Covering broken asphalt driveway with dirt

[George]

Anybody done this? Dont want concrete, gravel, etc... Just replace with grass. also covering with 3 inches of dirt would be cooler and bring the level up where i need it to be.

[Ed Pawlowski]

How well does grass grow long term with just 3"? I can see potential drainage problems and possible washouts but could work.

You can always plant weeds, they seem to grow anywhere with minimal dirt.

[trader_4]

First question is whether the intent is to still use it as a driveway and if so, how much traffic? If it's going to be driven over one a month, might work. If it's for daily use, the grass subject to traffic isn't going to survive and in either case it would be a mess with heavy rain.... What's wrong with crushed stone? Especially if you have to pay for the material, topsoil usually isn't free, why not get something more practical?

[Clare Snyder]

Depends where you are. If you get frost the pavement will end up on top again in afew years - - -

[Hawk]

Why not use cold patch and fill the open area?

[Hawk]

[Dan Espen]

I think I agree, in addition, 3 inches of soil will dry out completely in a week or so of sunshine and no rain.

In rain, 3 inches of mud will squish aside exposing the pavement pretty easily.

Not sure why one would want to kill a driveway, but the soil will make a mess. Gravel might be a solution. Plant trees for cooling.

[Clare Snyder]

not much better than covering with ground - - -

[Hawk]

I've had great success with cold patching asphalt holes and openings. I can't see why it wouldn't work.

[Clare Snyder]

It generally works ok on an otherwize sound platform - for a short time. Any water gets down under it and freezes, and it comes right back out. Even the roads departments don't have good luck with it - yet they keep throwing good money after bad. Why not? It's not THEIR money - it's ours.

[trader_4]

I've used it for holes too, with good results, but it doesn't sound like he just has a couple of holes in an otherwise sound driveway. Of course we don't have much info to go on.

[jeikppkywk]

Much better in the sense that it doesn't go boggy after it rains and doesn't blow away when it hasn't rained for a long time.

[micky]

Of course these are used to grow crops, not mere grass. I think 3" might be enough to grow grass. Why not do part of the driveway for a few months or a year or two and see how it goes.

farms consist of green roof systems laid down before the soil. At our Flagship Farm in LIC, we installed a green roof system distributed by Conservation Technology consisting of a layer of root-barrier, which prevents our plants’ roots from penetrating the surface of the roof; a

[something you don't have to worry about]

thick layer of geotextile “filter” or “separation” fabric; drainage plates with small cups to hold excess water from heavy rainstorms (the soil and plants wick this stored water up in dry conditions to keep our water use down), and finally, a thin layer of filter fabric to prevent the drainage mats from filling up with the 8-10" of Rooflite Intensive blend soil. The soil and materials to build this farm were transported via crane and buggy.

Maybe just make sure no place is too far from a crack or hole.