how much soil for raised beds?

aimeruni · March 27, 2012

NOTE: Soil being used is soil mix, that I'll be making (this is NOT top soil, potting mix/soil, and/or soil less mix... e. g. Miracle Gro etc.)

I need to know how many gallons of soil per raised bed. Found how much soil to use w/sizes of raised beds I'll be using; unfortunately it's in cubic feet and/or square feet; this tells me nothing.

My raised beds will be 4' x 4' and 4' x 8' w/a 12" depth; don't know how many raised beds in total will be used. Just need to know how many gallons to use per individual beds w/sizes given.

kurt · March 27, 2012

There is a post on this same page about 6 down that fills in all the replys to a similar question.

augiedog55 · March 27, 2012

if i did my math right i'm thinking 120 gal. small bed and 240 gal. in the large bed. I might be wrong

kurt · March 27, 2012

Most of your soils come in cubic measurements.1 ft.divided by 12(inch)=.083.So width x length x height gives you the cubic foot.Divide by 27(3x3x3=1 cubic yard).4x4x1-16cubic foot and so on.

janezee · March 27, 2012

1 cu. ft.=7.48 gal.

kurt · March 27, 2012

7.48 is for liquid,6.4 would be for dry.These would be in USA conversions not metrics as for Canada.

Petronius_II · March 27, 2012

6.428 dry gallons/cubic foot is correct.

The question then becomes, what kind of container is Aimeruni using to measure the soil? If it's designed to measure liquid gallons, you need to use the liquid gallon calculation of 7.48 US liquid gallons/cubic foot.

If dry gallons, 103 small bed, 206 large bed. If US liquid gallons, 120 small, 240 large.

I suppose if purchased soil listed in "gallons" is involved in the calculations, one might need to take some pains to find out which type of gallon is being used by the packager.

There's also the Imperial gallon used in the UK and sometimes Canada, and is a bit larger than the dry gallon! I doubt that's involved in this case, though.

Worth1 · March 27, 2012

I know this aint gonna help but you will have 16 cubic feet(119.688 gallons) in the 4X4 beds and 32 cubic feet (239.376) gallons in the 4X8 beds.
1 cubic foot equals 7.4805 US gallons.
27 cubic feet in a yard.
A yard is 3'X3'X3'.
I buy all of my soil and aggregates by the yard.

Worth

habitat_gardener · March 28, 2012

And just to complicate matters: even in a raised bed, I like to pile up the good stuff if I have it. So if I've harvested lots of compost, I add it to my beds.

I got a new garden plot and I'd like to transfer lots of compost as well as some of my plunge-your-arm-up-to-the-elbow soil to it. But I'll see how much hauling my back can stand. I'm hoping to add at least a cubic yard.

March 27, 2012	#1
aimeruni Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Brooksville FL, zone 9a Posts: 67	how much soil for raised beds? NOTE: Soil being used is soil mix, that I'll be making (this is NOT top soil, potting mix/soil, and/or soil less mix... e. g. Miracle Gro etc.) I need to know how many gallons of soil per raised bed. Found how much soil to use w/sizes of raised beds I'll be using; unfortunately it's in cubic feet and/or square feet; this tells me nothing. My raised beds will be 4' x 4' and 4' x 8' w/a 12" depth; don't know how many raised beds in total will be used. Just need to know how many gallons to use per individual beds w/sizes given.

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March 27, 2012	#2
kurt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Homestead,Everglades City Fl. Posts: 2,488	There is a post on this same page about 6 down that fills in all the replys to a similar question.

March 27, 2012	#3
augiedog55 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: oak grove mo Posts: 406	if i did my math right i'm thinking 120 gal. small bed and 240 gal. in the large bed. I might be wrong

March 27, 2012	#5
janezee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Whidbey Island, WA Zone 7, Sunset 5 Posts: 931	1 cu. ft.=7.48 gal.

March 27, 2012	#7
Petronius_II Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Albuquerque, NM - Zone 7a Posts: 209	6.428 dry gallons/cubic foot is correct. The question then becomes, what kind of container is Aimeruni using to measure the soil? If it's designed to measure liquid gallons, you need to use the liquid gallon calculation of 7.48 US liquid gallons/cubic foot. If dry gallons, 103 small bed, 206 large bed. If US liquid gallons, 120 small, 240 large. I suppose if purchased soil listed in "gallons" is involved in the calculations, one might need to take some pains to find out which type of gallon is being used by the packager. There's also the Imperial gallon used in the UK and sometimes Canada, and is a bit larger than the dry gallon! I doubt that's involved in this case, though.

March 27, 2012	#8
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I know this aint gonna help but you will have 16 cubic feet(119.688 gallons) in the 4X4 beds and 32 cubic feet (239.376) gallons in the 4X8 beds. 1 cubic foot equals 7.4805 US gallons. 27 cubic feet in a yard. A yard is 3'X3'X3'. I buy all of my soil and aggregates by the yard. Worth

March 28, 2012	#9
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,540	And just to complicate matters: even in a raised bed, I like to pile up the good stuff if I have it. So if I've harvested lots of compost, I add it to my beds. I got a new garden plot and I'd like to transfer lots of compost as well as some of my plunge-your-arm-up-to-the-elbow soil to it. But I'll see how much hauling my back can stand. I'm hoping to add at least a cubic yard.