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How much soil do I need?
I'm trying to price how many bags of topsoil I need. I used the Miracle
Gro last year and really liked it, so I'll use it again. Each bag is 1 cubic foot. The front area has never had any good soil, so I anticipate needing to dig out a lot of bad soil and replacing it with good soil. How thick of a layer of new soil should I use? Also, the area is shaped like a kidney bean cut in half. Its about 5 maybe 6 feel long and at best 2.5 feet deep. I want to put seeds of asylum and forget-me-not there and see what happens. The back had new Miracle Gro soil put in it last year and its maybe 2' x 3'. I also plan to use 2-3 pots that are about 12" in diameter at the lip and about a foot tall. I assume I don't need to put all dirt in this and can use some med. sized pebbles for drainage.... I'm terrible at math, so how many of the bags do i need to get good coverage? Darby |
How much soil do I need?
Bob,
I think Darby means that it's 5 or 6 feet long by 2.5 feet wide with an unspecified depth. So (6 x 2.5) = 15 square feet. I'm just going to assume that it's 6 inches deep so that's only 7.5 cubic feet. I'd guess that 7 bags would be enough. You won't need a full bag for each pot but if you just figured one bag each and used the extra in the front you should be well covered. If I understand correctly you're saying that you don't need to do anything with the 2' x 3' area? Buy 10 bags. Burl "Bob Provencher" wrote in message ... "Darby Wiggins" wrote in message ... The front area has never had any good soil, so I anticipate needing to dig out a lot of bad soil and replacing it with good soil. How thick of a layer of new soil should I use? Also, the area is shaped like a kidney bean cut in half. Its about 5 maybe 6 feel long and at best 2.5 feet deep. I want to put seeds of asylum and forget-me-not there and see what happens. 5 x 6 x 2.5 would be 75 cubic feet. That's 75 bags, if you only want to go down a foot that would be 30 bags, 6 inches, 15 bags. If you're going for the full 2.5 feet deep, I'd forget about that bags and have someone deliver 3 yards of soil (1 yard is 27 cubic feet). Also, rent a backhoe to dig it out :). The back had new Miracle Gro soil put in it last year and its maybe 2' x 3'. I also plan to use 2-3 pots that are about 12" in diameter at the lip and about a foot tall. I assume I don't need to put all dirt in this and can use some med. sized pebbles for drainage.... 6 bags per foot of depth of dirt here. -- Bob Provencher ICQ 881862 AIM bproven |
How much soil do I need?
Darby Wiggins wrote: I'm trying to price how many bags of topsoil I need. I used the Miracle Gro last year and really liked it, so I'll use it again. Each bag is 1 cubic foot. The front area has never had any good soil, so I anticipate needing to dig out a lot of bad soil and replacing it with good soil. How thick of a layer of new soil should I use? Also, the area is shaped like a kidney bean cut in half. Its about 5 maybe 6 feel long and at best 2.5 feet deep. I want to put seeds of asylum and forget-me-not there and see what happens. The back had new Miracle Gro soil put in it last year and its maybe 2' x 3'. I also plan to use 2-3 pots that are about 12" in diameter at the lip and about a foot tall. I assume I don't need to put all dirt in this and can use some med. sized pebbles for drainage.... I'm terrible at math, so how many of the bags do i need to get good coverage? Darby Unless it is contaminated by toxic waste, there is no such thing as "bad soil" - soil that is not very fertile is something else altogether. You certainly don't need to dig any out. What you DO need to do is add organic matter. Invest in some good quality compost or well composted manure. Potting soil (like the Miracle Gro stuff) is an extremely expensive way to go as a soil additive for regular garden soil and not enough organic matter to sneeze at. You can buy bagged compost or purchase it in bulk by the cubic yard (far less expensive). You DO want to use potting soil for any containers - garden soil is too heavy and doesn't drain fast enough. Avoid putting pebbles in for drainage - the change in structure and size (soil to pebbles) actually impedes proper drainage rather than improves it. You have a pretty small area - 5-6 bags of compost should be sufficient. Most tend to be 1.5-2 cubic feet. pam - gardengal |
How much soil do I need?
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How much soil do I need?
Of course! Good point.
I got wrapped up in the math and didn't think about the solution. "Pam" wrote in message ... Darby Wiggins wrote: I'm trying to price how many bags of topsoil I need. I used the Miracle Gro last year and really liked it, so I'll use it again. Each bag is 1 cubic foot. The front area has never had any good soil, so I anticipate needing to dig out a lot of bad soil and replacing it with good soil. How thick of a layer of new soil should I use? Also, the area is shaped like a kidney bean cut in half. Its about 5 maybe 6 feel long and at best 2.5 feet deep. I want to put seeds of asylum and forget-me-not there and see what happens. The back had new Miracle Gro soil put in it last year and its maybe 2' x 3'. I also plan to use 2-3 pots that are about 12" in diameter at the lip and about a foot tall. I assume I don't need to put all dirt in this and can use some med. sized pebbles for drainage.... I'm terrible at math, so how many of the bags do i need to get good coverage? Darby Unless it is contaminated by toxic waste, there is no such thing as "bad soil" - soil that is not very fertile is something else altogether. You certainly don't need to dig any out. What you DO need to do is add organic matter. Invest in some good quality compost or well composted manure. Potting soil (like the Miracle Gro stuff) is an extremely expensive way to go as a soil additive for regular garden soil and not enough organic matter to sneeze at. You can buy bagged compost or purchase it in bulk by the cubic yard (far less expensive). You DO want to use potting soil for any containers - garden soil is too heavy and doesn't drain fast enough. Avoid putting pebbles in for drainage - the change in structure and size (soil to pebbles) actually impedes proper drainage rather than improves it. You have a pretty small area - 5-6 bags of compost should be sufficient. Most tend to be 1.5-2 cubic feet. pam - gardengal |
How much soil do I need?
Burl (and all others)
thanks! At first I thought that 75 bags was a bit much, but you got the point. Darby Burl wrote: Bob, I think Darby means that it's 5 or 6 feet long by 2.5 feet wide with an unspecified depth. So (6 x 2.5) = 15 square feet. I'm just going to assume that it's 6 inches deep so that's only 7.5 cubic feet. I'd guess that 7 bags would be enough. You won't need a full bag for each pot but if you just figured one bag each and used the extra in the front you should be well covered. If I understand correctly you're saying that you don't need to do anything with the 2' x 3' area? Buy 10 bags. Burl "Bob Provencher" wrote in message ... "Darby Wiggins" wrote in message ... The front area has never had any good soil, so I anticipate needing to dig out a lot of bad soil and replacing it with good soil. How thick of a layer of new soil should I use? Also, the area is shaped like a kidney bean cut in half. Its about 5 maybe 6 feel long and at best 2.5 feet deep. I want to put seeds of asylum and forget-me-not there and see what happens. 5 x 6 x 2.5 would be 75 cubic feet. That's 75 bags, if you only want to go down a foot that would be 30 bags, 6 inches, 15 bags. If you're going for the full 2.5 feet deep, I'd forget about that bags and have someone deliver 3 yards of soil (1 yard is 27 cubic feet). Also, rent a backhoe to dig it out :). The back had new Miracle Gro soil put in it last year and its maybe 2' x 3'. I also plan to use 2-3 pots that are about 12" in diameter at the lip and about a foot tall. I assume I don't need to put all dirt in this and can use some med. sized pebbles for drainage.... 6 bags per foot of depth of dirt here. -- Bob Provencher ICQ 881862 AIM bproven |
How much soil do I need?
On Fri, 04 Apr 2003 03:08:47 GMT, Pam wrote:
Darby Wiggins wrote: I'm trying to price how many bags of topsoil I need. I used the Miracle Gro last year and really liked it, so I'll use it again. Each bag is 1 cubic foot. The front area has never had any good soil, so I anticipate needing to dig out a lot of bad soil and replacing it with good soil. Unless it is contaminated by toxic waste, there is no such thing as "bad soil" - soil that is not very fertile is something else altogether. You certainly don't need to dig any out. What you DO need to do is add organic matter. Invest in some good quality compost or well composted manure. Potting soil (like the Miracle Gro stuff) is an extremely expensive way to go as a soil additive for regular garden soil and not enough organic matter to sneeze at. You can buy bagged compost or purchase it in bulk by the cubic yard (far less expensive). You DO want to use potting soil for any containers - garden soil is too heavy and doesn't drain fast enough. Avoid putting pebbles in for drainage - the change in structure and size (soil to pebbles) actually impedes proper drainage rather than improves it. You have a pretty small area - 5-6 bags of compost should be sufficient. Most tend to be 1.5-2 cubic feet. Exactly. I was surprised to find that clay soil is usually fairly nutritious. Compost, compost, compost, to improve texture. What, after all, is "topsoil" but the top 3-6" of dirt from a place where leaves and whatnot have been piling up and composting for some time? [Interesting to think that the construction of new housing developments often includes bulldozing all the trees and "leveling" the dirt, and then bringing in colossally expensive loads of topsoil and nursery saplings.] Tell us more about pebbles. I use pieces of broken pots, of which I have an abundance, but pebbles have been brought into play from time to time. |
How much soil do I need?
Sure, glad to help. Although don't miss Pam post - you probably only need
to amend the soil not replace it which will be cheaper and easier. "Darby Wiggins" wrote in message ... Burl (and all others) thanks! At first I thought that 75 bags was a bit much, but you got the point. Darby Burl wrote: Bob, I think Darby means that it's 5 or 6 feet long by 2.5 feet wide with an unspecified depth. So (6 x 2.5) = 15 square feet. I'm just going to assume that it's 6 inches deep so that's only 7.5 cubic feet. I'd guess that 7 bags would be enough. You won't need a full bag for each pot but if you just figured one bag each and used the extra in the front you should be well covered. If I understand correctly you're saying that you don't need to do anything with the 2' x 3' area? Buy 10 bags. Burl "Bob Provencher" wrote in message ... "Darby Wiggins" wrote in message ... The front area has never had any good soil, so I anticipate needing to dig out a lot of bad soil and replacing it with good soil. How thick of a layer of new soil should I use? Also, the area is shaped like a kidney bean cut in half. Its about 5 maybe 6 feel long and at best 2.5 feet deep. I want to put seeds of asylum and forget-me-not there and see what happens. 5 x 6 x 2.5 would be 75 cubic feet. That's 75 bags, if you only want to go down a foot that would be 30 bags, 6 inches, 15 bags. If you're going for the full 2.5 feet deep, I'd forget about that bags and have someone deliver 3 yards of soil (1 yard is 27 cubic feet). Also, rent a backhoe to dig it out :). The back had new Miracle Gro soil put in it last year and its maybe 2' x 3'. I also plan to use 2-3 pots that are about 12" in diameter at the lip and about a foot tall. I assume I don't need to put all dirt in this and can use some med. sized pebbles for drainage.... 6 bags per foot of depth of dirt here. -- Bob Provencher ICQ 881862 AIM bproven |
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