Raised bed soil calculator

Enter the inside size of your bed. The result includes the volume, the cubic yards to order in bulk, and how many bags to buy.

Soil for common bed sizes

Bed	Depth	Cubic feet	Cubic yards	1.5 cu ft bags	2 cu ft bags
2 × 4 ft	6 in	4.0	0.15	3	3
2 × 4 ft	10 in	6.7	0.25	5	4
2 × 4 ft	12 in	8.0	0.30	6	5
2 × 4 ft	18 in	12.0	0.44	9	7
3 × 3 ft	6 in	4.5	0.17	4	3
3 × 3 ft	10 in	7.5	0.28	6	5
3 × 3 ft	12 in	9.0	0.33	7	5
3 × 3 ft	18 in	13.5	0.50	10	8
3 × 6 ft	6 in	9.0	0.33	7	5
3 × 6 ft	10 in	15.0	0.56	11	9
3 × 6 ft	12 in	18.0	0.67	14	10
3 × 6 ft	18 in	27.0	1.00	20	15
4 × 4 ft	6 in	8.0	0.30	6	5
4 × 4 ft	10 in	13.3	0.49	10	8
4 × 4 ft	12 in	16.0	0.59	12	9
4 × 4 ft	18 in	24.0	0.89	18	14
4 × 6 ft	6 in	12.0	0.44	9	7
4 × 6 ft	10 in	20.0	0.74	15	11
4 × 6 ft	12 in	24.0	0.89	18	14
4 × 6 ft	18 in	36.0	1.33	27	20
4 × 8 ft	6 in	16.0	0.59	12	9
4 × 8 ft	10 in	26.7	0.99	20	15
4 × 8 ft	12 in	32.0	1.19	24	18
4 × 8 ft	18 in	48.0	1.78	36	27
4 × 10 ft	6 in	20.0	0.74	15	11
4 × 10 ft	10 in	33.3	1.23	25	19
4 × 10 ft	12 in	40.0	1.48	30	22
4 × 10 ft	18 in	60.0	2.22	44	33
4 × 12 ft	6 in	24.0	0.89	18	14
4 × 12 ft	10 in	40.0	1.48	30	22
4 × 12 ft	12 in	48.0	1.78	36	27
4 × 12 ft	18 in	72.0	2.67	53	40
3 × 8 ft	6 in	12.0	0.44	9	7
3 × 8 ft	10 in	20.0	0.74	15	11
3 × 8 ft	12 in	24.0	0.89	18	14
3 × 8 ft	18 in	36.0	1.33	27	20
2 × 8 ft	6 in	8.0	0.30	6	5
2 × 8 ft	10 in	13.3	0.49	10	8
2 × 8 ft	12 in	16.0	0.59	12	9
2 × 8 ft	18 in	24.0	0.89	18	14

What to fill it with

A common raised bed mix is about 60% topsoil, 30% compost and 10% something coarse like pine bark fines or perlite. Bagged "raised bed soil" is usually close to that already.

For beds deeper than 18 inches, many gardeners fill the bottom third with logs, branches and leaves to save soil. It settles more over the first year, so plan to top up.

Ready to plant? Check the planting dates for your town.