 March 28, 2012 | #2 |
Tomatovillian
Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Iowa Posts: 481 |
Part of the problem is that different soil mixes/brands have different qualities and fill differently, and the same soil mix will fill differently once it's moistened or "watered in." So, part of the answer to your question is "It depends." You'll find lots of discussions here about different soil brands and blends and people's personal blends. Volume and weight are not the same. The weight of things is dependent on the amount of moisture/water contained in the mix all ready. For example, over the weekend I bought a 2 cubic feet bag of Miracle Grow Potting Soil and one of Shultz Potting Soil. The Miracle Grow was an easy lift. The Shultz was a potential back injury waiting to happen if handled too gallantly. Some places store the pallets of soil mix outside and they get wet. So, you can't judge by how it feels, weight-wise, how much it will fill. That's why people are talking to you about volume, not weight. Those 40lb bags of "topsoil", "compost", "manure", etc are generally around .75 cubic feet when measured by volume. They tend to be very dense, so if you are planning to use that in your containers, you really need to blend something into them to provide some air space. A certain amount of "fluffiness" is desirable when growing in pots. What I can tell you, from my experience, is that with either standard Miracle Grow potting soil or standard Shultz potting soil, 1 cubic ft is plenty to fill a 5-gallon bucket bought from any of your favorite home/building stores. I often blend one of those 40lb bags of stuff into a 2 cubic foot bag of Miracle Grow or Shultz and about .5 cu ft of bark chunks (about 1/4 of a 2 cubic ft bag) and I can usually fill three 5-gallon buckets to my satisfaction. |
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FAQs
How much is in a 40 lb. bag of soil? ›
A 40 pound bag of topsoil usually contains about 0.75 Cubic Feet of soil. There are 25.71404638 Dry Quarts in a Cubic Foot, so a 25 quart bag of potting soil would equal approximately 1 Cubic Foot.
How much does a 40 lb bag of soil cover? ›Retailers like garden centers and home improvement stores usually sell topsoil in 40 pound bags. One bag will cover an area of 12 square feet to an depth of inch.
How many cubic yards are in a 40 lb bag of top soil? ›| Result | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage (Square feet) | 400 | sq ft |
| Volume (Cubic feet) | 67 | cu ft |
| Volume (Cubic yards) | 2.5 | cu yd |
| Estimated amount (Pounds) | 5,951 | lb |
40 lb Top Soil is a general-purpose soil that is great for filling holes and leveling low areas in your yard. This topsoil is regionally formulated and should be mixed with native soil to build landscape beds and gardens. One 40 lb. bag covers up to 4.5 sq. ft. at a 2 in.
How many quarts is 40 pounds of soil? ›Doing a garden project and I need 40 lbs of top soil, yet everywhere seems to measure their bags in quarts now. How many quarts do I need to equal 40 lbs? Around 20.
How much soil is in a 40 lb bag? ›A 40 pound bag of topsoil usually contains about 0.75 Cubic Feet of soil. There are 25.71404638 Dry Quarts in a Cubic Foot, so a 25 quart bag of potting soil would equal approximately 1 Cubic Foot. If you are filling pots, you will be fine. If you are spreading it on a lawn of any significant size, it will disappear.
Is it cheaper to buy bags of soil? ›Topsoil and garden soil can be cheaper to purchase in bulk than in individual small bags from a garden center.
How many bags of dirt is a yard? ›| # Cubic Yards Needed | Bag Size | |
|---|---|---|
| .75 Cubic Feet | 1 Cubic Foot | |
| 1/2 Yard | 18 bags | 14 bags |
| 1 Yard | 36 bags | 27 bags |
| 3 Yards | 108 bags | 81 bags |
Length in feet x Width in feet x Depth in feet (inches divided by 12). Take the total and divide by 27 (the amount of cubic feet in a yard).
How many pounds are in a yard of dirt? ›A cubic yard measures volume where a ton measures weight. A yard of topsoil usually weighs about 1,800 pounds and a yard of gravel usually weighs about 2,200 pounds.
How many bags of soil do I need for a 4x8 raised bed? ›
For a 4x8-foot raised bed with a 6” height, using Mel's Mix: about 5 cubic feet each of compost, peat moss, and vermiculite is needed. It usually takes about two to three bags of purchased fertile mix (1.5 cubic feet each) to cover the bed surface to a depth of 2 inches.
How many square feet will a 40 lb bag of rock cover? ›| Item | Size | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Peat Moss | 3.8 cf. bale | 100 square feet |
| Straw | 1 bale | 300-400 square feet |
| Chips, rocks, and stones | 0.5 cf. bag or 40 pound bag | 4 square feet at 1.5 inches deep |
| Garden Fertilizer | 50 pound bag | 2000 square feet |
12 dry quarts (13.2L) – approximately 4 lbs (1.81 kg) 16 dry quarts (17.6L) – approximately 5 lbs (2.26 kg) 24 dry quarts (26.4L) – approximately 8 lbs (3.6 kg) 3 cubic foot (16.8L) – approximately 26 lbs (11.7 kg)
How many bags of soil do I need for 100 gallons? ›| Size | Gallons | Bags of Soil (1.5 Cubic Feet) |
|---|---|---|
| 100 Gallon | 98.20 | 8.8 Bags Per Pot |
| 150 Gallon | 151.40 | 13.5 Bags Per Pot |
| 200 Gallon | 204.01 | 18.2 Bags Per Pot |
| 300 Gallon | 342.73 | 30.5 Bags Per Pot |