The Soil and Raised Planter Calculator provides the volume            Raised Planter Shapes Rectangular Box  circular planter Tapered Rectangular  Tapered Polygon  triangular planter hexagon planter Octagon Planter 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.

VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS

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

Cost Estimates

To use the Planting Soil Cost equation, first calculate the volume to be filled (above), and then use local pricing or information from the survey below, to enter a unit price to compute the total cost to fill the volume with the potting mix or soil desired.

To calculate the cost of a bulk volume of soil, CLICK HERE.  This lets you enter a unit price (uP) for a unit volume (uV),  e.g., $360 for 2 cubic yards, and then compute the cost of a volume specified (e.g., 135 cubic feet).

The current Garden Soil Price Survey information 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

Usage

This calculator can be used to answer the following questions:

1. How much soil will my planter hold?
2. How much water will my container hold?
3. How much bulk potting soil do I need?
4. How many bags of soil will I need?
5. How much will the potting soil cost?

See also

• Greenhouse Calculator - Equations related to Greenhouse construction, heating and usage.
• Mulching Calculator - Equations and instructions for mulching a garden.
• Retention Wall Calculator -  Landscaping calculator for building a retention wall
• House Builder Calculator - Equations for constructing a building from the footer to the roof.
• Soil Pricing - vCalc table with potting mix and garden soil pricing data.