Soil for a 4 × 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 | 10 | 0.37 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| 8 in | 13.33 | 0.49 | 18 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 5 |
| 10 in | 16.67 | 0.62 | 23 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 6 |
| 12 in | 20 | 0.74 | 27 | 20 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| 18 in | 30 | 1.11 | 40 | 30 | 20 | 15 | 10 |
| 24 in | 40 | 1.48 | 54 | 40 | 27 | 20 | 14 |
Measure inside the walls
The table uses the full 4 × 5 ft. If that is the outside size of a wooden bed built from boards 1½ inches thick, the growing space inside is 45 × 57 inches. At 12 inches deep that holds 17.81 cubic feet, 11% 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 4 × 5 ft
These beds in our catalogue are sold at 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.
- Gardener’s Supply Farmstead Cedar Raised Beds8 in walls, 8 in planting depth. The maker does not state a soil capacity.
- Birdies Large Modular Raised Bed15 in walls. The maker states 25 cubic feet.
- Birdies Large Modular Raised Bed29 in walls. The maker states 48 cubic feet.
- Epic Medium Modular Metal Raised Bed15 in walls. The maker states 25 cubic feet.
- Epic Medium Modular Metal Raised Bed29 in walls. The maker states 48.3 cubic feet.
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 0.74 cubic yards, use the bagged vs bulk soil calculator.