---
title: "What Is Topsoil? Stump Grinding Glossary | Cincinnati Stump Grinding"
description: "Topsoil is the dark, loose top layer of soil that holds most of the nutrients, and it is used to fill a hole before seeding or laying sod."
url: https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/topsoil
publisher: Cincinnati Stump Grinding
phone: +1-513-587-6772
quote: https://cincystump.multisites.ai/contact
---

Soil

# Topsoil

Topsoil is the dark, loose top layer of soil that holds most of the nutrients, and it is used to fill a hole before seeding or laying sod.

Topsoil is the upper layer of soil where most roots and soil life live. It is looser and richer in organic matter than the clay or subsoil below it. Garden centers sell it by the bag or by the load.

After grinding, topsoil replaces the chips and fills the hole. Illinois Extension recommends hauling off the chipped stump debris and filling the hole with quality topsoil if you plan to plant turfgrass. Add a little extra, because the ground will [settle](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/soil-settling) as buried wood rots.

Cincinnati Stump Grinding says on Angi: "And if you'd like those wood chips hauled away and replaced with fresh topsoil, we offer those services too." Fresh topsoil is a form of [backfill](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/backfill). See [the chip haul-away and topsoil service](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/services/chip-haul-away-topsoil).

[From Cincinnati Stump GrindingChip haul-away and topsoil](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/services/chip-haul-away-topsoil)

## Related terms

-   [Backfill](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/backfill)
-   [Wood chips](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/wood-chips)
-   [Soil settling](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/soil-settling)
-   [Sod](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/sod)
-   [Stump grindings](https://cincystump.multisites.ai/glossary/stump-grindings)

## Sources

1.  [Illinois Extension, Good Growing: What to do with that tree stump?](https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2025-07-18-what-do-tree-stump-guide-tree-stump-removal)
2.  [Angi: Cincinnati Stump Grinding](https://www.angi.com/companylist/us/ky/fort-thomas/cincinnati-stump-grinding-reviews-1.htm)
3.  [Iowa State University Extension, Yard and Garden: How to Remove Tree Stumps](https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/how-to/how-remove-tree-stumps)