MetaChat - Here is a simple math problem that I would like you to do for me:

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02 April 2009

Here is a simple math problem that I would like you to do for me: →[More:]

I have a 20' x 20' garden plot. I'd like to cover it with 2" of mulch. In cubic feet, how much mulch do I need?

Thank you. If you need help with your English homework, let me know.

post by: mudpuppie at: 11:33 | 20 comments

Oh, bonus question: If I decide to go with 3" mulch depth, how many cubic feet then?

posted by mudpuppie 02 April | 11:34

~67 cubic feet if you go with 2"
100 with 3"

I could be totally wrong. Still on my first coffee

posted by special-k 02 April | 11:38

2" is a sixth of a foot, so .166. 20 x 20 x .166 = 66.4, which I'd probably call 70 or 75, if it were me buying mulch. I hate making two trips. 20 x 20 x .25 is 100.

posted by box 02 April | 11:38

20*20=400/6=67 cubic feet
400/4=100 cubic feet

like special-k said

posted by Hugh Janus 02 April | 11:38

...and box, too.

posted by Hugh Janus 02 April | 11:39

Is 100 cubic feet 1/3 of a cubic yard?

posted by mudpuppie 02 April | 11:41

A yard's three feet, so a cubic yard (that is, a box that's a yard on a side) is 27 cubic feet. Visualizing a Rubik's cube may be helpful.

posted by box 02 April | 11:43

2.4 cubic yards (2")
or
3.7 cubic yards (3")

posted by special-k 02 April | 11:44

So I need 4 cubic yards? That's a lot of mulch.

posted by mudpuppie 02 April | 11:45

Yes, for just over 3".

I would order 3 yards and call it good. Are you digging it in, or just laying it over the top?

posted by danf 02 April | 11:48

Neither. I think I've changed my mind.

posted by mudpuppie 02 April | 12:05

!!!!!!!!!! I'm glad I didn't struggle over that one. lol

posted by chewatadistance 02 April | 12:30

I remember shoveling four cubic yards of mulch from my (and my mother's) driveway into a wheelbarrow and then dumping the wheelbarrow full of mulch onto a low spot in the back yard. This was in Houston, in the summer. I think she was trying to kill me.

posted by deborah 02 April | 13:10

1.21 gigawatts of topsoil!

posted by joelf 02 April | 13:11

Just standing back and admiring, after finishing a good mulch job with a nice inch-deep edge, curving around a bed of hedges, is one of the few great unalloyed pleasures I can remember. Actually most everything to do with landscaping is a joy. You get so dirty you could piss yourself and nobody would be the wiser.

posted by Hugh Janus 02 April | 13:20

Math wins again!

posted by mullacc 02 April | 13:25

Google knows everything:

2" : (20*20)*(2/12) cubic ft in cubic yards

3" : (20*20)*(3/12) cubic ft in cubic yards

posted by jjb 02 April | 13:54

Does that yard have a 2.469 cubic yard bucket on their tractor?

posted by danf 02 April | 13:56

You can do all the unit conversion in Google even: 20 feet * 20 feet * 2 inches in cubic yards.

posted by cillit bang 02 April | 15:10

Neat trick, thanks.

Next time I'll just ask y'all to Google it for me, so you don't have to do the math.

posted by mudpuppie 02 April | 15:27

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