Cost of dirt in Chiang Mai

[Firefly66]

Hi there, I'm providing some funds towards a farm in Chiang Mai and I was quoted 700 bhat for a 6m2 load of dirt as apparently there is a dirt shortage in Chiang Mai... this seems a) ridiculous (who has a shortage of dirt) and really overpriced. From my research I can see people generally pay 180-250 bhat. Is this correct? Appreciate any help... difficult issue.

[BritManToo]

Fill or topsoil?

[Firefly66]

Sorry, for fill dirt for a road.

[khwaibah]

Don't kid yourself 5 years back in San Sai 5 meter dump was 650 a load. That 180 to 250 is isaan price. and that has gone up because of the government. Its around 350 now in isaan.Your in the farang ghetto area. You pay for that.

[IsaanAussie]

Classic problem. Dirt or soil? What are you going to get? People do not sell good soil here but easy to buy pathogenic dirt. Here the current rate is 230 baht per 6 m truckload delivered. Great if you want to build up a house foundation but not so hot if you have gardening in mind. Buy that stuff and you have some work in front of you. You do have alternatives, namely bags of "potting mix" at farang prices or you make your own using what you can get.

Make my own? What? I get 2 responses: 1. How do you do that? (Note the use of the word YOU) or 2. You want me to mix up 3 tonnes of compost,add the right stuff to make a prescription blend and then incorporate that in the garden? Are you f'king crazy?

Well no I am not crazy, just determined to increase the organic matter and biological health of my soil.

Give me some more details on what you need past how much money you are donating and I will be happy to share some ideas.

[NigelKennedy]

In CM we pay 1000 baht for a 5 cm truckload of topsoil .

[IsaanAussie]

For us in Isaan and away from the mountain forests, please explain the term topsoil

[khwaibah]

For us in Isaan and away from the mountain forests, please explain the term topsoil

No such animal in Isaan and there is dam little in the farang ghetto.

[IsaanAussie]

Agree with the crazy buffalo completely. I have been back in Oz looking for the secret on how to remediate absolutely stuffed "dirt" for two years. Can it be done? Yes but the bigger challenge is to apply some direction to it given most of us here are on restricted budgets. Know thy enemy. Know thy strengths. Trucking soils and amendments for miles, why?

[khwaibah]

Agree with the crazy buffalo completely. I have been back in Oz looking for the secret on how to remediate absolutely stuffed "dirt" for two years. Can it be done? Yes but the bigger challenge is to apply some direction to it given most of us here are on restricted budgets. Know thy enemy. Know thy strengths. Trucking soils and amendments for miles, why?

Why ? The number one reason for the cost of fill to increase drastically for the past two yeas an now going on 3 years is the government is requiring that all fill must come from land that has a Chanote. Most fill was being taken from non title land or government land. BTW The army enforces this not the BIB's. In 2006 I paid 350 for 5 meter dump in Doi Sasekt. 2011 it was at 650 now oaths thread its at 1000. In my part of isaan it was 200 per truck now its 350. Chang Mai has the added disadvantage of the farang influence which does not help.

[IsaanAussie]

For me Hi-So CM is far away. Here there is a guy who owns a Macro and a few tip trucks that he wants to get employed. He needs a local to sell the dirt and another with a hole to dig or bill to pay. He moves the equipment around and collects his fees. The dirt seller gets his pond dug or dirt removed for free. What the breakdown withthe middle man is, who knows? But I do know the local agent who told me last night that this year he made 20,000baht as that middle man.

[khwaibah]

For me Hi-So CM is far away. Here there is a guy who owns a Macro and a few tip trucks that he wants to get employed. He needs a local to sell the dirt and another with a hole to dig or bill to pay. He moves the equipment around and collects his fees. The dirt seller gets his pond dug or dirt removed for free. What the breakdown withthe middle man is, who knows? But I do know the local agent who told me last night that this year he made 20,000baht as that middle man.

Your figures give credence of the inflation that the government and army has and is inflecting on Thailand. Cost of doing bigness even on the local side is going nuts.

[IsaanAussie]

For me Hi-So CM is far away. Here there is a guy who owns a Macro and a few tip trucks that he wants to get employed. He needs a local to sell the dirt and another with a hole to dig or bill to pay. He moves the equipment around and collects his fees. The dirt seller gets his pond dug or dirt removed for free. What the breakdown withthe middle man is, who knows? But I do know the local agent who told me last night that this year he made 20,000baht as that middle man.

Your figures give credence of the inflation that the government and army has and is inflecting on Thailand. Cost of doing bigness even on the local side is going nuts.

6 cubic metres at a couple of dollars each is never expensive. Yes, a few years ago it was half the cost. The question is what is it you are buying. If it means I can grow vegetables in the wet season because now the level is above flood, then give me some. What will making that dirt come alive cost me, that is my quest,

[Gary A]

The cost all depends on where you are located. Many times there is only the cost of loading and hauling. I had one farm pond dug and it took over three years to get rid of the extra dirt. It was free to whoever wanted it. Right now I'd like to enlarge another pond but no one wants the dirt.

[green thumb]

In January I paid 300B for 6 wheeled trucks in Suhkothai.

[Firefly66]

Thanks everyone, it's not for growing anything - just fill for a dirt road

[kickstart]

Agree with the crazy buffalo completely. I have been back in Oz looking for the secret on how to remediate absolutely stuffed "dirt" for two years. Can it be done? Yes but the bigger challenge is to apply some direction to it given most of us here are on restricted budgets. Know thy enemy. Know thy strengths. Trucking soils and amendments for miles, why?

Why ? The number one reason for the cost of fill to increase drastically for the past two yeas an now going on 3 years is the government is requiring that all fill must come from land that has a Chanote. Most fill was being taken from non title land or government land. BTW The army enforces this not the BIB's. In 2006 I paid 350 for 5 meter dump in Doi Sasekt. 2011 it was at 650 now oaths thread its at 1000. In my part of isaan it was 200 per truck now its 350. Chang Mai has the added disadvantage of the farang influence which does not help.

The crazy buffalo is right ,here in Lopburi last year you could not buy stone in our area , the government closed all the quarries ,said going to deep and may hit the water course one quarry has been they for 20 years, as you said one had no chanote , one quarry was told pay 100k and you can open again ,but one seems to know who to pay the money to .

Soil is the same only chanote land , the only soil for sale round here now is some one ,mainly sugar cane farmers digging a hole for reservoir , to store water for irrigating sugar cane , job is normal done in a few days ,and word soon gets round ,never a problem selling the soil /sub soil a 10 wheel load of soil is about 6-700 baht load ,of course depending an distance hauled .

For the OP, if you or the family knows some one who has a Sip- Law , a 10 wheeled truck ask him, some time he will find you some soil ,but at what cost I do not know .

[Gary A]

We have a huge surplus of free dirt now. There is a very large government pond near us. A couple of weeks ago, they pumped it dry. It was a party atmosphere with people scooping out fish. Now they are in the process of deepening that pond. Free dirt for the hauling. Until that project is complete, I have absolutely no chance of getting rid of my dirt from remodeling my pond.

[SantiSuk]

"Oaths thread it as ...." That's no way to talk about your fellow Isaan ThaiV members Khwaibah and the plural of oaf is oafs! ☺

[khwaibah]

"Oaths thread it as ...." That's no way to talk about your fellow Isaan ThaiV members Khwaibah and the plural of oaf is oafs! ☺

[kickstart]

Thanks everyone, it's not for growing anything - just fill for a dirt road

After all this ,dirt for a road is no good ,soon as the rains come ,it will turn to mud and the road will be like it was before.

You need to get some stone in ,and a tractor with a blade on to level it all out .

A load of stone will be about 1000 THB load a 10 wheel truck ,a tractor to level it all out about 500 THB hour .

[BSJ]

The wife got a 10 wheeler load of dirt a few weeks back. <deleted> King rubbish good only for fill. She wanted to mix cow poo and bagged compost with it to put in the lime tree rings. So we go down there after I tell her it's rubbish and put 20 shovel fulls in the trailer, then I tell here to break it down. I ended up using my shovel and we both worked at it hitting it for 10 minutes and it still looked like rubbish....with less lumps!

I have my doubts we could break it down in a cement mixer!

That cost us 800 baht cos she knows the guy. We are now waiting for a load of topsoil dirt.....which maybe a while!

The thought crossed my mind to just use cow poo and bagged compost.........

If anyone wants a load of dirt for fill, it's free! Bring you own shovel or front end loader.

[slipperylobster]

It's dirt cheap..

you can also get plenty of dirt from the smog....by putting up huge, damp sheets. Chiang Mai is the only place I know where my clothes get dirtier, when I hang them up to dry (after washing).

[khwaibah]

The wife got a 10 wheeler load of dirt a few weeks back. <deleted> King rubbish good only for fill. She wanted to mix cow poo and bagged compost with it to put in the lime tree rings. So we go down there after I tell her it's rubbish and put 20 shovel fulls in the trailer, then I tell here to break it down. I ended up using my shovel and we both worked at it hitting it for 10 minutes and it still looked like rubbish....with less lumps!

I have my doubts we could break it down in a cement mixer!

That cost us 800 baht cos she knows the guy. We are now waiting for a load of topsoil dirt.....which maybe a while!

The thought crossed my mind to just use cow poo and bagged compost.........

If anyone wants a load of dirt for fill, it's free! Bring you own shovel or front end loader.

Your idea is spot on the only extra is add rice hulks and straw along with the cow and compost. This is what my wife does and it works wonders.

[IsaanAussie]

Remediating dirt into soil is one thing, but not the intention of the OP. What I am all about. As a discussion starter, the Thai Ag Dept has 63 soil type classifications covering the country. Soils ain't soils.

[Issangeorge]

Remediating dirt into soil is one thing, but not the intention of the OP. What I am all about. As a discussion starter, the Thai Ag Dept has 63 soil type classifications covering the country. Soils ain't soils.

Is there a link in English, where I could find out what soil type we have here. In the dry season it becomes very hard and compact and is very hard to dig in, but when broken up looks like and feels almost like a dirty sand. In the wet season it becomes very squishy almost like a quick sand.

[Chowna]

I'm quite lucky as I live right beside the Mekhong and when the water level is low they dig the river bottom to get the dirt,

It has gone up in price for 250 to 300baht in the last couple of years and if you want a tractor to level the dirt its 50baht a truckload,

I know its more expensive to get to my friends village 20k away as there is some fines to pay in the Moo Bans the trucks pass through to get there,

I'm North East Isaan.

Regards

[miltonbentley]

Does anyone have any latest information on bulk soil prices or a contact number for providers. 

 

At Khamtieng they just want to sell by the sack load.

 

Thanks

 

[simoh1490]

Lots of places in San Sai and Mae Jo, near the San Sai Hospital in particular......300 baht per cubic metre based on one cube, less per truck load I imagine.

[miltonbentley]

Many thanks. Very useful