Calculators
Raised Garden Bed Soil Calculator
Vegetable and flower beds are often built in standard lumber sizes — 4×8 ft is a common footprint. Depth is how tall the soil column is inside the frame, not the height of the boards alone.
Example preset: 4 ft × 4 ft at 10 inches deep for a compact salad bed. The table lists cubic yards plus bag lines for 1 cu ft and 1.5 cu ft soil bags.
Adjust dimensions and bed count in the controls below.
| Item | Area | Size | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total soil volume | — | 13.3 cu ft | 13.33 cu ft |
| Cubic yards | — | 0.5 cu yd | about 0.49 cu yd |
| 1 cu ft bags | — | 13.3 cu ft | 14 bags |
| 1.5 cu ft bags | — | 13.3 cu ft | 9 bags |
Assumptions
- Bed size: 4 × 4 ft
- Soil depth: 10 in
- Identical beds: 1
- Volume: 13.33 cu ft
- Cubic yards: 0.49 cu yd
- Bag counts round up to whole bags (1 cu ft and 1.5 cu ft sizes).
Supplies checklist
- Garden fork or shovel for mixing and filling
- Wheelbarrow or tub for moving soil
- Landscape fabric (optional, under the mix)
Estimates only. Check the coverage figure on your product before buying.
The Handy Pages · thehandypages.com
Handy gear for filling raised garden beds
- Bagged raised-bed soil mix sized for vegetable and flower beds (opens in new tab)
- Raised garden bed kit with lumber or composite sides (opens in new tab)
- Garden fork or cultivator for blending soil and compost (opens in new tab)
- Wheelbarrow or tub for moving soil to the bed (opens in new tab)
Find these on Amazon (opens in new tab)
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Full affiliate disclosure