Good mulching begins with the correct amount of fabric. As an alternative of eyeballing your order and ending up with plenty of unused luggage or, worse, working quick, discover out precisely how a lot mulch you want.

Use our mulch calculator or do the mathematics your self and multiply the sq. footage with the mulch depth to study what number of cubic toes you want. We take you thru all of the steps for each strategies. 

Why a Correct Mulch Calculator Issues

It all the time begins with a easy query, ”How a lot mulch do I would like?” and may proceed with complications and frustration when you do the mathematics by hand or a couple of seconds of typing when you use a mulch calculator.

A great mulch calculator saves you money and time. It rapidly calculates how a lot mulch you want and prevents you from overbuying or shopping for too little and making extra journeys to the shop. 

For instance, let’s say you surprise, “How a lot rubber mulch do I would like for my pathway?” which is an oblong space of 6 toes x 2 toes you’ll cowl with a 1.5-inch layer of mulch.

To seek out your reply with the mulch calculator beneath, comply with these easy steps:

• Step 1: Within the “Choose Form” part, choose “Rectangular.”   
• Step 2: Add 6 within the “Size” field and a pair of within the “Width” field.
• Step 3: Choose “Customized” in “Mulch Depth,” and add 1.5 within the field beneath.
• Step 4: Select the “Sort of Mulch” (e.g., “Wooden Chips”).
• Step 5: Choose the “Value Unit” and add the value per unit within the “Mulch Value” part. For those who purchase luggage, add the bag measurement (e.g., 1.5 cu. ft.) and the value per bag (e.g., $2).
• Step 6: Click on “Calculate.”
• Step 7: Print the outcomes and take them with you. 

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Observe: There’s a quicker approach — when you don’t have time for mulching, rent a landscaping skilled to care for the whole course of.

Understanding Mulch Measurements: Cubic Ft to Yards

Cubic toes and cubic yards are two measurements of quantity used for mulch: Bulk mulch is measured in cubic yards and bagged mulch in cubic toes. 

Realizing what number of cubic toes are in a cubic yard of mulch helps you evaluate bulk and bagged mulch costs.

How a lot is a cubic yard? A cubic yard is a dice with 3-foot sides, so it’s equal to 27 cubic toes: 

Right here’s how you utilize this data to transform cubic toes to yards and vice versa:

Bulk Mulch

The majority mulch in backyard shops, landfills, and recycling facilities is measured in cubic yards.  

It’s about 35% cheaper than bagged mulch and essentially the most reasonably priced choice for initiatives over 200 sq. toes. How a lot is 1 cubic yard of mulch (labor not included)? For many sorts of mulch, roughly $20 to $180 relying on the kind of mulch.

Bagged Mulch

Bagged mulch is measured in cubic toes and is on the market in luggage from 0.8 cu. ft. to 2.5 cu. ft. It’s simpler to move dwelling and an excellent choice for small backyard beds.

For average-sized gardens you should purchase bulk or bag, and it helps to know what number of luggage of mulch are in a yard. The chart beneath refers to the commonest bag sizes.

Easy Steps to Calculate How A lot Mulch You’ll Want

Observe these steps to calculate the required quantity of mulch manually or make sure you enter the precise numbers within the mulch calculator.

Step 1: Measure Your Area 

You possibly can measure the sq. footage you propose to mulch with:

• A smartphone app like MeasureKit
• A measuring tape
• Your stride size (stroll the gap and rely your strides). The common stride size for ladies is 2.2 toes, and for males, it’s 2.5 toes.

For those who plan to mulch a number of completely different zones, use a pen and paper to notice the person dimensions. 

Enter the values into the mulch calculator above, or use the formulation within the chart beneath to calculate the areas.

Space = Size (toes) x Width (toes)

To calculate the realm of an oblong backyard mattress, multiply its size by its width.

Instance

Space = 8 toes x 4 toes = 32 sq. toes

Calculate the realm of the massive rectangle by multiplying its size by width. Then, do the identical with the small rectangle. To find out the realm of the oblong border, subtract the realm of the small rectangle from the realm of the massive rectangle.

Instance:

• Giant rectangle space = 4 toes x 3 toes = 12 sq. toes
• Small rectangle space = 3 toes x 2 toes = 6 toes
• Rectangle border space = 12 sq. toes – 6 sq. toes = 6 sq. toes

Space = Pi x Radius² 

The place Pi = 3.14 and the radius is half the circle width.

To seek out out the realm of the circle, sq. its radius and multiply the consequence by Pi. 

Space = 3.14 x 1.5 toes² = 10.60 sq. toes

To calculate the round border space:

• Calculate the realm of the massive circle
• Calculate the realm of the small circle
• Subtract the realm of the small circle from the realm of the massive circle.

Space = Pi x Radius² 

The place Pi = 3.14 and the radius is half the circle width.

Instance: 

Giant circle space = 3.14 x 2 toes² = 12.56 sq. toes

Small circle space = 3.14 x 1.5 toes² = 7.07 sq. toes

Border space = 12.56 – 7.07 = 5.49 sq. toes

Space = (Base x Top ) / 2

To calculate the triangle’s space, multiply the bottom (longest aspect) with the peak (perpendicular to the other angle) and divide by two.

Instance:

Space = (5 toes  x 3 toes) / 2 = 7.5 sq. toes

Space = C² / 4 x Pi

C is the measured perimeter (or circumference), and Pi is 3.14

Use the string technique and estimate the deal with the perimeter as a circle’s circumference:

– Take an extended rope and lay it alongside the whole perimeter. 

– Observe every nook and curve precisely, and mark or reduce it the place it completes the define. To seek out out the realm, deal with it like a circle and use this components.

– To seek out the realm, the perimeter squared is split by the product of 4 and Pi.

Instance:

Space = 6 toes²/(4*3.14) = 2.9 sq. toes

Step 2: Decide the Proper Mulch Depth

Mulch moderates soil temperature, saves water, controls weeds, enriches the soil, and protects greens from illnesses. However it will possibly additionally result in root rot if utilized too thick. 

Depth issues, so select it fastidiously.

This chart supplies the really useful mulch depth for some frequent gardening conditions.

Be taught extra about selecting the best mulch depth by the kind of crops, soil, and mulch materials from our information: How Deep Ought to A lot Be?

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Step 3: Calculate Your Mulch Wants

Since you understand the realm and the depth, you’ll be able to calculate the quantity of mulch you want. 

• Convert the mulch depth from inches to toes (divide it by 12).
• Multiply the sq. footage by the mulch depth.

Instance: To cowl a 200 sq. toes space with a layer of mulch that’s 2 inches thick, you want 34 cubic toes.

As you’ll be able to think about, a change in mulch depth can rapidly improve or lower the quantity of mulch you want. 

You possibly can see within the chart beneath what occurs when you make the layer 1 inch thicker or thinner for a 200-square-foot space.

How a lot mulch do you want per sq. foot? It relies on the mulch depth. 

• 1 inch deep: 0.08 cu. ft.
• 2 inches deep: 0.17 cu. ft.
• 3 inches deep: 0.25 cu. ft.
• 4 inches deep: 0.33 cu. ft.
• 6 inches deep: 0.5 cu. ft.

Professional Tip: Purchase 5% to 10% over what your calculations let you know to make sure you’ve sufficient.

Frequent Errors to Keep away from When Calculating Mulch

• Not contemplating present mulch: Coarse, chunky mulches like wooden chips and bark nuggets decompose slower, so that you typically must replenish the layer solely partially.
• Various kinds of mulch and compaction: Finer mulch, like straw, hay, and shredded bark, compacts extra simply. In accordance with the Pure Assets Conservation Service, you’ll want to use about 6 inches of straw to finish up with a 2-inch layer after settling.
• Not accounting for crops: When you’ve got flowers filling the flower mattress, you would possibly solely want (or have the ability to) add mulch on a slender phase across the border. 
• Volcano mulching: You don’t want to put in mulch proper as much as the tree trunk or elevate it on the trunk (“volcano” mulching). Truly, it’s suggested to depart a mulch-free area 3 to six inches across the trunk — issue this into your calculations.

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Cash-Saving Suggestions When Shopping for Mulch

The worth of mulch ranges from $200 to $400 per cubic yard if professionally put in, relying on the kind of mulch. It can save you on mulch prices by utilizing these ways:

• Take into account free mulch sources: You will get free mulch from tree care corporations, public works, landfills, native woodworkers, supply restoration websites, or the Chip Drop platform. 
• Use your yard particles: Shredded leaves, dry grass clippings, pine straw, or do-it-yourself compost.
• Evaluate bulk vs bagged: It can save you as much as 35% by shopping for a cubic yard of mulch on bulk somewhat than as bagged mulch.   
• Search for gross sales: The very best time to purchase mulch is mid-spring to early summer season, when shops have promotions with as much as 40% decrease costs.
• Take into account supply prices: For those who decide the bagged or bulk mulch from the shop, it can save you the supply charge, which ranges between $70 and $140.

My Tip: I take advantage of grass clippings mulch to cowl the backyard beds in the summertime and dry leaves to make our perennials cozy within the fall. When you’ve got a small yard with some turf and timber, you’ll be able to normally handle with out investing a lot in industrial mulch. 

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FAQ

Go away the Math and Mulching to Execs

Get pleasure from a superbly mulched yard with out lifting a finger. LawnStarter connects you with native landscaping consultants who ship skilled set up and optimum outcomes — no calculations required. 

Fundamental Picture Credit score: Fairfax Nation / Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0

Sinziana Spiridon

Sinziana Spiridon is an outdoorsy weblog author with a inexperienced thumb and a ardour for natural gardening. When not writing about weeds, pests, soil, and rising crops, she’s tending to her veggie backyard and the stunning turf strip in her entrance yard.