How much Soil do I Need - Creek Side Gardens (2024)

FAQs

How do I calculate how much garden soil I need? ›

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).

Retailers usually sell soil and mulch by the 1 or 2 cubic feet amounts, but even if they don't, you can quickly determine how many bags to buy. Multiply the number of yards of material you need by 27 to find the total cubic feet, then divide by the number of cubic feet in the bag.

For a 4x8–foot raised bed with a 10” height, about 1 cubic yard of soil is needed. 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.

A: 1 cubic foot is approximately 26 dry quarts of soil, so the 16qt bag is much less than 2 cubic feet of soil. Helpful?

Bulk Soil. Bulk soil is measured in yards. 1 yard equals 27 cubic feet. Think about it as a cube that is 3′ X 3′ X 3′.

Gardening magazine's trial of the best soil mixture for raised beds found that a blend of 50% topsoil, 25% coarse sand and 25% compost was best.

Topsoil and garden soil can be cheaper to purchase in bulk than in individual small bags from a garden center.

Use the Lasagna Garden Method

To start, lay down sheets of cardboard or newspaper for weed suppression and then fill the raised bed structure halfway up with alternating layers of nitrogen-rich materials (like kitchen scraps and grass clippings) and carbon-rich materials (like wood chips and dried autumn leaves).

Soil that is well-maintained and regularly amended with organic matter can last for up to 10 years or more. Soil that is poorly maintained and not amended regularly may only last for a few years. Soil that is contaminated with chemicals or heavy metals may not be viable for gardening and should be replaced.

The good news is that adding compost also adds nutrients that your plants will use to power growth and flowering. Peat moss is used to add structure and water holding capacity to your raised beds.

What to put at the bottom of a raised garden bed? ›

Cardboard or newspaper: Cardboard is a great option if you are on a budget. You can line the bottom of your raised garden bed with cardboard and newspaper to deter pests and weeds.

Helpful numbers when shopping for potting soil: 1 US dry quart = 0.033420139 cubic foot.

Another way to calculate how much soil you need is by using the area method. Simply multiply the length and width of your bed together, then divide that number by 27 (the cubic feet in a cubic yard). This will give you the number of cubic yards of soil you need, assuming an average soil depth of one foot.

Topsoil is best used for outdoor projects where the root systems have space to expand rather than being confined to a container. Using topsoil for plants in pots will mean that your plant won't get the nutrients it needs to grow and will more than likely die sooner than expected.

To calculate how much topsoil you need, simply measure the dimensions of the area you wish to cover and multiply this by the depth required. Measuring in metres is simplest, as this will give you the volume of topsoil you need in cubic metres. For example: A site has an area of 10m x 15m and needs a coverage of 150mm.

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.