If you’re a newbie in gardening and are thinking about using bags of mulch; you’re are always wondering how many bags of mulch in a yard? Here’s a lead:
A mulch is a layer of material made by different ingredients and it is applied on the surface of soil in the garden. The purpose of mulch is keep moisture in soil in summers, rain to penetrate in soil, prevent weeds from growth and make the garden bed and landscape looks more attractive.
Mulch is divided into two categories organic and inorganic. The organic mulch includes compost, shredded leaves woodchips, bark chips, bark of tree and black mulch. Inorganic mulches include black plastic and geotextiles.
Estimating bag sizes of much
Bags of mulch in different size are available in market. The common size of bags of mulch are 1 ft^3, 1.5 ft^3, 2 ft^3 ,2.5ft^3 and 3ft^3. A 2-3 inch deep layer is usually applied over the soil in garden. In this article we will cover how much bags of different size are required for 1 cubic yard of volume.
A cubic yard often called simply as yard is a unit of measurement of volume. It can also be written as a box of 3 ft length ,3 ft wide and 3 ft high which makes a volume of 27 cubic ft, and it is equal to 1 yard.
Also Read: How many cubic yards are in a dump truck? (Capacity Chart)
Steps to determine the number of bags
A requirement of number of bags of varying size will be different for 1 cubic yard. Larger the size of mulch bag, smaller the number of bags required to cover the 1 yard volume. In order to calculate the number of bags required for 1 cubic yard volume just perform the two steps given below.
- First figure out the volume of mulch bag in cubic ft which we are going to buy.
- A yard covers a volume of 27 cubic ft so divide 27 cubic ft by volume of 1 bag of mulch which we are going to buy. By simple division we will get the number of bags which will be required for 1 yard volume.
For example, if we are purchasing a 1 ft^3 bag of mulch then it means we need 27 bags of mulch for a yard. Similarly, if we are purchasing a 3 ft^3 bag of mulch then 9 bags of mulch will cover a 1 cubic yard.
| Volume of one bag of mulch (ft^3) | Number of bags equal to 1 yard |
| 1.5 | 18 |
| 2 | 14 |
| 3 | 9 |
| 4 | 6-3/4 |
| 5 | 5-1/2 |
How many 1.5 ft^3 bags of mulch is a yard
The requirement of number of bags for 1 yard volume depends upon the volume of 1 bag of mulch. As we know that 1 yard is equal to 27 ft^3.First we will convert the unit from yard to ft^3. Then we will divide the converted volume of yard to ft^3 by volume of 1 bag of mulch to get the required number of bags. Total 18 bags will be required to form a volume equal to 1 yard.
- Volume of 1 bag of mulch = 1.5 ft^3
- Volume covers by yard in ft^3= 27ft^3
- Number of bags for a yard = Volume a yard covers in ft^3/Volume of 1 bag of mulch
- Number of bags for 1 cubic yard = 27 ft^3/1.5 ft^3
- Number of bags for 1 cubic yard = 18
Also Read: How much does a yard of dirt weigh? (Complete Guide)
How many 2 ft^3 bags of mulch is a yard
The volume of 1 bag of mulch is 2ft^3.There are 27ft^3 in 1 yard. By dividing the volume of 27ft^3 by volume of 1 bag of mulch which is 2ft^3 we will get the number of bag equal to 13.5 or 14 for covering a volume equal to 1 yard.
- Volume of 1 bag of mulch = 2 ft^3
- Volume covers by yard in ft^3= 27ft^3
- Number of bags for a yard = Volume a yard covers in ft^3/Volume of 1 bag of mulch
- Number of bags for 1 cubic yard = 27 ft^3/2 ft^3
- Number of bags for 1 cubic yard = 13 1/2
How many 2.5 ft^3 bags of mulch is a yard
In this case a volume of one bag is equal to 2. 5ft^3.Dividing the converted volume from yard to ft^3 by a volume of one bag of cement we will get the number of bags required for 1 yard volume.
- Volume of 1 bag of mulch = 2 ft^3
- Volume covers by yard in ft^3= 27ft^3
- Number of bags for a yard = Volume a yard covers in ft^3/Volume of 1 bag of mulch
- Number of bags for 1 cubic ard = 27 ft^3/2.5 ft^3
- Number of bags for 1 cubic yard = 10 4/5
How many 3 ft^3 bags of mulch is a yard
The volume of 1 bag of mulch is 3ft^3. Dividing 27 ft^3 by 3ft^3 we will get the 9 which is required number of bags for 1 yard volume.
- Volume of 1 bag of mulch = 3 ft^3
- Volume covers by yard in ft^3= 27ft^3
- Number of bags for a yard = Volume a yard covers in ft^3/Volume of 1 bag of mulch
- Number of bags for 1 cubic yard = 27 ft^3/3 ft^3
- Number of bags for 1 cubic yard = 9
How many 4 ft^3 bags of mulch is a yard
The volume of 1 bag of mulch is 4 ft^3. The total volume of mulch is equal 27ft^3 which is equal to 1 yard. Dividing 27ft^3 by volume of 1 bag we will get 6 ¾. So, 7 bags will be required for covering 1 yard.
- Volume of 1 bag of mulch = 4 ft^3
- Volume covers by yard in ft^3= 27ft^3
- Number of bags for a yard = Volume a yard covers in ft^3/Volume of 1 bag of mulch
- Number of bags for 1 cubic yard = 27 ft^3/4 ft^3
- Number of bags for 1 cubic yard = 6 3/4
Conclusion
Most common size of mulch used in the market is 2 ft^3. So, there are 13- ½ bags of 2 ft^3 mulch required which forms a volume of 27ft^3 equal to 1 yard. As we know that 27ft^3 is equal to 1 yard so, by dividing this number by available volume of one bag we will get the number of bags of mulch which we needed per yard
