Raised Bed Soil Calculator
Enter your bed's dimensions to get the soil volume and a bag count. It also accounts for the common trick of filling the bottom third with coarse organic matter to cut the amount of bought soil.
Bed volume
32 cu ft
total interior space
Soil needed
21 cu ft
0.8 cu yd
Bags to buy
15
at 1.5 cu ft each
Estimates only. Soil settles, so buying about 5–10% extra is normal. Bulk soil by the cubic yard is usually cheaper than bags once you pass roughly 10–12 cubic feet.
How the math works
Soil volume is simply length × width × depth. The calculator converts your measurements to feet, multiplies them for cubic feet, then divides by 27 to get cubic yards. Bag counts round up, since you cannot buy a fraction of a bag.
Buying tips
- Soil settles after watering, so buy about 5–10% extra.
- Past roughly 10–12 cubic feet, bulk soil by the cubic yard is usually cheaper than bags.
- Filling the bottom third with branches and coarse organic matter can cut the bought-soil cost by about a third without hurting most crops.
For the full build, see how to build a raised garden bed that lasts and the complete first-season garden guide.