How Much Mulch for 350 Square Feet?
Material needed
3.24 cubic yards
350 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 area350 sq ft
- Depth3 in
- MaterialMulch
Material needed3.24 cubic yards
| Volume | 87.5 cu ft |
|---|---|
| Cubic yards | 3.24most yards sell in half yard steps |
| Order in half yards | 3.5 cu yd |
| 2 cu ft bags, if bagging it | 44 |
| Approximate weight | 2,593 lb (1.3 tons) |
The material list this produces
| Material, cubic yards | 3.5 |
|---|---|
| Landscape fabric, sq ft | 350 |
| Edging, linear ft | 75 |
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 | 2.16 cubic yards | 2.5 cu yd |
| 3 in | 3.24 cubic yards | 3.5 cu yd |
| 4 in | 4.32 cubic yards | 4.5 cu yd |
| 6 in | 6.48 cubic yards | 6.5 cu yd |
What else matters here
Beds this size are rarely one rectangle. The way to measure a curved bed is to break it into rectangles and half circles, work each one out, and add them, rather than pacing the outline and guessing.
A quick method that is accurate enough: walk the long axis and the average width in strides, call a stride three feet, and multiply. It will land within ten percent, which after rounding up to the next half yard makes no difference to the order.
Three and a quarter yards at three inches is about 2,600 pounds. Wheelbarrows hold around three cubic feet heaped, so that is roughly thirty loads from the pile to the beds, which is the number worth knowing before deciding where the truck tips it.
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 much mulch do I need for 350 square feet?
About 3.24 cubic yards at 3 inches deep, or 44 bags at 2 cubic feet each.
How do I measure a curved bed?
Break it into rectangles and half circles, calculate each and add them. Pacing the outline and guessing at the area is what produces orders that are a yard short.
How many wheelbarrow loads is 3 yards of mulch?
Around 27 to 30 heaped loads at roughly three cubic feet each. That is the real reason to have it dropped close to the beds.
The mulch and gravel calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.