How to Create a Berm for Planting

Berms -- small, man-made hills -- offer many advantages in the landscape. By using quality soil to create berms, gardeners easily solve the problem of poor soil. Berms also add interest in an otherwise flat landscape, can help hide eyesores like utility boxes, and can create a noise barrier. In addition, berms are relatively easy to create, although it takes time for a new berm's soil to settle, making it suitable for planting.

Things You'll Need

• Garden hose
• White spray paint
• Sod cutter or spade
• Water
• Quality soil
• Filler (optional)
• Organic mulch

Instructions

1. Determine how much of the berm is made of quality soil. Because berms require significant amounts of soil, consider using quality earth for the top foot or so of the berm and lesser-quality soil for the remainder of the berm. Check with local municipalities about other fill materials, such as clay, asphalt and gravel. Some cities allow only certain types of fill.

2. Mark the location of the berm. Use a garden hose to create the desired shape, remembering that if the berm is more than 4 feet wide, you'll have to step into the soil to tend to the garden, thereby compacting the soil and making it less plant-friendly. Put stepping stones or a pathway on larger berms.

3. Spray the outline of the hose with white spray paint.

4. Remove any grass from the area with a sod cutter or a spade. Turn the pieces of sod upside down and let them dry in the sun for about three days. Stack the pieces of sod into the middle of the berm, where it is tallest. Alternatively, treat the area with a weed killer; when the grass and weeds are completely dried up, proceed.

5. Spread soil or filler inside the marked location. Build up the berm until it is at least 20 inches tall, remembering the soil will settle over time. Sprinkle fillers like dirt or compost with water to help keep them in place. Berms with an asymmetrical slope look most natural.

6. Spread quality soil over the top foot of the berm.

7. Spread about 2 or 3 inches or organic mulch (like bark chips, straw, or pine needles) over the top of the berm.

8. Water the berm and let the soil and filler settle for at least two weeks.

References

• Building Soil Berms; University of Minnesota
• Fix Bad Soil: Build a Berm; Garden Gate Magazine
• Using Berms to Create Height in Landscape Design; The Landscape Design Site
• Creating and Using Berms in the Landscape; Gardening Know How