How Much Mulch for 500 Square Feet?
Material needed
4.63 cubic yards
500 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 area500 sq ft
- Depth3 in
- MaterialMulch
Material needed4.63 cubic yards
| Volume | 125 cu ft |
|---|---|
| Cubic yards | 4.63most yards sell in half yard steps |
| Order in half yards | 5 cu yd |
| 2 cu ft bags, if bagging it | 63 |
| Approximate weight | 3,704 lb (1.85 tons) |
The material list this produces
| Material, cubic yards | 5 |
|---|---|
| Landscape fabric, sq ft | 500 |
| Edging, linear ft | 90 |
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 | 3.09 cubic yards | 3.5 cu yd |
| 3 in | 4.63 cubic yards | 5 cu yd |
| 4 in | 6.17 cubic yards | 6.5 cu yd |
| 6 in | 9.26 cubic yards | 9.5 cu yd |
What else matters here
Five yards is a real delivery: one dump truck load, about two tons, dropped wherever the driver can safely tip it. Decide that spot before the truck arrives, because moving five yards twice is the difference between an afternoon and a weekend.
Put it on a tarp or on the driveway rather than on the lawn. A five yard pile left on grass for two days kills what is under it, and mulch dragged off bare soil brings the soil with it.
At 500 square feet, landscape fabric is a judgment call rather than an obvious yes. It suppresses weeds for a year or two and then becomes the thing weeds root into from above while stopping mulch from feeding the soil below. In annual beds, skip it; under gravel, use 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 many yards of mulch for 500 square feet?
About 4.63 cubic yards at 3 inches deep, which most yards sell as 5.
Do I need landscape fabric under mulch?
Under gravel, yes. Under bark mulch in a planted bed it is usually more trouble than it is worth after the first couple of years, since weeds root in the mulch above it anyway.
How long does 5 yards of mulch take to spread?
One person with a wheelbarrow, most of a day. Two people with two barrows, a comfortable morning if the pile is close to the beds.
The mulch and gravel calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.