How Much Soil for a 4x4 Raised Bed?
Material needed
0.49 cubic yards
A 4 by 4 bed filled to 10 inches, topsoil at roughly 2,200 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 area16 sq ft
- Depth10 in
- MaterialTopsoil
Material needed0.49 cubic yards
| Volume | 13.3 cu ft |
|---|---|
| Cubic yards | 0.49most yards sell in half yard steps |
| Order in half yards | 0.5 cu yd |
| 2 cu ft bags, if bagging it | 7 |
| Approximate weight | 1,086 lb (0.54 tons) |
The material list this produces
| Material, cubic yards | 0.5 |
|---|---|
| Landscape fabric, sq ft | 16 |
| Edging, linear ft | 16 |
Fill depth compared
Most kit beds are 10 or 12 inches tall and get filled an inch below the rim. Here is the same bed at each of the usual depths.
| Fill depth | Material needed | Order in half yards |
|---|---|---|
| 6 in | 0.3 cubic yards | 0.5 cu yd |
| 8 in | 0.4 cubic yards | 0.5 cu yd |
| 10 in | 0.49 cubic yards | 0.5 cu yd |
| 12 in | 0.59 cubic yards | 1 cu yd |
What else matters here
Half a cubic yard is the one size where bags genuinely win. Seven bags is one trip in a car trunk, and no bulk yard will deliver half a yard without charging the same flat delivery fee they would charge for four.
Do not fill it with straight topsoil. Screened topsoil compacts in a container and turns into a brick by the second season. The mix that works is roughly half topsoil or garden soil, a quarter compost, and a quarter something that holds structure such as coarse bark fines or perlite.
Whatever goes in will drop. Fresh mix settles twenty to thirty percent over the first year as the organic fraction breaks down, so fill to the rim now and expect to top it up each spring rather than treating the first fill as final.
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 bags of soil for a 4x4 raised bed?
About 7 bags at 2 cubic feet each for a 10 inch fill, which is 13.3 cubic feet or roughly half a cubic yard.
Is bagged or bulk soil cheaper for a raised bed?
At this size, bagged. Bulk is cheaper per yard but the delivery fee on half a yard costs more than the soil, so bags win until you need a full yard or more.
How deep should a 4x4 raised bed be?
Ten to twelve inches suits almost everything except long root crops. Carrots and parsnips want closer to eighteen.
The mulch and gravel calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.