What Is Fill Dirt in Landscaping?

Screened

• Screened fill dirt has gone through a sifting process to filter out rocks, tree limbs, stumps, roots and other elements. It is often used for planting trees, shrubs and raised beds.

Unscreened

• Unscreened fill dirt has not gone through any sifting process, so it is cheaper than its screened counterpart. It's an inexpensive option for filling in large holes or to level an area before paving it. However, unscreened fill dirt contains stumps, rocks, concrete and other debris.

Considerations

• No official or legal definition exists for topsoil, which typically contains more organic matter than fill dirt and is what you'd want to use for planting a new lawn. Even fill dirt can be sold as topsoil. So before you buy topsoil, visually inspect it to be sure you are not being sold fill dirt instead.