Planting beds and mulch
Three inches of mulch cuts watering and weeding for the whole season.
Size your project then pick a material on each shelf below. Your running total stays at the bottom of the screen and updates as you choose.
Total bed area: length and width in feet. Odd shape? Add the rectangles, or enter total square feet as length with width 1.
Bark and wood mulch is sold by the cubic yard and spread 2 to 3 inches deep around plants, kept an inch off the stems. Gravel works as a permanent mulch where you want no decomposition. Enter the bed size to get yards, then pick a texture and color.
Mulch layer
2 inches if topping up existing mulch, 3 on bare soil.
Do not forget
How to build it
- Pull weeds and water the bed the day before.
- Spread mulch 3 inches deep, 2 if topping up, and keep it an inch back from stems and trunks.
- Water it in once so it settles and stops blowing.
- Top up an inch each spring.
Questions
How much mulch do I need?
One cubic yard covers about 108 square feet at 3 inches. A 10 by 20 bed takes about 2 yards. The calculator above does your size.
Bark or gravel in planting beds?
Bark feeds the soil as it breaks down and needs topping up yearly. Gravel is permanent and reflects heat; use it around succulents and cacti, bark around everything else.
Should I put fabric under mulch?
Not under bark. Fabric blocks the soil contact that makes mulch work and turns into a weed mat within a few years. Use it only under gravel.