Soil for a 3 × 5 ft bed at each depth
Whole bags are rounded up. The bed’s wall height is not the soil depth: measure the depth you plan to fill.
| Soil depth | Cubic feet | Cubic yards | Bags of ¾ ft³ | Bags of 1 ft³ | Bags of 1.5 ft³ | Bags of 2 ft³ | Bags of 3 ft³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 in | 7.5 | 0.28 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| 8 in | 10 | 0.37 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| 10 in | 12.5 | 0.46 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 5 |
| 12 in | 15 | 0.56 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 5 |
| 18 in | 22.5 | 0.83 | 30 | 23 | 15 | 12 | 8 |
| 24 in | 30 | 1.11 | 40 | 30 | 20 | 15 | 10 |
Measure inside the walls
The table uses the full 3 × 5 ft. If that is the outside size of a wooden bed built from boards 1½ inches thick, the growing space inside is 33 × 57 inches. At 12 inches deep that holds 13.06 cubic feet, 13% less than the table. Metal and composite walls are thinner, but corner posts and braces still take space, so measure between the inner walls before you order.
Beds sold at 3 × 5 ft
These are the beds we list in this size. A maker’s stated capacity often differs from the table because the inside is smaller than the advertised size or the maker assumes a different fill depth.
Work out your own bed
Open these measurements in the soil calculator to change the depth, add more beds or split the fill into a mix. To compare the cost of bags with a bulk delivery for 0.56 cubic yards, use the bagged vs bulk soil calculator.