Garden Math: Calculating the Area and Depth of Your Garden - FineGardening (2025)

Garden Math: Calculating the Area and Depth of Your Garden - FineGardening (1)

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Save time and money with simple equations to calculate what your garden needs

By Patrick N. Beam

Garden Math: Calculating the Area and Depth of Your Garden - FineGardening (2)

From fertilizer to mulch and paving stones to plants, too much of a good thing can mean, at best, unused material stored in the garage and, at worst, dead plants.

It can also mean that you have spent money you did not need to spend. On the flip side, finding that your paths look unkempt because you under­estimated how much mulch you needed can be discouraging, as can languishing plants—despite what you thought were carefully measured fertilizer applications. Whether you are a math wiz or have a math phobia, learning some simple calculations to use for common gardening situations can help you save time and money while you turn your garden into an Eden.

Learn more: 8 Ways to Save Money at the Garden Center

Here are some basic calculations that will help you figure out what you need.

Calculating the square footage of your garden

What is it?

Square footage is the measurement of a flat, two-dimensional space (for example, a patio, a perennial bed, or a deck).

When do I need it?

You need to know square footage when purchasing materials to cover or build a flower bed, a patio, or a deck, for instance when purchasing flagstone, pavers, sod, or fertilizer.

♦ Finding the square footage of a square or rectangular area of land

Multiply the length by the width to determine the square footage—or area—of a square or rectangle.

Garden Math: Calculating the Area and Depth of Your Garden - FineGardening (3)

Finding the square footage of a triangular area of land

  • Consider the longest side of the triangle the base.
  • Measure a perpendicular line from the opposite angle to the base to determine the triangle’s height.
  • Multiply the base by the height, and divide that number in half to determine the area.

Garden Math: Calculating the Area and Depth of Your Garden - FineGardening (4)

Finding the square footage of a circular piece of land

  • Find the center point of the circle.
  • Measure from that point to the edge of the circle to determine the radius.
  • Multiply the radius by itself.
  • Multiply that number by pi (3.14) to find the area of your circle.
Garden Math: Calculating the Area and Depth of Your Garden - FineGardening (5)

Square footage of an irregular shape

  • Break up the space into regular shapes (squares, rectangles, triangles, and circles).
  • Determine the area of each shape.
  • Add the areas of each shape to come up with an approximate area of the bed.
Garden Math: Calculating the Area and Depth of Your Garden - FineGardening (6)

Finding the cubic footage of your garden

What is it?

Cubic footage is a measurement of three-dimensional volume, which is important to know when you need material that will be applied to a certain depth or thickness.

When do I need it?

You will need to know the cubic footage of your area if you are ordering materials such as topsoil, mulch, or compost.

♦ To cover a level area

  • If the thickness or depth of your material is measured in inches, convert it to feet.
  • Determine the square footage of the space.
  • Multiply the square footage by the desired depth of the material to determine the cubic footage—or volume.
Garden Math: Calculating the Area and Depth of Your Garden - FineGardening (7)

♦ To level a sloped area

  • Determine the length of the area you would like to level.
  • Create a level line that extends out from the top of the slope and stops at a point directly above the bottom of the slope. This line represents the width of the area.
  • Create a perpendicular line from the end of the width line to the bottom of the slope. This line represents the depth of the area.
  • Multiply the length by the width by the depth to determine the cubic footage of the entire area.
  • Divide that number in half (to account for the soil that is already there) to determine how much fill you will need.
Garden Math: Calculating the Area and Depth of Your Garden - FineGardening (8)

Tip: Sometimes material sold in large quantities is measured in cubic yards. To convert cubic feet into cubic yards, divide the number of cubic feet by 27 (because there are 27 cubic feet in 1 cubic yard).

Patrick Beam plays with math on a daily basis for his professional landscaping business in Columbus, Ohio.

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Garden Math: Calculating the Area and Depth of Your Garden - FineGardening (2025)

FAQs

Garden Math: Calculating the Area and Depth of Your Garden - FineGardening? ›

Multiply the length by the width by the depth to determine the cubic footage of the entire area. Divide that number in half (to account for the soil that is already there) to determine how much fill you will need.

How to work out area and depth? ›

It depends on how you are defining “depth ”.
  1. For example, if you have a rectangular box which is 2m wide and 3m long, you will need to know the volume to calculate the depth;-
  2. Volume = length x width x depth.
  3. Therefore;-
  4. Depth = Volume / (length x width)
Aug 24, 2016

How do I measure my garden area? ›

If you're lucky enough to have a square or rectangular lawn, measuring its area is simplicity itself. Measure the width and the length, and multiply the two together. This gives you your area. Whether you measure in feet, yards or metres, you can use our Turf Calculator to do the calculation for you.

How to figure out square footage with depth? ›

You want to create a rock layer with a depth of 3 inches.
  1. Measure the Area: Base Width = 12 feet Height = 8 feet.
  2. Determine the Depth: Desired Depth = 3 inches.
  3. Input the Measurements into the Formula: Total Area (in square feet) = (Base Width x Height) / 2 Total Area = (12 feet x 8 feet) / 2 = 48 square feet.

What is the depth of a garden? ›

The minimum depth for raised beds is 20cm (8in) however some plants need 45-60cm (18-24in). Most root vegetables need around 60cm (24in) of soil depth to root deeply. If you plan to build on a hard surface make sure that a depth of at least 40cm (16in) is allowed for.

How do you calculate the area of a garden? ›

Multiply the length by the width to determine the square footage—or area—of a square or rectangle. Find the square footage by multiplying the length and width of the area in question. Make sure to keep your units the same (feet or inches).

How do you calculate property depth? ›

Lot Depth: Lot depth is measured along an imaginary straight line drawn from the midpoint of the front property line of the lot to the midpoint of the rear property line or to the most distant point on any other lot line where there is no rear lot line.

How do I work out the area of my yard? ›

Measure the width and the length and multiply the two together. This gives you your area.

What is the formula for depth? ›

D = V Times 1/2 T D = Depth (in meters) T= Time (in seconds) V = 1507 m/s (speed of sound in water) Calculate the depth foe each of the times given below, using the formula above.

What is the formula for calculating area? ›

The basic formula for calculating area is Length times Width (LxW). If you are estimating the area for a rectangle you'll always use LxW. If you are calculating the area for a square you can multiply the length of one Side times itself, or (S2). The illustration above shows a room 12′ wide by 20′ long.

How to calculate square feet for landscaping? ›

If your yard is rectangular or square, measure the length and width and multiply them together (length X width = square footage). For example, if your yard has a length of 10 feet and a width of 8 feet, you would multiply 10 by 8 to get 80 square feet.

What is the general rule for planting depth? ›

Particularly for small-seeded crops like forage legumes or wild-type grasses, planting too deep is a common cause for stand establishment failure. As a general rule, proper seeding depth is typically three times the maximum seed width.

How deep should I tell my garden? ›

You do not need to till or break up the soil very deep; less than 12 inches is better. Tilling too often or deep can do more damage than good to your soil.

What is the best depth for garden? ›

Keep in mind that beds 18 inches deep or more will have better drainage than shorter beds. While most plants don't need anything deeper than 18 inches, I prefer beds that are two feet deep (24 inches). The extra height is mostly just for the ease and convenience of the gardener.

What is the formula for depth of a box? ›

The height, or depth, of the box is measured from the top down to the base. If the box is closed, you'll measure the outside. If it's open, you can also opt to measure from the inside, going from the top edge down to the bottom.

What is the formula for volume depth? ›

The formula for finding depth when volume is given is: Depth = Volume / Area.

How do you calculate total depth of field? ›

We can approximate DoF using: DoF = u² × 2 × N × C / f² or by following these steps:
  1. Square u : 1,200 × 1,200 = 1,440,000.
  2. Multiply it by 2, N , and c : 1,440,000 × 2 × 4 × 0.029 = 334,080.
  3. Divide that by the square of the focal length: 334,080 / 50² = 133.632 mm ≈ 0.13 m.
Jul 26, 2024

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