How Much Does a Bag of Mulch Cover? Mulch is typically sold in bags of 50 L or 2 cubic feet. To cover a 200 sq. ft.
This 40 litre bag provides enough mulch to cover an area of up to 1.5 square metres.
There are 25 bags (40 litre) of mulch or bark per 1 cubic metre and 40 bags (25 litre) of soil per 1 cubic metre.
Typically, it would be best to lay mulch at least 40mm deep to achieve decent coverage. Any thinner, and it will look sparse, allowing you to see the ground through it. If you lay down a 40mm thick layer, your 1m3 of mulch would cover 25 square meters.
One 60L bag covers approximately 1 sq metre at 50mm thick.
Approximate coverage per 100 litres = 4m² on a 2.5cm deep bark ground coverage, or 2m² on a 5cm deep bark ground coverage.
One bag will cover 1square metre to a depth of about 75mm (3”).
To calculate mulch in yards, it is essential to note that one cubic yard of material will cover an area of 324 square feet at a depth of an inch. To determine the total amount of mulch needed, the formula is: Square footage x desired depth (in inches)/ 324.
If you want mulch that is, say, 10cm (or 0.1metres) deep then you multiply the size of the garden bed by 0.1m. For your 3x3 bed, that means 3x3x0. 1 = 0.9metres, which is just under a cubic metre. Another way to picture a square metre is to remember it is about 10 good-sized wheelbarrows full.
Keep in mind that mulch is sold by the cubic yard. One cubic yard of the material covers a 324-square-foot area an inch deep. So, to determine your total, multiply your square footage by the depth in inches desired, then divide by 324. Here's your formula: Square footage x desired depth / 324 = cubic yards needed.
Lawn soil, 25 L bag. Covers up to 4 sq. ft.
How deep should I mulch? Mulch should be applied to a depth of 100mm. This will provide an effective weed suppressing layer and maximize moisture retention. Should customers wish to apply less than 100mm we recommend using Weedmat prior to mulching.
How deep should your mulch be? You should spread your mulch to be two to four inches thick. If your mulch is too thin, then weeds can push through. If your mulch is too thick, it prevents water from reaching the soil.
Two or three inches is typically an effective depth for most vegetable gardens or flower beds. Now take the square footage of your bed and multiply by your desired depth. Using the example above and assuming a 3-inch depth (0.25 feet), the total amount of mulch needed would be 300*0.25 = 75 cubic feet.
Recommended depth when mulching
For planting beds, a layer of 3 inches should be enough to retain moisture without suffocating the plants. Mulching materials like wood chips tend to settle on the soil so adding an extra ½ layer is often a good practice to cope with the reduced volume.
How much compost or mulch do you need? For mulching, spread 1-3 inches of compost on beds in fall or spring. As a soil amendment before planting new beds, use 1-3 inches of compost dug or tilled into the soil. (Use 3 inches to improve sandy soils, or 1-2 inches for heavy clay soils).
Mulch is typically sold in bags of 50 L or 2 cubic feet. To cover a 200 sq. ft. garden with mulch 4 inches deep, you would need about 38 50 L bags of mulch, or 34 2cu ft bags.
Depending upon your wheelbarrow size (i.e. 2 or 3 cubic feet per wheelbarrow load), it will take 9 to 14 full loads to equal 1 cubic yard.
A standard full size pick-up truck holds about 2 ½ cubic yards, level full. My dump truck holds 10.25 yards, level full. It takes 9 big bags (3 cu. ft.) to make a cubic yard, or 13 ½ small bags.
Covers an area 2.5m × 0.5m at 5cm. For beds and borders: Remove all weeds from the bed or border. Apply when the soil is moist.
70 litres of bark mulch and are a great way to make finishing touches to areas of your landscaped garden such as borders and beds, or planters, pots and containers. The smaller 70L bag is easy to move around the garden, and should give a coverage of 1 square metre to a depth of around 5-7 cm.