How Much Area Will One Yard of Top Soil Cover?

General Recommendations

• For large areas, buy topsoil in bulk through a landscaping company. Bulk topsoil is typically sold by the cubic yard, and one cubic yard covers approximately 100 square feet of area to a depth of 3 inches.

Calculations

• Measure the width and length of the garden bed and multiply the two numbers to get the square feet, or area. To determine the volume, decide how deep you want the topsoil. Most gardeners need 3 to 6 inches of topsoil. Divide the number of inches you need by 12 and then multiply this result by the square feet of your garden. This gives you the number of cubic feet of topsoil needed to cover 100 square feet with 6 inches of topsoil. To convert cubic feet to cubic yards, divide the result by 27, which is the number of cubic feet in one cubic yard.

More Calculations

• To cover 100 square feet of garden area with 2 inches of soil, you'll need 0.62 cubic yards. For 4 inches, buy 1.23 cubic yards. To cover 250 square feet of garden area with 2 inches of topsoil, buy 1.54 cubic yards of topsoil. To cover the area with 4 inches, buy 3.09 cubic yards.

Considerations

• Not all topsoils are equal. Some topsoils are clay, while others contain too much sand. Inspect the soil before buying. Look for high-quality topsoil with a rich, earthy smell, loose texture and dark color.