The Math of Mulch: Use this Handy Calculator

How Much Mulch to Use

Many people have a lot of questions about how much mulch to use for their landscape beds or garden. And we have to admit, it can be pretty tough for the everyday person. It’s not like you’re using the measure of cubic yards every day. So, here are a few things to remember the next time you’re wondering what the heck a cubic yard is, and how many cubic yards you may need for your landscape beds.

To determine how much mulch you need, you first need your square footage. This is simply done by measuring the length multiplied by the width of your landscape beds. Enter these numbers into the mulch calculator found on our site, determine how thick you want the mulch to be spread, and calculate. We make it simple!

A single cubic yard of mulch will cover 162 square feet at 2 inches of thickness. This is normally how thick people are spreading their mulch depending on what’s underneath. If you’re looking to spread a little deeper at 3 inches, a single cubic yard will cover around 108 square feet.

An example would be…..say your landscape bed is 15’ X 35’ and you want to spread it 3” deep. You would have 525 square feet total that you would then divide by 100, to equal roughly 5.25 cubic yards.

If you’re looking for bagged mulch, we have all the measurements you need to ensure you get the perfect amount. We have two types of bags. Some are 3 cubic feet in size, and some are 2 cubic feet. 9 bags of the 3 cubic foot bags will equal a cubic yard. 13.5 of the 2 cubic foot bags will equal a cubic yard.

If you’re curious about how much your mulch weighs, most mulch will weigh 600-1000 lbs. per cubic yard. And if you’re coming in to pick up your mulch in bulk, 2.5 cubic yards is the most we can fit in the back of your standard-size pickup truck. Don’t have a pickup truck? Or just tired of driving back and forth to McCarty Mulch? We can deliver as much mulch as you need!