How Much Gravel, Sand, and Mulch to Buy for Your Garden

Gardening Basics For Dummies

Gravel, mulch, sand, small rocks, and soil amendments can play a healthy and decorative role in your garden. Gravel, sand, and rocks are generally sold by weight. For coverage that's 2 inches (5 centimeters) deep, use the following amounts:

1 U.S. ton covers approximately 100 square feet.
1 metric ton covers approximately 10 square meters.

Soil amendments and mulch are generally sold by volume. For coverage that's 2 inches (5 centimeters) deep, use the following amounts:

1 cubic yard covers approximately 160 square feet.
1 cubic meter covers approximately 20 square meters.

Use the following table to convert U.S. and metric measurements. In each case, the conversions are approximately equal:

1 centimeter ≈ 0.4 inches	1 inch ≈ 2.5 centimeters
1 meter ≈ 39 inches ≈ 1.1 yards	1 yard ≈ 0.9 meter
1 kilometer ≈ 0.6 mile	1 mile ≈ 1.6 kilometers
1 liter ≈ 1.1 quarts	1 quart ≈ 0.9 liter
1 kilogram ≈ 2.2 pounds	1 pound ≈ 0.4 kilograms
1 gram ≈ 0.04 ounce	1 ounce ≈ 31 grams

About This Article

About the book author:

Bill Marken is the author of the first edition of Container Gardening For Dummies and coauthor of the second edition.

Charlie Nardozzi is a nationally recognized garden writer, radio and TV show host, consultant, and speaker. Charlie delights in making gardening information simple, easy, fun, and accessible to everyone.

Ann Whitman is the author of the first edition of Organic Gardening For Dummies.