Garden Soil Calculator
How much garden soil do you need? Enter your bed size and depth for cubic yards, bags, and cost.
Enter a bulk price to estimate cost.
You need
1.85cu yd
- Cubic feet
- 50 cu ft
- Cubic yards
- 1.85 cu yd
- Bags (1.5 cu ft)
- 34 bags
- Weight
- ≈ 1.85 tons
Bulk is sold by the yard — order 2 cu yd to have enough.
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Who needs a garden soil calculator
This tool is for anyone building or refreshing a planting bed: starting a new flower or vegetable bed from scratch, deepening an existing bed before a new season, or blending amended soil into a border. Garden soil is topsoil enriched with compost or other amendments, so it's meant for beds you're actually planting into, not general fill. Enter your bed size and depth, and it converts that to cubic yards and bag counts.
How much garden soil do I need for a new bed?
The formula is area times depth, converted to cubic yards: (length ft × width ft × depth in inches ÷ 12) ÷ 27. New beds typically need a deeper layer than a top-up, since roots need room to establish.
Example: a 12 ft × 8 ft new bed (96 sq ft) filled 8 inches deep. Convert depth to feet: 8 ÷ 12 ≈ 0.67 ft. Volume: 96 × 0.67 ≈ 64 cubic feet. Cubic yards: 64 ÷ 27 ≈ 2.4 yards. Round up when ordering so you're not short on planting day.
Coverage by depth (per cubic yard)
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet no matter what's in it, so coverage depends only on depth. Divide 27 by the depth in feet: at 6 inches (0.5 ft), one yard covers 27 ÷ 0.5 = 54 sq ft. A thinner top-up layer stretches a yard much further than filling a bed from scratch.
Use this table to plan how many yards a bed of a given size will take at your target depth, whether you're filling a new bed 6–8 inches deep or topping off an existing one by an inch or two.
| Depth | Coverage (per 1 cu yd) |
|---|---|
| 1 inch | 324 sq ft |
| 2 inches | 162 sq ft |
| 3 inches | 108 sq ft |
| 4 inches | 81 sq ft |
| 6 inches | 54 sq ft |
| 8 inches | ≈41 sq ft |
Bottom line: a fresh bed at 6–8 inches uses roughly twice as much soil per square foot as a 3-inch top-up.
Bags per cubic yard
Garden soil is commonly sold in 1.5-cubic-foot bags. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so 27 ÷ 1.5 = 18 bags per yard exactly. That number holds regardless of how deep you're filling — it's just the conversion between the two units.
For a small bed, bags are often easier to manage than arranging a bulk delivery. Once a bed needs more than 2–3 yards, though, bulk delivery usually works out cheaper per yard and saves a lot of trips.
| Cubic yards needed | Bags (1.5 cu ft each) |
|---|---|
| 1 yard | 18 bags |
| 2 yards | 36 bags |
| 3 yards | 54 bags |
Bottom line: 18 bags of 1.5-cu-ft garden soil make up one cubic yard.
Garden soil vs. topsoil vs. potting mix
Garden soil is topsoil blended with compost or other amendments specifically for in-ground and raised beds — it holds nutrients and structure better than plain topsoil, but costs more. Topsoil alone is cheaper and fine for filling or leveling, but usually needs compost worked in before it's ready for heavy planting. Potting mix is a different product entirely: a lightweight, often soilless blend of materials like peat, coir, bark, and perlite, formulated to drain well in the confined space of a container.
Don't substitute garden soil for potting mix in pots and containers — it's too dense, compacts in a confined space, and drains poorly, which can suffocate roots. Save garden soil for beds and borders with soil underneath it to drain into.
Garden soil weight by volume
Garden soil weighs roughly 1 US ton (about 2,000 lb) per cubic yard, though the exact figure shifts with moisture and how much compost or organic matter is mixed in — compost-heavy blends can be lighter than straight mineral soil. This matters mainly for bulk delivery, where trucks have load limits and some suppliers price by the ton rather than the yard.
| Cubic yards | Approx. weight |
|---|---|
| 1 cubic yard | ≈2,000 lb (1 ton) |
| 2 cubic yards | ≈4,000 lb (2 tons) |
| 3 cubic yards | ≈6,000 lb (3 tons) |
Bottom line: budget about 1 ton per yard, and confirm with your supplier for a large delivery.
How it's calculated
- 1
Measure the bed
Enter length and width in feet, choose a circle, or type the total area.
- 2
Set the depth
Enter how deep you're filling or topping up, in inches. Presets are 4, 6, and 8 inches.
- 3
Get yards and bags
We show cubic feet, cubic yards, and the number of bags (default 1.5 cu ft) so you can buy the right amount.
Frequently asked questions
How much garden soil for a new bed?
For a fresh bed, 6–8 inches of soil is typical. Multiply area by depth ÷ 324 for cubic yards — the calculator does it for your dimensions.
Is garden soil the same as potting mix?
No. Garden soil is for in-ground beds and raised beds; potting mix is lighter and made for containers. Don't fill pots with garden soil alone.
How much does garden soil weigh?
Roughly 1 US ton per cubic yard, varying with moisture and compost content. Bulk delivery is usually cheaper above about a cubic yard.