How Much Mulch for 250 Square Feet?
Material needed
2.31 cubic yards
250 square feet at 3 inches deep, bark mulch at roughly 800 lb per cubic yard.
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How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- Bed area250 sq ft
- Depth3 in
- MaterialMulch
Material needed2.31 cubic yards
| Volume | 62.5 cu ft |
|---|---|
| Cubic yards | 2.31most yards sell in half yard steps |
| Order in half yards | 2.5 cu yd |
| 2 cu ft bags, if bagging it | 32 |
| Approximate weight | 1,852 lb (0.93 tons) |
The material list this produces
| Material, cubic yards | 2.5 |
|---|---|
| Landscape fabric, sq ft | 250 |
| Edging, linear ft | 64 |
Depth compared
Depth is the whole calculation. Two inches will not suppress weeds, six inches will suffocate roots.
| Depth | Material needed | Order in half yards |
|---|---|---|
| 2 in | 1.54 cubic yards | 2 cu yd |
| 3 in | 2.31 cubic yards | 2.5 cu yd |
| 4 in | 3.09 cubic yards | 3.5 cu yd |
| 6 in | 4.63 cubic yards | 5 cu yd |
What else matters here
Two and a half yards is where bagging stops being sensible. Thirty two bags is two or three trips, most of a morning, and a pile of empty plastic, against one delivery that gets tipped on the driveway in five minutes.
Order two and a half rather than two. Bulk material is sold loose and settles in transit, and a bed measured at 250 square feet is almost never exactly 250 once it is edged properly. Running half a yard short at the far end of the last bed is the usual way this goes wrong.
At about 1,850 pounds this is right at the edge of a half ton pickup's payload once you count the driver and the tailgate. It fits by volume. Whether it should go in that truck is a different question.
What this calculator assumes
- Three inches is the usual mulch depth. Two is thin and will not hold weeds down, four starts to smother shallow roots and holds water against trunks.
- Weights are approximate and vary with moisture: mulch about 800 lb per cubic yard, topsoil 2200, gravel 2800, sand 2700.
- Bagged material is sold in 2 cubic foot bags, and there are 13.5 of those in a cubic yard.
Questions people ask
How many cubic yards of mulch for 250 square feet?
About 2.31 cubic yards at 3 inches deep, which is usually ordered as 2.5.
How many bags is that?
Around 32 bags at 2 cubic feet each. At that count bulk delivery is almost always cheaper as well as faster.
Should I order extra mulch?
Yes, round up rather than down. Loose material settles, bed measurements are rarely exact, and a second delivery for half a yard costs the full delivery fee again.
The mulch and gravel calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.