How Much Soil or Mulch Do I Need For My Landscaping Project?
Gardening season is in full swing as evidenced by all the requests for soil and mulch we receive from our Harvest Power website. As part of these requests we get a common question: How much do I need? We thought it would be helpful to walk through a few real-world examples.
First, some background info on calculations and products.
- To know the root of calculations, there are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard (3’ x 3’ x 3’), the common measurement for selling soil and mulch.
- To get a sense of volumes, a full-size pickup truck holds about 2 cubic yards. A volkswagon beetle is roughly the same volume as 15 cubic yards.
Next, let’s walk through a few real-world examples and calculate how much material is needed for a project.
NOTE: If you want to skip learning the math, then head straight over to our landscape calculator.
EXAMPLE #1: We need soil for two 8′ x 4′ x 18″ raised beds.
(~BD in Windsor Locks, CT)
Okay, BD. Let’s figure this out. So first let’s pretend these two raised beds are stretched end-to-end. They would measure 16’ long x 4’ wide and 18” tall. Now let’s go through the steps
- Convert all dimensions into feet (18” ÷ 12” = 1.5’)
- Multiply length x width x height (16’ x 4’ x 1.5’ = 96 cubic feet)
- Divide (96 ÷ 27 = 3.56 cubic yards)
Therefore, you’ll need about 3.5 cubic yards of garden blend for this project. We recommend rounding up to 4 cubic yards since you can almost always use more product top-dressing your lawn, the raised beds, or mixed into potting containers.
EXAMPLE #2: “How much mulch do I need to cover a 20’ x 30’ new garden with 3” of soil amendment?”
(~NM in Surrey, BC)
- Convert all dimensions from inches into feet. (3” ÷ 12” = .25 feet)
- Multiply the three dimensions together (length x width x height) to find the number of cubic feet needed. (20’ long x 30’ wide x 0.25’ high = 150 cubic feet)
- Divide the cubic feet by the number of cubic feet in a cubic yard (27) to find the number of cubic yards (150 ÷ 27 = 5.56 cubic yards)
There you go, NM: You will need about 5-6 cubic yards for your project!
EXAMPLE #3: I’m covering my front- and back- landscape with 2” of mulch. The area is about 20’ x 10’. I want to know how much product I’ll need in bags since I don’t have a pickup truck or trailer, and I think it might be easier to pick up a bunch of product in my car and then carry them throughout the property instead of dealing with a wheelbarrow.
(~KH in Virginia)
Okay, KH. Here we go, with a modified step to convert to bags.
- Convert all dimensions into feet (2” ÷ 12” = 0.16’)
- Multiply length x width x height (20’ x 10’ x 0.16’ = 33 cubic feet)
- FOR CUBIC YARDS, we’d divide (33 ÷ 27 = 1.23 cubic yards). BUT INSTEAD we want to find out how many bags of mulch KH needs. So if she wants 1-cubic foot bags she’ll need to divide by 1 (33 ÷ 1 = 33 1-cubic foot bags). If she wants 2-cubic-foot bags she’ll need to divide by 2 (33 ÷ 2 = 17 2-cubic-foot bags).
Voila, our landscape calculator comes to the same conclusions (see screenshot).
Feeling inspired?
Hopefully this post helps you get a feel for dimensions and how much product you’ll need for your next landscaping project. We offer many quality soil and mulch products in bulk and bagged quantities. Or simply head on over to our contact page to request a quote. Happy landscaping!
Thanks so much for sharing this guide on calculating the amount of soil or mulch your yard needs. I am actually in the middle of a huge landscaping project which involves replacing a lot of grass with some soil. However, that also means that I need to calculate how much replacement material I’ll need, which is why I am here. Since the scale of the project is pretty massive, I might have to have someone transport the material for me, especially if a truck can only hold about 2 cubic yards of soil!
You’re welcome, Linda!
what a nice thing
Thank you for posting this article on calculating soil and/or mulch for a landscaping project. When buying in bulk and hauling it yourself, it is nice to have an idea of how much is needed. Thanks for the information.
Thank you very much for posting this great article. This article has just helped me as I work on a lot of projects involving landscaping. Calculating soil and mulch can be sometimes a lot harder when you don’t know what you’re doing.
Again thanks. This helps a lot.
Exactly what I was going to say.. this has helped me immensely and motivated to do a lot more for my garden outside our office.. because I work in a swimming pool company, we are constantly going to peoples houses and getting surrounded with the beautiful landscapes while repairing their pools haha. but this has encouraged us to have a nice garden too. and we love it !
Thanks for sharing. I’m working on a raised bed on the side of my house for some organic veggies. This is exactly the information I was looking for. Thank you very much!
Thank you for posting this article! It definitely helped me with my project as well!
This is perfect! Thank you for this super helpful post.. We’re using this to create our own organic garden in the yard. The math makes sense but using the calculator was even more helpful..
Thanks again.
Wonderful! Glad to be helpful.
Man, this is a really fantastic article about soil needs. I am working on a couple raised beds for my garden project now and this information is invaluable. I love that you took real people’s questons and help relate the information that way. I really appreciate the work and thanks again!
Wonderful! We are happy to help.
Wow, math was never my strong suit, but this made it way easier for me to figure how much product I need for this next project (I was way off). My wife and I, neither of us being very experienced landscapers, just bought a piece of land and we’re finally going to start the garden we always talked about. We’ll make a bulk order of your 1″ mulch sometime this week, thanks again Meredith!
Wonderful!
We thoroughly enjoyed this article because it quantifies how much soil / mulch you need. We immediately started with the landscape calculator which is also a brilliant tool.
Really great article. Also, really appreciate that landscape calculator, I may get the app to make this project move faster
Amazing and extremely informative article. Thank you so much for posting this! The way you explain and analyze those examples, really helps understand the material needed for each project. I am definitely feeling inspired! Again, thank you!
I helped a friend build a few of these in his small backyard, but his dog kept messing them up. I’ll share this with him on how much he actually needs, because he is always unsure. Thanks for the article!
Just following up with this post, I followed the guidelines laid out here for our first raised bed gardens this past summer and my wife and I had a bumper crop. Thank you for the information, we really enjoyed our garden!
Wonderful, Jim. On behalf of everyone here at Harvest, thanks for sharing!
Great read! I’m currently working on my first landscaping project and had no idea on how to calculate the amount of soil needed. After reading this article and calculating the exact amount I would need I ended up saving some money since I was originally going to buy way more soil than what I needed for this project. I will definitely be using this formula from now on. Thanks for the information!
awesome info right here, gonna keep this handy for future references, thank you
Great article. We just bought a new home and are considering doing the landscaping ourselves. And, we wanna have a little organic garden going on, too. Knowing how to calculate the right amount of soil and mulch helps me figure our the cost. Thank you for example #3!
Ron
We’re always trying to find out how much soil we need for our garden projects. Now we know. Thanks so much for this article! -Chris
Good information. Thanks for sharing. I basically have now idea when it comes to landscaping, but my wife wants it done and I don’t want to pay for it. This will be really helpful.
Remember as kids the teachers always told us that we would need math but we never believed them! LOL This is an example they could have used. But seriously, this is good information. Too often do we buy too much soil when doing projects. This will help in that regard. Thanks!
Such a great article. Thanks for sharing this.
Awesome article! I’m sharing this with my wife. She’s been wanting to start a garden for years, but just doesn’t know exactly how. Hopefully, this will give her the motivation!
Thanks so much for this info. This will make my life some much easier when ordering soil for the veggie patch.
Awesome article! I’m sharing this with my wife. She’s been wanting to start a garden for years, but just doesn’t know exactly how. Hopefully, this will give her the motivation!
WOW! So much info I like that you went over the top on the explaining.
Thank God I found you guys! I’m planning a big landscaping project and I was about to buy way to much topsoil for the project. You guys are life savers!
Awesome article! Love the tips to calculate the amount of soil I’d need for a project!
I love how simple an equation you shared to calculate needed amounts of mulch! The best solutions are often so simple. This is awesome!
Thanks for the soil quantity tips, so helpful! I usually buy way too much. I get confused with converting and dealing with cubic yards. You’re examples and steps made it easier to follow.
Great article. We do patio covers for our customers out in here in Arizona over their gardens. Ill be sure to pass this valuable information to them.
Found this information at the perfect time! Spring is around the corner, and now I know what to do. Just like Julian, I usually buy too much of anything, lol. Thanks for sharing this valuable information.
As a landscaping contractor this is something I will be taking to my crew right away. With spring just a few weeks away we will be using this information all season long. Thanks for your help!!
Very well written article. As someone who prefers to DIY projects this is very helpful information.
Great tips – I’ll be check back at this article later in the spring… after some of this SNOW melts!
Hey Harvest Power,
I came across your article while doing some research for my business, tree service waterbury. We use a lot of mulch for our customers, mainly to insulate the soil and protect the trees from hot and cold temperatures, but also to keep the roots moist because mulch retains water. Sometimes, our customers rather add the mulch themselves. I will pass along this equation as a guide. Thanks again!
Wonderful! Glad this was helpful. You might also like our “Tree Pedicure” video, plus calculations for the ROI of mulch, found here: http://www.harvestpower.com/roi-mulch/
Great article! Thanks for the info. I am going to pass this on to tree service Wichita KS.
Awesome resource! I was just going over this with one of my patio design clients the other day and your landscape calculator came in handy.
We see so many great landscaping set-ups when we service pools. Some homeowners are awesome at knowing what types of landscaping mesh in with their yards and what looks visually pleasing. I can say that those with mulch show very good maintenance.
We’re starting to get more mulch business this season and this is great information that I’ve shared with my guys. Until now we’ve been estimating how much mulch to buy just by the size tree canopy of the when we have customers at our business, Tree Trimming Overland Park wanting us to clean up the base of the tree and lay down mulch. And when we have extra mulch, I can send customers this or text them your calculator. Pretty handy. Thanks!
Great value! Keep up the good work 🙂
I have definitely underestimated the amount of soil I needed for a project in the past. It’s no fun making multiple trips and hauling so I appreciate the tips. Thanks for the article.
Yah, I got that one wrong too the first time. I thought I only needed one scoop. Now I know to get two and a half scoops every year.
Thanks for the post
wife will be impressed when I bring this math in. Finally she’ll have to approve of my zen garden!
We’re re-doing our backyard next weekend and while I trust my math, it helps to see conversions written explained the way you have! Helps me double check if I’m off or not. Thanks!
This is some really good information about how much soil you need to buy. I have been wanting to make a garden in my backyard soon. But I don’t have good soil for it. I liked that you pointed out that you should use around 4 cubic yards of soil.
Glad this was helpful. Not every project will require 4 cubic yards; the quantity you need will depend on the space you are filling.
Huh. Didn’t know a Beetle was 15 cubic yards. Interesting.
This IS a great article! Been asked this question so many times over the years “how much do I need?” well now I can send them over here. 🙂 🙂 🙂 Nice site by the way.
Thanks for breaking it down into simple math, with a clear and concise article. Out here where the ground on our property is mostly lava rock, we gotta bring in lots of soil if we want anything to grow nicely, so referring back to this will help my wife and I out a bunch for our upcoming landscaping and gardening projects.
Very joyful post and extremely informative I just stumble upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. Thanks a lot for this beauty Enjoying article with me. I am appreciating it very much!
This is extremely helpful information. We just started a project in our backyard and have been trying to figure out how much dirt we will need to fill in the area. I’m glad I came across this article!
Wow this is so helpful for the DIY landscaper like myself. My wife is going to love me!
My wife loves me regardless, but this really helped!
This is very informative. I commend you on your thorough explanation.
This article saved me alot of time, thank you so much for the helpful information and calculations.
FYI, avoid planting close to your home. Watering plants will make the soil wet. The moisture can get into your foundation wall and cause cracking.
Wow this is seriously going to save me a lot of trouble in the future. Thank you so much!
We are planning on putting mulch in our landscaping beds next weekend. I’m so glad I found your article! Thanks for the information!
Definitely a great breakdown of the calculations you gotta make, to figure out the amount of soil to use for each landscaping project. We’re in the middle of 2 right now! Thanks a bunch.
This really is a great guide! It will save me a lot of time with the projects that I am working on right now! It is very simple and simplicity is what I like haha
Great article, appreciate the input.
-Matt
Just wanted to say thank you for the awesome calculator. I tried doing the math myself and got lost very easily. Love that I could plug in the numbers and it gave me the right quantity. Purchased my soil this weekend to get my back yard ready for next spring.
I appreciate that you showed how you got the numbers you came up with. It can be hard to accurately estimate the cost or material needed for a project like this and your article has helped me do just that.
Thanks and great job!
Sarah G.
You really inspired me! 🙂
Awesome post. Even as an engineering graduate, I love referring back to MATH whenever a new project calls for it. We (me and my wife) have been tampering with new design and layouts in our yard. We’ve come a long way and thank extensive posts like these. Mulch, of all things, can make or break a design.
Great read! I’m currently working on my first landscaping project and had no idea on how to calculate the amount of soil needed. After reading this article and calculating the exact amount I would need I ended up saving some money since I was originally going to buy way more soil than what I needed for this project. I will definitely be using this formula from now on. Thanks for the information!
I’ve been thinking about getting some good soil supplies for my yard, but some tips would be good. I’m glad you mentioned being able to know how much soil you need for different raised beds. I think that being able to calculate how much soil we need would be good, and help us to be able to get what we need!
I must answer questions about this almost daily. From now on, I’m going to point them here!
Really good writeup. It’s great you actually displayed the numbers and everything. Estimating is never a great idea in these situations.
Chris P
Tulsa Tree Service
Thank you for this article. I particularly liked the 3 examples you provided to give me different scenarios. Helps me explain it better to my staff who are always ordering too much materials for some of my jobs.
You probably don’t need as much as you think, and you can always supplement with good-old-fashion dirt from your yards.
Great article! Keep up the good work!
Wow, this is great mate!
Awesome reference. I explain to our clients to always think of volume as a rectangular or cube that measures lengths in 3 different directions (pictures help). That helps us calculate volume of mulch, dirt or tree space when installing landscape or hardscape, particularly much and dirt. An X-Y-Z graph always makes it easier. If measuring in feet, ideal, just multiple all sides by a unit in feet and divide by 27 to get yardage.
Great stuff. Always love helpful info to improve my gardening. Thanks!
We’ve been doing our own gardening to save on landscaping costs outside of our business. This is great info! Thanks!!!
This has been a massive help! Thanks for the clever insight
You really inspired me! This is just what I need for my garden this spring.
This calculation has been SOOO Helpful for our photography business. We setup a backdrop about a few years ago, planted some beautiful palms, and now we take pics here all the time!
First, some background info on calculations and products.
To know the root of calculations, there are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard (3’ x 3’ x 3’), the common measurement for selling soil and mulch.
To get a sense of volumes, a full-size pickup truck holds about 2 cubic yards. A volkswagon beetle is roughly the same volume as 15 cubic yards.
Many thanks for this informative article!
I’ve been looking for a good topsoil service. I’m glad you talked about being able to do calculations for how much topsoil you need. I’m going to have to look for a good topsoil service and see what we can find!
Great info! Have been reading a lot about constructing raised garden beds recently and this is very helpful to understand how much soil I will need for the size bed we are planning to build. That calculator is very helpful.
Thanks!
Very useful to avoid over- or under-buying.
Very helpful article. I was about to order a few yards of topsoil and I am glad I found this page. Turns out I need twice as much as I originally thought!
What amount of soil you do you need? My wife is getting into gardening and is Loving it.
Great info! Will be building a raised bed garden this weekend.
Thanks for this info. What a great post.
This will save me some money vs guessing. Thank you
Thanks for this resource – will come in handy next spring.