How much bagged mulch do you need?
Measure the bed you are covering and type the bag size printed on the front. You get the number of mulch bags to buy.
You need about
0 bags
0cubic feet
0cubic yards
0tons
for this job
How this was worked out
Assumes bagged mulch at 0.4 tons per cubic yard. Bags of the same size weigh more or less with the water in them, so check the weight printed on the bag.
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About bagged mulch
Bagged mulch is shredded wood or bark sold in plastic bags, most often 2 cubic feet each and sometimes 1.5 or 3. The bag size is printed on the front, and it is the number this calculator divides by. Spread it 2 to 3 inches deep in a bed, the same as loose mulch.
More about bagged mulch
Mulch bags are sold by volume, not weight, so the cubic feet on the label is what counts. A 2 cubic foot bag covers about 12 square feet at 2 inches deep, or 8 square feet at 3 inches. A 3 cubic foot bag goes half as far again. Two bags of the same size fill the same space once spread, even when one feels heavier in your arms.
Weight changes with water. At the 0.4 tons a yard this page uses, a 2 cubic foot bag works out near 60 pounds, but a bag kept dry under cover can weigh much less, and one left out in the rain more. Set each bag on the bed, slit it along the bottom and lift the empty plastic away instead of carrying an open bag across the yard.
Bags suit a few small beds or a quick touch up around the mailbox. Once a job passes about a cubic yard, a bulk load from a landscape yard is usually less work than handling dozens of bags, and there is no plastic to throw out. A car fills up fast, so read the load limit on the sticker inside the driver's door before you stack bags in the trunk and back seat.