So you need to fill a new garden bed with soil ?
Use my soil calculator to determine the amount of soil required for a orthogonal , pear-shaped , or triangular bed . It also works with other types of materials , such as sand , compost , and mulch . Each calculator will give you the amount in yards and three-dimensional understructure , as well as the number of bag if you ’re buying bagged soil or bagged compost .
Rectangular bed
Round bed
Triangular bed
How to calculate soil volume
You ’ll need three measurements from your raised bed : the length and breadth of the area you want to fill ( in foot ) and the profundity ( in inches ) . Since grunge settles over time , I urge add an inch or two to the depth .
If you want to fill a round bed , you ’ll call for to know the depth ( in column inch ) and the radius ( in feet ) . If you want to satisfy a triangular bed , you ’ll require measurements for the deepness ( in inches ) , the base ( in feet ) , and the vertical acme ( in feet ) .
introduce these values in the field above , and the calculators will mechanically reckon how much soil you have to buy .
What if you want to mix soil types?
If you register my template oncreating the ideal soil portmanteau for raised seam , you ’re probably look to corrupt two or three unlike fixings to commix together ( for example , topsoil + compost , or topsoil + compost + harsh sand ) .
merely calculate the full volume of material needed to fill your bed , then split up the amount by percentages .
Example : Say the calculator indicates that you take a total of 5 yards of stuff . If you want 60 per centum surface soil and 40 percent compost , you would then need to buy 3 yards of surface soil ( 0.60 x 5 ) and 2 yard of compost ( 0.40 x 5 ) .
What is a “yard”?
In gardening and landscape gardening full term , a “ yard ” of material refers to a cubic yard . It ’s how soil is measured in bulk and it ’s a similar room to buy grease from a landscaping ship’s company , whether you load it yourself into a hand truck or have it deliver by the dump load .
To put it visually , a three-dimensional yard is the amount of material that would meet inside a cube measuring 3 feet on each side ( duration x width x altitude ) .
territory sold in bag , however , are measured in cubic feet , usually in quantities of 1 three-dimensional foot , 1.5 three-dimensional feet , 2 cubic feet , and 3 three-dimensional feet . It takes 27 small bags ( 1 cubic metrical unit ) to equal a yard of soil .
To fill a large and completely empty raised bed , it ’s often more economical to purchase materials by the K , as bags can add up quickly .
How to measure multiple garden beds
You have two style to go about it :
model : Let ’s say you have 4 beds that are each 8 feet long and 4 feet encompassing , and you desire to fill them to a depth of 12 in . Enter the length as 8 , the profoundness as 12 , and the width as 16 ( determined by multiplying 4 feet by 4 beds ) .
How to measure irregular areas
If your garden bed is on an irregular basis forge due to curvature , envisage a orthogonal configuration ( or two ) overlay on the area so that the size of it of the rectangle is about the same sizing as the bed . Measure the imaginary rectangle(s ) and practice those values to calculate an approximate quantity of soil .
If your bed has square sides but consists of different sized rectangles ( like an L - regulate bed ) , assess each rectangle separately to get the amount of soil involve for each expanse , then add them together to get the total amount of ground .
Example : For the cubic decimeter - shape seam shown below , mensurate the distance x breadth x depth of Area 1 and utilize the computer to get the amount of soil needed . Measure Area 2 the same way , then bestow both amounts to get the full soil measure .
