My experience with Mulch Mound was great and super easy. I ordered two yards of screened topsoil and was able to get it delivered within 2 days. They came in my requested time frame (afternoon) and dropped it off where I asked on my driveway. The topsoil was exactly what was a...
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How Much Material Do I Need?
For decorative beds, two to three inches of stone gives full coverage without burying plant crowns. Drainage trenches and dry creek beds need eight to twelve inches, and driveways want a four to six inch compacted base.
Use our free stone calculator
What is a Yard?
A yard is approximately 27 cubic feet. As a general guideline, one yard of material can cover an area of about 100-160 square feet at a 2-3 inch depth.
My experience with Mulch Mound was great and super easy. I ordered two yards of screened topsoil and was able to get it delivered within 2 days. They came in my requested time frame (afternoon) and dropped it off where I asked on my driveway. The topsoil was exactly what was a...
How Much Material Do I Need?
For decorative beds, two to three inches of stone gives full coverage without burying plant crowns. Drainage trenches and dry creek beds need eight to twelve inches, and driveways want a four to six inch compacted base.
Use our free stone calculator
What is a Yard?
A yard is approximately 27 cubic feet. As a general guideline, one yard of material can cover an area of about 100-160 square feet at a 2-3 inch depth.
My experience with Mulch Mound was great and super easy. I ordered two yards of screened topsoil and was able to get it delivered within 2 days. Th...
Read full review
My experience with Mulch Mound was great and super easy. I ordered two yards of screened topsoil and was able to get it delivered within 2 days. They came in my requested time frame (afternoon) and dropped it off where I asked on my driveway. The topsoil was exactly what was advertised, clean with no rocks or other debris. The price was reasonable. I plan to use them again in a couple weeks to order compost for my garden beds.
Measure the length and width of the area in feet, then decide on depth before you order, since stone depth varies a lot by application. A drainage trench might be twelve inches deep while a decorative bed is only two. Enter the numbers and let the calculator handle the cubic yard conversion, then add five percent for settling into the base.
Complete Your Outdoor Stone Project
Add landscape fabric and steel or paver edging so your stone stays put in a Russellville gully washer, and pick up screened topsoil for regrading the areas beside your new drainage work.
Always put filter fabric under stone in Russellville. Our silt loam is made of very fine particles that pump upward through gravel with every wet and dry cycle, and within two or three years your clean rock will be half mud. Use a woven fabric under driveways and a non woven under drainage gravel, overlap the seams at least a foot, and pin the edges so they do not shift while you place stone.
Mulch Mound Pro Tip
Edge every stone bed. Loose rock migrates into lawns during heavy runoff, and there is nothing worse than finding river rock with a mower blade. Steel edging set two inches above finished stone grade holds the line, keeps bermuda from creeping in from the sides and gives you a clean mowing edge. On slopes, add a small check dam of larger cobble every eight to ten feet to break the water's momentum.
Mulch Mound Pro Tip
Match the stone shape to the job. Rounded river rock looks great but rolls underfoot and shifts on any grade, which makes it a poor choice for paths or driveways. Angular crushed stone locks together and stays where you put it, so use it for bases, walkways and anything sloped. Save the smooth rounded material for flat decorative beds and dry creek channels where movement is not a problem.
The Unique Landscape of Russellville
With about 50 inches of rain landing on Russellville each year, moving water is the single biggest force acting on local yards. Stone is what stands up to it, whether that is river rock lining a swale, crushed gravel holding a driveway together or rip rap protecting a bank along a creek. Silt loam soil erodes readily once water gains speed, and stone slows and spreads that flow before it cuts a channel. It also solves the maintenance problem in spots where organic mulch simply floats away, like downspout outfalls and low areas that stay damp. Because stone never breaks down, a properly installed area holds its shape through years of Arkansas River Valley freeze and thaw cycles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Click a question to see the answer
Answer
What stone should I use for a French drain in Russellville?
Use washed drainage gravel in the three quarter inch to one inch range, angular rather than rounded, so it locks and keeps voids open. Wrap the trench in filter fabric, because our silt loam has very fine particles that will migrate into the gravel and clog it within a couple of seasons otherwise.
Answer
How do I stop erosion where my downspout dumps into the yard?
Dig a shallow channel, line it with fabric, and set three to five inch river rock as a splash and conveyance path out to a safe outlet. With Russellville's rainfall intensity, a two foot wide channel and at least ten feet of run is realistic. Smaller pea gravel will scatter in the first heavy storm.
Answer
Will gravel hold up on my driveway through Arkansas winters?
Yes, if you build it in layers. Start with four to six inches of crushed base rock with fines so it compacts and locks, then top with a thinner surface layer. The occasional Russellville freeze and thaw is mild compared to the north, but our wet winters mean drainage and crown matter more than depth alone.
Answer
Can I put stone over landscape fabric instead of mulch around my shrubs?
You can, and it is popular on the hot south and west exposures around town. Just know that stone radiates heat, which is tough on hydrangeas and azaleas in Zone 7b summers. It works best around junipers, ornamental grasses, hollies and other heat tolerant plants, and along foundations where you want zero maintenance.
Answer
How much does a yard of stone weigh, and can my driveway handle a load?
A cubic yard of crushed stone runs roughly 2,700 pounds, so a five yard order is close to seven tons on the truck. Most Russellville concrete driveways are fine, but older asphalt or a fresh drive can mark under the tires. We can dump on a plywood sheet or on the street edge if you prefer.
Answer
Does stone keep weeds out better than mulch?
Initially yes, since nothing in stone feeds weeds. But over a few years, silt and leaf litter from our long fall drop settle into the gaps and create a seedbed on top. Blow the stone clean each fall after leaves drop and it will stay clean far longer than any mulch bed.
Answer
What size rock works for a dry creek bed?
Mix sizes for a natural look and real function. Use two to four inch river rock as the main channel bed, scatter six to twelve inch cobble along the edges and at turns to slow water, and set a few larger boulders as accents. Given Russellville's downpours, size the channel wider than you think you need.
