Raised Garden Beds
Bags are expensive and there are more of them than you think.
The situation
You have built raised beds, or you are about to, and now you need to fill them. The bagged soil at the garden centre works out expensive very quickly, and a single bed swallows a surprising number of bags.
What to buy
Buy it bulk. The arithmetic is stark: a standard 4 by 8 foot bed, 12 inches deep, takes about 1.2 cubic yards. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. Garden soil bags are commonly 0.75 or 1 cubic foot, so that one bed is somewhere near 32 to 45 bags — several car loads, and a lot of lifting.
What to fill it with
You do not need premium growing soil all the way down. Most vegetable roots live in the top 8 to 12 inches.
For deep beds, fill the bottom two-thirds with fill dirt, which is cheap, then top the last 8 to 12 inches with screened topsoil, which is what plants actually grow in.
For beds 12 inches or shallower, just use topsoil throughout.
If you want a richer growing medium, ask us about garden mix — topsoil blended with compost. We can usually source it.
How much you need
Length × width × depth in feet, divided by 27, gives cubic yards.
- 4 × 8 bed, 12 inches deep — 1.2 yards
- 4 × 8 bed, 18 inches deep — 1.8 yards
- Three 4 × 8 beds at 12 inches — 3.6 yards
- 4 × 4 bed, 12 inches deep — 0.6 yards — round up to our 1 yard minimum
Soil settles. Order slightly over and mound the beds a little; they will level out within a few weeks of watering.
Not sure? Tell us the rough size of the area and how deep you want it and we will work it out with you. Nobody expects you to know this — it is our job, not yours. Or use the calculator.
For scale: a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. A typical bag of stone or soil from a home centre holds about half a cubic foot — so one yard is roughly 54 bags, three to five car trips, and a lot of lifting.
We will bring one yard. We will also bring a hundred loads. Ask for a price →
How to do it
- Put cardboard or fabric in the base if the bed sits on grass — it smothers what is underneath.
- Fill dirt in the bottom for anything deeper than about 12 inches.
- Topsoil for the top 8 to 12 inches.
- Water it thoroughly and let it settle for a few days before planting.
- Top up after it settles.
Tell us where to put the pile when you order. Soil is heavy and the shorter the wheelbarrow run the better your weekend will be.
Materials for this job
Raised Garden Beds — common questions
How much soil does a 4x8 raised bed need?
Can I use fill dirt in a raised bed?
What is the difference between topsoil and fill dirt?
Other projects
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One cubic yard or a hundred loads — same pricing structure, same delivery standard, same one-hour quote.