Menu

Find a calculator, bed size or guide

How much soil for a 4x8 raised bed?

Filling a 4 × 8 ft raised bed 12 inches deep takes 32 cubic feet of soil: 1.19 cubic yards, or 22 bags of 1.5 cubic feet. Every extra inch of depth adds 2.67 cubic feet.

4 × 8 ft bed, filled 12 inches deep

32cubic feet at 12 in
1.19cubic yards
22bags of 1.5 ft³
+2.67ft³ per extra inch

Soil depth, inches

A 4 × 8 ft bed filled 12 inches deep, drawn across its 48-inch width. 12 in of soil 48 in inside width
Open these measurements in the soil calculator

Soil for a 4 × 8 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.

Bags of
Soil depthCubic feetCubic yardsBags of ¾ ft³Bags of 1 ft³Bags of 1.5 ft³Bags of 2 ft³Bags of 3 ft³
6 in160.5922161186
8 in21.330.79292215118
10 in26.670.99362718149
12 in321.194332221611
18 in481.786448322416
24 in642.378664433222

Measure inside the walls

The table uses the full 4 × 8 ft. If that is the outside size of a wooden bed built from boards 1½ inches thick, the growing space inside is 45 × 93 inches. At 12 inches deep that holds 29.06 cubic feet, 9% 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.

Inside 45 × 93 inOutside 48 × 96 in · boards 1½ in thick

Beds sold at 4 × 8 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.

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 1.19 cubic yards, use the bagged vs bulk soil calculator.

Other bed sizes