How much mulch for a 5 x 10 bed?
Short answer
- A 5 x 10 ft bed is 50 square feet. At 3 inches deep it needs 0.46 cubic yards (12.5 cubic feet) of mulch.
- With 5% extra: 7 bags of 2 cu ft or 5 bags of 3 cu ft (0.49 cubic yards).
- It's typically a front-of-house planting bed.
- If you edge all four sides, that's 30 feet of edging.
Mulch for a 5 x 10 bed at 2, 3, 4 inches
Cubic yards are shown without extra so you can compare quotes. The other columns include 5% extra.
Open this bed in the mulch calculator to change the size, depth, extra or material.
How the math works
5 ft × 10 ft = 50 sq ft. At 3 inches deep that's 50 × 3 ÷ 12 = 12.5 cubic feet, and ÷ 27 = 0.46 cubic yards. Adding 5% gives 13.1 cubic feet to buy.
How deep should it be?
Penn State Extension recommends a 2 to 4 inch layer of mulch. Use the low end for fine shredded mulch or to top up an old layer, and keep mulch a few inches away from tree trunks and stems.