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The Soil and Raised Planter Calculator provides the volume and associated potting or garden soil cost to fill a planter, the amount of mulch or straw needed for coverage of the surface of the planter and the watering needed for different shaped planters (see diagrams). It also includes convenient unit conversions. Raised Planter Shapes /attachments/82163ed7-6366-11e4-a9fb-bc764e2038f2/box.png Rectangular Box circular planter Tapered Rectangular Tapered Polygon triangular planter hexagon planter Octagon Planter

The Raised Planter Calculator provides the following functions:

Volume of a Box Planter - Rectangular with vertical sides
Volume of a Circular Planter - Circular with vertical or tapered sides
Volume of a Tapered Rectangular Box - Rectangular with tapered sides
Volume of a Tapered Polygon Shaped Planter - Polygon base and top with any number (n) of even sides
Volume of a Triangular Shaped Planter (with vertical sides).
Volume of a Hexagon Shaped Planter
Volume of a Octagon Shaped Planter
Cost of Soil - Computes the cost of a volume of soil base on unit price.
Water Requirement to Prepare Soil
Conversions to Common Kitchen Units: This takes any volume measurement (you choose the units) and converts it into house-hold kitchen units. For example, 0.9 ft³ turns into 6 Gallons, 2 Quarts, 1 Pints, 1.5 Cups, 3 Tablespoons and 1.54 teaspoons.

The shapes dictate the geometric (3D) formulas needed to calculate the planter volume.

Volume Options

The answer to the volume equations default to ft³, but can also be converted to any of vCalc's standard volume units (e.g. cubic meters). vCalc also has a Kitchen Units utility which converts any volume in any units to units common with English kitchen utensils (gallons, quarts, pints, cups, cup fractions, tablespoons, and teaspoons). This is often the practical solution for measuring nutrients to be added to soils. In addition to the system units, these formulas proved the volume in non-standard units including "bags". The bag sizes are based on common bag sizes used for potting soil and include the following based on a survey of Home Depot's and Lowe's web sites. That survey showed that potting soil usually comes in a few standard size bags:

1 ft³ - 1.25 ft³- 2.5 ft³
8 quarts - 32 quarts - 64 quarts

Bulk Soil Price Survey Information:

Survey Date: 6/6/23
Bulk Soil Producer: CN Metals
- Cost of Bulk Screened Topsoil: $35.0 USD/yd³
- Cost of Regular Topsoil: $25.0 USD/yd³
- Cost of Clean Fill Dirt: $20.0 USD/yd³

The above pricing is in U.S. dollars per cubic yard.

Historical information on Bulk Soil Pricing can be found in the Bulk Soil Pricing Data Table.

CAUTION: The information above is for calculating convenience with NO implied guarantees to the accuracy of the values listed. Authoritative sources should be sought to confirm any value before risking health or wealth on the veracity of the data. Furthermore, vCalc gives no guarantee that you will be able to buy the product at these prices or even if they will be available. This is purely a convenience for making estimates, so we repeat, ALWAYS use local pricing.

Potting Mix and Potting Soil

Potting Mix is combination of organic materials (e.g., peat moss, aged bark and pumice) but no soil (dirt) that is used in lieu of potting soil to improve drainage. Because potting mix has no soil, it tends to be lighter than potting soil and provides a more sterile medium for plants with fewer disease carrying agents. Potting mix is most commonly recommended for plants in containers, and potting mix is particularly desirable for starting seeds.

Garden Soil is a gardening product sold that contains natural soil (dirt) comprised of mixture of loam, clay and sand. Garden soil is often used in raised gardens or planters as a healthy and easy medium for plants and seeds on top of the natural soil in one's yard. Garden Soil differs from Potting Mix in that garden soil contains real soil (dirt), where Potting Mix does not.

Potting Mix and Soil Price Survey Information

Always use local pricing for the most accurate cost! However, vCalc conducts a periodic pricing survey from nationally advertised retailers for various materials. The current Garden Soil Price Survey sample information for Garden Soil and Potting Mix is as follows:

Date: 10/14/22
Store: Menards
- Garden Soil (1 ft³): $5.26
- Garden Soil (1.5 ft³): $5.78
- Garden Soil (2 ft³): $7.56
- Potting Mix (1.25 ft³): $4.43
- Potting Mix (2.5 ft³): $8.89

The Pricing Data can be used the the Raised Planter calculator. Note, this information is propagated into several pages in vCalc.

Raised Planter Calculators

Volume of a Box Planter - Rectangular with vertical sides
Volume of a Tapered Rectangular Box - Rectangular with tapered sides
Volume of a Tapered Polygon Shaped Planter - Polygon base and top with any number (n) of even sides
Volume of a Triangular Shaped Planter (with vertical sides).
Volume of a Hexagon Shaped Planter
Volume of a Octagon Shaped Planter
Planting Soil Cost - Estimate of cost of soil.
Water Requirement to Prepare Soil
Greenhouse Calculator
Mulching and Landscaping Fabric Calculator
Conversions to Common Kitchen Units: This takes any volume measurement (you choose the units) and converts it into house-hold kitchen units. For example, 0.9 ft³ turns into 6 Gallons, 2 Quarts, 1 Pints, 1.5 Cups, 3 Tablespoons and 1.54 teaspoons.

Usage

This calculator can be used to answer the following questions:

How much soil will my planter hold?
How much water will my container hold?
How much bulk potting soil do I need?
How many bags of soil will I need?
How much will the potting soil cost?