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Home/Tools/Bed Soil
storageLayout - 2 min

Raised Bed Soil Calculator

Convert bed dimensions into bags, bulk volume, and a mix plan before you buy soil.

Calculate cubic feet, cubic yards, bag count, and mix volumes for raised beds.

What this tool decides

Decides how much bed fill to buy and how the mix breaks down before soil settles.

Step 1

Set your inputs

Step 2

Calculate the number

Step 3

Read the plan

Outputs

3 volumes

Cubic feet, cubic yards, and bag count.

Decision preview

1Set your inputs
2Calculate the number
3Read the plan

Layout inputs

Bed volume and mix

Bag size

Mix ratio

Diagnostic panel

storage

Total soil volume

32.0 cu ft

1.19 cubic yards for bulk ordering.

Mix breakdown

Soil components

storage
terrain

Topsoil

16.0 cu ft

compost

Compost

9.6 cu ft

grain

Aeration

6.4 cu ft

Bag estimate

16 bags

Based on 2 cubic foot bags. Round up if the bed settles after watering.

checklist

Read the plan

How to use this result

What it means

Cubic feet is the shopping number for bags; cubic yards is the ordering number for bulk deliveries.

Next action

Round up for settling, then use the mix bars to balance topsoil, compost, and aeration.

warning

Risk note

Underfilled beds dry faster and dense mixes hold too much water after the first few irrigations.

report_problem

Common mistakes

Buying by bed area instead of volume

Length and width are not enough; depth decides most of the soil order.

Making compost the whole bed

Compost feeds the mix, but too much can settle, stay wet, and burn young roots.

edit_note

Field note

Buy soil by volume, then adjust the mix for drainage

Raised beds fail when the volume is guessed too low or the mix stays dense after watering. This calculator gives the cubic feet first; use that number with the fertilizing guide hub when compost, nutrients, or soil texture are the bigger decision.

A bag estimate is intentionally conservative because fresh soil settles. If you are filling a vegetable bed, check crop fit in vegetables before buying amendments that do not match the plants you plan to grow.

Related KTY links

Plant FinderFind plants that fit your sun, water, and zone.VegetablesBrowse edible crops for beds and containers.

Next tool

Watering

Decides how many gallons and minutes turn a weekly water target into a real watering session.

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