MEASURE & FILL
4x8 raised bed: soil & bag counts
At 12 inches deep, a 4x8-foot inside footprint needs 32 cubic feet: 16 two-cubic-foot bags. Compare fill depths and bag sizes.
Read the note →THE RAISED BED WORKBENCH
Raised bed soil calculator.
Calculate soil volume, whole bags and bulk delivery costs from your bed’s inside dimensions.
01Measure your beds
Measure inside the walls. Fill depth is only the soil you want to add, including a top-up.
Shape
Optional extra soil for your own allowance. 0% uses the measured volume; this is not a predicted settling rate.
02Compare your quotes
Use prices for the same soil mix. Empty prices leave costs unknown. Currency changes the label, not the prices.
Bagged soil
Bag unit
Bulk delivery
Quote unit
A 0.5 increment orders in half-yard or half-metre steps. Use your supplier’s actual limits. Costs exclude taxes and bag delivery.
Plot & Soil · Soil shopping plan
Measurements and quotes supplied by you.
1. Kitchen garden: 8 × 4 ft, 12 in fill, quantity 1.
YOUR SOIL PLAN
32cubic feet to buy
1.185cubic yards
906.1litres
32 cu ft measured + 0% allowance
TWO WAYS TO BUY
Bagged
16 bags2 cu ft each · 0 L above target
Add a bag price
Bulk
1.5 cu yd240.7 L above target · $0.00 delivery
Add a bulk price
USD. Orders are rounded up. Compare equivalent soil products; price does not measure soil quality.
Bag quote: not supplied each. Bulk quote: not supplied per cu yd. Order increment 0.5; minimum 0. Tax and bag delivery excluded.
Next, give your plants some room.Open the plant spacing planner
Use Back to soil & cost in the spacing planner to restore your soil inputs in this tab. Your saved plan stays separate.
How the numbers work
Rectangle: inside length × inside width × added soil depth. Round: π × radius² × depth. Multiply by the number of identical beds, then add all entries.
1 cubic foot = 28.316846592 litres. 1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feet. Bag count is rounded up after your allowance. Bulk orders are rounded up to the supplier’s increment after its minimum.
This calculates volume, not a soil recipe, weight or yield. See the worked cost example →
A FEW NOTES BEFORE YOU GROW
Good plans start with good questions.
BEFORE YOU BUY
A soil quantity
is not a soil recipe.
Ground-connected bed or elevated planter? Know what you’re filling before you choose the mix.
Read the garden noteBUY & COMPARE
Bagged vs bulk soil costs
Compare bagged and bulk soil costs with delivery fees, minimum orders and leftovers. A worked example shows when the cheaper unit price costs more.
Read the note →SPACE & PLANT
Plant spacing: rows & edge margins
Calculate planting positions from bed length, width, plant spacing, row spacing and edge margins. See the formula and two checked 4x8-bed layouts.
Read the note →MEASURE & FILL
Measure the space you will fill
Use inside dimensions and the soil depth you actually need. A worked example shows how to combine different beds into one clear order.
Read the note →SPACE & PLANT
Turn one bed into useful zones
A spacing calculation works best after you reserve the parts of a bed used for access, supports or a different crop. Plan each rectangular zone separately.
Read the note →PLAN & BUY
Build a soil order you can check
A complete planning workflow for turning bed measurements and supplier limits into a soil order you can explain, compare and revise.
Read the note →PLAN & BUY
Read a bulk soil quote clearly
Turn a supplier’s price, minimum order and delivery terms into a number you can compare with a bagged-soil order.
Read the note →MEASURE & FILL
Plan a soil top-up
Measure the missing layer, state an average when the surface is uneven, and buy only the material needed for the top-up.
Read the note →SOIL & COMPOST
Test before adding more compost
Choose a suitable soil or growing-media test before buying more compost, keep samples identifiable, and turn the report into a clear amendment decision.
Read the note →WATER & MEASURE
Turn watering inches into gallons
Convert rainfall and irrigation depth into gallons or liters, measure sprinkler output, and check what a hose or drip timer actually delivers.
Read the note →SEEDS & PLANTING
Check leftover vegetable seeds
Check leftover vegetable seeds with a small home test, calculate the observed sprouting percentage, and use the result without mistaking it for guaranteed garden emergence.
Read the note →PREPARE & PLANT
Help seedlings adjust outdoors
Prepare vegetable seedlings for outdoor sun and wind with gradual exposure, a simple observation log, and crop-specific weather checks before transplanting.
Read the note →PLAN THE BED
Choose a raised bed depth
Choose raised bed depth by checking the base, usable rooting space and working height. Compare a bed on garden soil with a planter on a hard surface.
Read the note →PLAN THE BED
Measure sunlight before placing the bed
Record direct-sun intervals at candidate raised-bed locations, compare a worked example and check what one day’s observations cannot establish.
Read the note →PLAN & GROW
Plan crop rotation with a bed history
Keep a crop-family history, check what a two-bed swap changes, and compare two-year and four-year return intervals without treating a calendar as a disease guarantee.
Read the note →