it has endured a lot of hot weather. Take some time to walk around your property and identify any patches or areas that may require a little extra TLC.

For smaller areas, try adding some of our Greely Sand & Gravel Screened Topsoil to level the area. Then seed generously with one of our premium grass seeds. Water thoroughly and continue to water as needed throughout the following days and weeks. For larger areas, consider using a few rolls of sod on top of a solid base of Greely Sand & Gravel Screened Topsoil. Again, make sure to water thoroughly at installation and continue to water as needed.

If your grass seems to be thin in certain spots, it may be a good idea to overseed in those areas. Start by spreading a thin layer of Greely’s Topdressing Soil over the space you want to overseed. Once the soil has been gently raked through, sprinkle seed on top and water generously. Putting the work in during the fall months will help your lawn come back even more full and healthy in the Spring! Additionally, Greely’s Topdressing Soil is perfectly blended to provide your existing and new grass with the nutrients it needs to thrive.

Our convenient delivery of bulk or Greely’s Gardening Bag orders continues throughout the Fall season. Simply call our office or visit our online store to place an order for top quality soils, seed, even tool rentals! Everything you need to get the job done is available at Greely Sand & Gravel with convenient delivery options so that you can focus on the project at hand.

Call us today to get started on your Fall landscaping project. Our knowledgeable team is here to help!

Tool Kit Rental

Posted on by Greely Sand And Gravel

A bright and sunny start to Fall like we are experiencing this year can make it the perfect time to get caught up on some of that lawn and yard work that might have gotten left undone during summer vacation! October is a great month to do a little extra work to make sure that your property will be looking fresh and beautiful come springtime.

Want to spruce up your lawn and gardens this fall but don’t know where to start? Here are a few common tasks that are great to tackle at this time of year:

  • Overseed your lawn
  • Rake and collect leaves
  • Tidy and straighten edges and borders
  • Fill, level, and seed uneven areas of your lawn
  • Plant new perennial flowers

All of these jobs can generally be done on your own, especially if you have the right tools! That is why Greely Sand & Gravel is happy to offer our Lawn & Garden Tool Rental Kit. Maybe you don’t have room to store all the tools needed to complete the landscaping tasks around your home or maybe you just don’t want to buy tools for the a few small jobs that need to be done. Either way – our Tool Rental Kit is the perfect solution!

The Greely Sand & Gravel Lawn & Garden Tool Rental Kit includes:

  • Square Point Shovel
  • Round Point Shovel
  • Turf Edger with footsteps
  • Level Rake
  • Leaf Rake
  • Tamper
  • Broom
  • Wheel Barrow
  • Lawn Roller
  • 100 ft Garden Hose
  • Spray Nozzle
  • Oscillating Sprinkler
  • Spirit Level
  • Measuring Tape
  • Complimentary Gloves

For any of the jobs listed above, and many more, we can provide you with the materials AND the tools you need to make the process quick, easy, and effective! Our tools are all high quality and well maintained, ensuring that our customers have an enjoyable user experience. When you call us to rent the Tool Kit, we can generally have it delivered right to your driveway within 48 hours. After the job is complete, simply call us again and we will have the Tool Kit picked up as soon as possible. No matter what your project is, the Greely Sand & Gravel Lawn & Garden Tool Rental Kit is a fast and efficient way to make sure you have all the tools you need!

Our Tool Kits are available for either 3 or 7 day rentals and can be ordered individually or added to your order of landscaping products. To make it even better, you can get a $25 discount on the rental cost of the Tool Kit if you add it to an order of at least one Greely Gardening Bag.  For example, if you need to overseed your lawn this fall, go to our online store or give our office a call and have a cubic yard bag of Greely’s Topdressing Soil, a bag of our Premium Plus Lawn Seed, and our Lawn & Garden Tool Rental Kit all delivered to your house within 48 hours, with a $25 discount!

If you have questions about our Tool Kits or want more information on any of our products and services, please don’t hesitate to give our office a call at 613-821-3003. We are happy to help!

Grading Your Lawn

Posted on by Greely Sand And Gravel

Fall is a great time to work on your property and make sure everything is in good order before the winter weather arrives. If you want to keep your property looking and operating in tip top shape, it is critical to not only think about the aesthetic elements such as flower beds and patios, but also the slope or grade of your property as a whole. A properly graded lawn slopes gently away from your home to allow rainwater, ground water, and melting snow or ice to drain away from your foundation, helping to prevent issues with flooding and mold. Depending on your property and situation, grading your lawn can be a relatively small job, or a project that requires help from experts and the use of effective heavy machinery. Either way, Greely Sand & Gravel can provide you with the landscaping products you need to protect your home while giving you a beautiful, healthy lawn!

The goal in grading your lawn is to keep water from entering your basement or interfering with your foundation. In order to achieve this, your property needs to have a gradual slope down or away from the base of your home. It is a good idea to have a professional come to your home to assess the grade of your lawn and let you know what work needs to be done, if any.

If you do need to create a greater slope away from your home to improve the grade, we recommend using a product like Greely Sand & Gravel’s Screened Topsoil. This soil provides structure and will allow for water to drain away from your home when installed at the correct depth and slope. When the grading work is complete, Greely Sand & Gravel’s Screened Topsoil is also  great for growing grass seed or for underneath sod.

For minor adjustments to the grade of your lawn, simply shovel or scoop the soil into the correct spot near the foundation of the house and slope it away using a large shovel or a rake, being sure to compact the soil as you go to maintain the slope. When your slope is created, you are able to seed or sod the area. Interested in purchasing grass seed or sod? Greely Sand & Gravel offers premium grass seed as well as locally grown sod!

If more extensive work needs to be done to correct the slope of your lawn, you may need to hire a professional with the right equipment to complete the job. Greely Sand & Gravel can still supply our Screened Topsoil for your project, no matter how big the load. We offer competitive pricing and stress-free delivery on bulk soil orders delivered via our spacious triaxle dump trucks.

In order to calculate how much Screen Topsoil  you need, simply find the length, width, and depth of the area you need to cover and enter them into the Cubic Yard Calculator found on the product pages of our website. Since you are sloping the soil away from the house, you will only require half of the amount of topsoil needed to fully fill this space. For example, if you are filling an area that is 10’ x 8’  and 12” deep, you would need 1.5 cubic yards of soil.

Grading your lawn can be a big job but our product experts at Greely Sand & Gravel are here to make sure you have exactly the right products you need, when and where you need them! Call us today or visit one of our two conveniently located landscape depots to learn more about our extensive range of products and delivery options.

Starting a New Garden

Posted on by Greely Sand And Gravel

Maybe you just moved into a newly built house or this is the year you have decided to start gardening. More than ever, now is a great time to try growing your own fruits and vegetables at home. From rising inflation to supply chain issues, growing your own fresh produce can alleviate some of these challenges, while also providing you and your family with delicious, healthy food right in your own backyard!

Whether you are a seasoned gardener or just starting out, we have top quality soil and compost, perfect for your garden, garden box, or potted plants. Both our Greely’s Topdressing Soil (which is our recommended gardening soil) and our locally sourced Mushroom Compost are approved for organic growing by CSI (a division of Seeds Canada). When you purchase your garden soil or compost from us, you can be confident that your plants have a nourishing, clean, and supportive base in which to grow.

You may be wondering why we recommend our Greely’s Topdressing Soil for use in gardens, as well as for topdressing your lawn. The triple mix blend of screened topsoil, Mushroom Compost, and black peat that makes up Greely’s Topdressing Soil provides all the same benefits to your fruit and vegetable plants as it does to your grass. Just like grass seed, fruit and vegetable seeds, and seedlings benefit from the increased moisture retention in the black peat, the natural fertilizer from the Mushroom Compost, and the structure of the screened topsoil. And the best part is, Greely’s Topdressing Soil is already blended with a perfect ratio of these three key ingredients, so you can apply it directly into your new or existing garden, garden boxes, planters, or pots!

If you already have an existing garden bed with decent soil, but want the benefits of natural fertilizer, early spring is a great time to consider adding Mushroom Compost to your soil. Our Mushroom Compost is locally sourced from Osgoode, Ontario, approved for organic growing, and is the exact same product we use in our triple mix, Greely’s Topdressing Soil. Just remember, Mushroom Compost is densely packed with nutrients and if applied too generously can actually harm your plants. Try to blend the Mushroom Compost into your existing soil at a ratio of two parts soil to one part Mushroom Compost. Use a shovel, trowel, or garden rake to make sure the Mushroom Compost is well incorporated into your soil. We recommend adding Mushroom Compost before planting anything in your garden for the season.

Are you interested in gardening but want to start small or don’t have space for a large garden bed? A raised garden box might be a great fit for you! We are excited to be offering beautiful hemlock raised garden boxes, locally made by The WoodSource, as part of our product lineup this year. These garden boxes are easy to assemble and require less maintenance than a traditional garden bed. Simply assemble the garden box in your chosen area, and fill with Greely’s Topdressing Soil. Using a raised garden box not only helps with weed control, but also makes your plants more accessible, all while adding a beautiful landscape feature to your property.

If this is the year you want to try growing your own fruits and vegetables, now is the time to get started! Call us today to place an order for our Greely’s Topdressing Soil or one of our beautiful garden box kits. To learn more about our wide array of gardening products, visit our convenient online store. Our knowledgeable office staff are always ready to answer your questions as well – simply call 613-821-3003

Outdoor Home Project Ideas

Posted on by Greely Sand And Gravel

Record snowfalls, freezing cold temperatures – if you are living in Ontario right now, it can be hard to believe that in just a few short months, spring will be here again! Whether your goal for this year is to maintain the health and beauty of your lawn and gardens or you have some bigger projects coming up, making a plan ahead of time is one of the best ways to guarantee success. So why not forget about winter for a moment and think about warmer days ahead while you browse our project ideas below!

New Outdoor Home Projects

Maybe this is the year you try vegetable gardening or growing your favourite flowers to enjoy at home all season long. Or perhaps you’re getting ready to start a fresh lawn from scratch. Starting a new project may be daunting, but with our wide array of high-quality landscaping products, your new lawn, garden, or flowerbed can soon be a reality!

When it comes to lawns, we have you covered from the ground up. Start with a generous layer of our premium screened topsoil to create the perfect base for your new grass. Our bulk load delivery options make it quick and convenient to have the right amount of soil delivered right to your door. We also offer a variety of excellent options for grass seed – perfect, hearty blends for areas with varying amounts of sun exposure. Or if you are considering sod, we can deliver freshly cut, lush rolls when you need them.

Looking to add a garden or flowerbed to your property? Greely’s Topdressing Soil is great for organic growing and is one of the most sought-after soil blends in the region. Delivering proven results for decades, this locally blended triple mix combines screened topsoil, peat, and mushroom compost to provide structure, nutrients, and moisture retention for your plants.

Maintenance & Restoration Projects

Even the most beautiful properties need lots of TLC to stay looking their best! From topdressing your lawn to topping up your mulch or decorative stone, there is always something to do around the yard. Our team is ready to help you with recommendations for the best products to keep your lawn and garden in tip-top shape.

We have products and services to help you:

  • Level an existing patio or walkway
  • Freshen up an old garden or flowerbed
  • Top up your mulch or decorative stone
  • Topdress and overseed your lawn
  • Restore definition to parts of your lawn or garden
  • Dispose of waste, excess soil, leaves, and overgrowth from around your property

Just like a fresh coat of paint can change the whole look of your home, a new layer of mulch or the addition of some decorative stone or an accent boulder can change the whole look of your property and greatly increase curb appeal.

Make this the year you finally start making your landscaping dreams a reality! Visit our informative and convenient online store to browse our products and services and learn more about our locations and delivery options. If you order now, you can still get last year’s price, so start planning now. Once you know what you need, you can place an order online to be first in line for product delivery in the Spring!

Have questions? Give us a call today at 613-821-3003. Our friendly and knowledgeable team will be happy to help you get started. Happy planning!

Alliance Rigid Paver Edging

Posted on by Greely Sand And Gravel

Are you looking to add a stone walkway, patio, or interlock driveway to your property? A beautiful stone or interlock feature can add major visual impact and usability to your property, as well as increasing the value of your home in many cases. If you plan to complete this project yourself, a key element to success is ensuring that you have the right products to make your walkway, patio, or driveway look great and last for many years to come. At Greely Sand & Gravel, we always strive to provide our customers with everything you need to create a stunning landscaping project. That is why we have added Alliance Rigid Paver Edging to our product lineup. This edging, used by professional landscapers, helps create smooth, even, and clean-looking borders around your walkway, patio, or driveway, and will help ensure that your stones stay in place.

What is Alliance Rigid Paver Edging?

Alliance Paver Rigid Edging is made with 100% Polypropylene Copolymer, which provides both strength and flexibility to edge your interlock patio or walkway. This product is composed of 8’ lengths that sit right up against your stone, creating a smooth and defined edge. It is essential to keep interlock stones in place and as time goes on, this edging will provide continued protection against shifting and deterioration for your landscaping project. This edging can be installed before or after the installation of paver stones or interlock.

Installing Alliance Rigid Paver Edging

In order to secure the paver edging in place, 10″ nails can be inserted through the holes in the edging. It is recommended to use one 10″ nail every foot of edging as well as at every junction of edging pieces. If you are following this recommendation, you will require nine nails per length of edging installed. For your convenience, we offer the nails for purchase as well.

You might be thinking, can these edging lengths go around corners? With a little extra work, yes they can! The edging can be flexed around corners simply by cutting the necessary bridge supports between the nail holes at the point of where the bend is necessary. Using this method, the edging can even be flexed to a 90 degree angle! This gives you the freedom and creativity you need in order to make your project unique and beautiful, while still providing the same support and stability to your stones or pavers.

If you’re looking to add strength, flexibility, and rigidity to your paver or interlock project, look no further than Greely’s Alliance Rigid Paver Edging. Give us a call today at 613-821-3003 to learn more or order online.

How To Use Our Disposabag Service

Posted on by Greely Sand And Gravel

September is often a time to start fresh and to tackle more projects around your house and property that you might not have had time for during the summer. The cooler weather is often a reminder to prepare our yards for the upcoming winter season. If you are looking to do some cleanup this fall so that you can be ahead of the game come next spring, we have an amazing product to help! Our Greely Disposabag program is a quick and convenient method of waste removal that helps reduce the environmental impact of your waste by reusing and recycling whenever possible.

The cooler weather is a reminder to prepare our yards for winter

Our Disposabag program allows you to fill our one cubic yard Greely Gardening Bags with garden, excavation, or non-hazardous household waste. When you have your bag ready, give us a call and we will come and pick it up, and safely dispose of the contents for you! If you already purchased a product from us in a Greely Gardening Bag, you can reuse your bag for the Disposabag service, as long as it has no rips or tears. If you need a new bag, you can purchase one at our landscape depots, or you can order one to be delivered to your home.

An important thing to remember when filling your Disposabag is that you can only put one type of waste in a single bag. The three types of waste we accept are:

  • Garden Waste
    Any organic material from your lawn, garden or indoor plants, including grass trimmings, plants, pruning, old shrubs, tree trimmings, and leaves.
  • Excavation Waste
    Almost anything that you can dig out of your lawn, including non-contaminated gravel, rocks, sand, soil and interlocking bricks.
  • Non-Hazardous Household Waste
    Any material that doesn’t qualify as Garden or Excavation waste and can fit in your Greely’s DisposaBag, including small appliances, pieces of wood, scrap metal, construction material, plastic material, clothing and small pieces of furniture.

Items We Cannot Accept

Paint, chemicals, solvents, fluorescent tubes, light fixtures with ballasts, batteries, drywall, contaminated waste and other hazardous material.

The reason why it is important to stick to the one type of waste per bag principle is in order for the waste to be recycled or reused if possible. A bag containing only organic garden waste can be used to rehabilitate natural sites, but this is not possible if the bag is contaminated with other objects such as construction or household waste.

Bags can hold up to 1,500 kg of waste, so when you start to fill your bag, ensure that it is in a place that will be easy for our forklift to access when it is time to pick it up. When you have finished filling your bag, it is important to ensure that the bag can be fully closed at the top and all 4 corner loops are accessible. This will prevent waste from spilling during transportation, which would be a safety hazard.

If you would like to learn more about our unique and convenient Disposabag program, please visit the Disposabag page on our website or call our main office at 613-821-3003. We would be happy to help you dispose of waste around your home or property in a safe and easy way!

Let Our Mushroom Compost Help Your Garden Grow!

Posted on by Greely Sand And Gravel

Are you looking for an effective way to provide healthy nutrients to your soil to bolster the life and health of your plants? Look no further than Greely Sand and Gravel’s Mushroom Compost. This excellent addition to regular topsoil or garden soil acts as a slow-release fertilizer in your garden.

Mushroom compost also aids in moisture retention, making your garden look healthy while supplying plants with the water they need. Mushroom compost is an excellent source of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, critical to healthy plant growth and development.

How to Use Mushroom Compost

The best time to add mushroom compost to your garden is in the spring, before the growing season. If your garden soil is looking light brown and dry, adding and thoroughly mixing in mushroom compost is a great way to enhance the health of the soil. Simply blend the mushroom compost into the existing soil using a trowel, small shovel, or hoe.

Mushroom compost should not be used on its own, as it is high in salt content and can cause waterlogging. You should also know that having too much mushroom compost can harm the plants because the product is highly concentrated. A good ratio of mushroom compost to soil is one part mushroom compost to two parts soil. This ratio allows the mushroom compost to provide nutrients to the soil without overwhelming the plants.

More About Mushroom Compost

There are a few other essential things to be aware of when planning to use mushroom compost. If you are creating a new garden this year, we recommend using our Greely’s Topdressing Soil, which already has our mushroom compost blended in at the perfect ratio. This saves you the extra step of adding it in yourself after you have created your new garden. If you are working with an existing garden and soil that has already been used for several years, adding mushroom compost is an excellent way to revitalize that existing soil.

Our Mushroom Compost is Certified Organic

On top of all of these benefits, Greely Sand and Gravel’s Mushroom Compost is now certified for organic growing. This means that you can have peace of mind knowing that proper screening and testing procedures have taken place before putting the mushroom compost into your garden. Ottawa customers will be pleased to learn that our mushroom compost is also locally sourced produced in Osgoode, ON.

Mushroom compost is typically ready for delivery and pick-up at our landscape depots in mid to late April. We offer delivery by the truckload and in our convenient Greely’s Gardening Bags. If you are only looking for a small amount of mushroom compost to add to a planter, small garden, or garden box, consider coming to pick up a bag or fill a pail at one of our landscape depots, located in Ottawa’s south and west end. This is a great way to save on delivery costs and try out our product before ordering a larger amount.

If you have questions about how to use mushroom compost or would like assistance with placing your order, please give our office a call…we would be happy to help!

(613) 821-3003