Soil Volume Converter

Soil volume conversions use liters as the base unit.

Metric conversions:

• 1 cubic meter = 1,000 liters

Imperial conversions:

• 1 cubic foot = 28.3168 liters
• 1 cubic yard = 764.555 liters (27 cubic feet)
• 1 US gallon = 3.78541 liters

Common soil bag sizes:

• Small bag: 0.5 cu ft (14.2 L)
• Medium bag: 1 cu ft (28.3 L)
• Large bag: 2 cu ft (56.6 L)
• Bulk bag: 1 cu yd (764.6 L)

Garden bed examples:

• 4×4 ft raised bed, 6 in deep: 8 cu ft (0.3 cu yd, 227 L)
• 4×8 ft raised bed, 12 in deep: 32 cu ft (1.2 cu yd, 906 L)
• 1×1 m raised bed, 30 cm deep: 0.3 cu m (300 L)

Soil and compost are sold by volume rather than weight for a practical reason: their weight swings wildly with moisture. A cubic foot of dry peat and the same volume soaked with water differ by many pounds, so volume is the only stable way to price and compare growing media.

The economics are worth knowing before a big project. Bagged soil is convenient but expensive per unit; a cubic yard bought in bulk (that’s 27 cubic feet, or roughly 25 to 40 bags) usually costs a fraction of the bagged price. The point where bulk delivery pays off is surprisingly low, often just a few raised beds. Two tips: order a little extra, because loose soil settles and compresses after watering, and remember that filling deep beds takes far more than people expect, since volume grows with depth as well as with area.