Frank Otte Nursery and Garden Center

Frank Otte Nursery and Garden Center runs a topsoil, landscape materials and mulch yard in Louisville, Kentucky, selling to both trade and retail customers. Google lists the business under 10 categories — Topsoil supplier, Herb shop, Landscaping supply store, Mulch supplier — which points to a broader inventory than a single-product yard carries.

The business holds a 4.1-star Google rating from 220 reviews. For comparison, the Kentucky average across 163 listed suppliers is 4.5.

What Frank Otte Nursery and Garden Center supplies

Screened topsoil is the workhorse material for new lawns, raised beds and regrading work. Yards typically screen to ½" or ⅜" to pull out rocks, roots and clods, and many sell blended mixes that cut native soil with compost or sand to improve structure and drainage.

Ask which blend you are buying. Straight screened topsoil suits filling and levelling; a 50/50 or 70/30 soil-compost blend performs far better as a planting medium. Pure fill dirt is a different product entirely — unscreened, often clay-heavy, and meant for structural filling rather than growing.

Full-line landscape supply yards stock soil, mulch, decorative stone, boulders, pavers, edging and often sod under one roof. That matters when a project needs several materials, because combining them into a single delivery avoids paying separate trip charges to multiple suppliers.

Because Frank Otte Nursery and Garden Center carries several material lines, it is often possible to combine an order across products — soil, mulch and stone on one truck — rather than paying separate delivery charges to two or three different yards.

How much material you need

Topsoil is sold by the cubic yard. A cubic yard of topsoil weighs roughly 2,000–2,400 lbs depending on moisture, so a half-ton pickup safely carries about one yard.

As a rough guide: 1 yard covers about 100 sq ft at 3 in; 3 yards covers about 325 sq ft at 3 in; 10 yards covers about 1,080 sq ft at 3 in.

Order slightly over rather than under. Coming up short means a second delivery charge, which almost always costs more than the extra material would have.

Ordering and delivery

Delivery pricing usually keys off distance from the yard, so confirm both the charge to your address and any minimum load before comparing quotes.

Check where the truck can actually dump. Tandem trucks need overhead clearance and firm ground, and most drivers will not reverse across a soft lawn or a new driveway. If access is tight, ask whether they run a smaller truck or can leave the load at the kerb.

Pricing for bulk material is rarely published in full, since it moves with stock and season. The business website may list current products, but a phone call will get you a firm delivered number faster.

Ratings and reputation

Of the 220 reviews on file, 142 are five-star (65%) and 31 are four-star. 41 reviews sit at one or two stars, and those are worth reading directly — complaints at material yards usually concern delivery timing or short loads rather than the product itself.

Among the suppliers we list across Kentucky, this rating places Frank Otte Nursery and Garden Center in the top 87%.

Across the 24 suppliers we list in Louisville, the average rating is 4.5.

Review volume matters as much as the score. A 4.1 drawn from 220 reviews reflects a substantial track record.

Hours and visiting the yard

Frank Otte Nursery and Garden Center is open 7 days a week. The yard opens as early as 8 AM and runs until 6 PM.

Saturday opening makes this a practical option for weekend projects — a real advantage, since plenty of bulk yards shut for the weekend and leave homeowners unable to collect material outside working hours.

Loading is weather-dependent whatever the posted hours say. Heavy rain turns yards to mud and makes wet material heavier and harder to spread, so call the same morning if conditions look poor.

Best time to buy in Kentucky

Demand for topsoil peaks from spring through early summer across Kentucky, when yards run their longest queues and hold firmest on price. Late summer and autumn typically bring shorter waits and more negotiating room, particularly on larger loads. If your project timing is flexible, buying outside the spring rush is the single easiest way to reduce the delivered cost.

Other suppliers nearby

There are 6 other suppliers we list within a short drive, the closest being Shoptrimmertrap.com in Louisville, roughly 4 miles away. 38 suppliers sit within a 25-mile radius of this yard.

Pricing the same material at two or three yards is usually worth the phone calls. Bulk rates move with stock on hand, and delivery radius often decides which supplier is genuinely cheapest to your address.

Buying topsoil in Louisville

We list 24 bulk suppliers in Louisville and 163 across Kentucky, spread over 76 cities and towns.

Bulk material pricing is intensely local. Trucking is a large share of the delivered cost, which is why a nearby yard usually beats a cheaper one further out once the full quote lands.