How to Determine How Much Yard Mulch to Use

You're ready to mulch the garden area of your yard and you've measured the area in feet, but the mulch bags are sold in cubic yards. It's not too complicated to determine the total amount of yard mulch to use; all you need is a few quick calculations to convert your area to cubic measure. Before you know it, you'll have the proper amount of mulch needed to complete your chore.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Tape measure
• Calculator

1. Measure in inches the width of the area that you plan to mulch. For example, if you are mulching a flower bed that is 10 feet wide, 10 feet x 12 inches = 120 inches.

2. Repeat the first step, this time measuring the length of the area you wish to mulch. For our example, we'll use a bed that is 12 feet long: 12 x 12 = 144.

3. Determine the depth of mulch you wish to lay--typically, 3 or 4 inches in depth. For our example, we'll use a 4-inch layer of mulch.

4. Multiply width x length x depth to arrive at total cubic inches: 120 x 144 = 17,280 x 4 = 69,120 cubic inches of mulch.

5. Convert your cubic inches of mulch to cubic yards by dividing the total inches by 46,656: 69,120 divided by 46,656 = 1.48 square yards of mulch needed.

References

• Online Conversion

Resources

• Metric Conversions