estimate how much compost you need

It's March, and we are getting a lot of orders for compost!  One common question we get asked is: "How much do I need?"

The best rule of thumb for your garden beds are:

No more than 1/3 of your total soil

Why?  You actually can't plant directly into compost.  Remember, it is full of the bacteria and fungi that broke down vegetable waste some long time ago.  That life is dormant now, cooled off for at least 6 months, but it can get active.  It there is too much compost in your bed mix, they will munch your seedlings!

OKAY! Down to business.  We sell in gallons and in yards.  How much should you order?
First you want to get an estimate of the volume that you want, then convert it into either gallons or yards to find your order.

For example, let's say you had 3 garden beds, and they are all 4 feet by 8 feet by 2 feet tall.  You want to add 1/3 of compost to each of them.

First calculate out your square feet->  3 x 4 x 8 = 96 square feet.
Then figure out your cubic feet-> 96 x 2 = 192 cubic feet.
Divide by 3 to get the volume of compost-> 192/3= 64 cubic feet.

To convert into gallons, multiply by 7.5, because there are 7.5 gallons in a cubic foot.
64 cubic feet x 7.5 gallons = 480 gallons. 
We sell in 5 gallon buckets, so divided this by 5, and you get 96 buckets.  Yikes!  That's a lot, better order in cubic yards for better prices.

To covert into cubic yards, divide by 27, because there are 27 cubic feet in one cubic yard.
64 cubic feet / 27 cubic feet = 2.4 cubic yards.  Buy 2 or 3 cubic yards!

One cubic yard is approximately 1,100 lbs of compost.  Happy gardening!