measuring beds for mulch

[JML]

what is the best way to measure beds for mulching, since not one bed is a perfect circle? thanks<p>joe

[Alan]

Best I have ever done is to pace them off and try to relate to 100 sq. ft. increments. One yard of mulch will cover 100 ft at a 3 inch depth. Most beds are way too irregular to be able to measure them reliably.

[cjcland]

measure it as a square it wont hurt to have extra mulch you can either putit deeper or you can use it somewhere else <p>----------<br>CJC Landscape Management<br>Winter Haven, Florida

[TPC]

this brings up an interesting question,how many prefer bags over bulk,and how many sq.feet do you figure a 2cubic feet bag will do at say 3&quot;....i want to see if my calculations are correct at 8sqf<p>Tim<p>CCLC<br>

[cjcland]

bulk will save you alot of money and its usually loaded by a tractor rather than bags wich you will load by hand<p>----------<br>CJC Landscape Management<br>Winter Haven, Florida

[TPC]

I know that but think about the clean up that you save,,,I once did a job that required 7 yards of designer cypress mulch<br>and did it in 3 hours with 3 people 2 dropping and one with his thumb up his ***..<br>

[tjg]

I like the bags, bulk:you have to store it in a large space and is not as easly handled I think as bags and if you leave a job and have extra it is in the bags and not in a pile that cannot be move around a easy.I buy it by the pallet and store it in the shop out of rain and sunshine. Just my idea. <p>----------<br>T.J. Greenfield<br>

[cjcland]

how much bulk are you talking about i was thinking like 2-3 yards i dont have any accts that require more than that<p>----------<br>CJC Landscape Management<br>Winter Haven, Florida

[CLM1]

I try to measure my beds as close to a workable shape as possible, ie. square, rectangle, triangle or circle. figure the area and convert to cu. yds. depending on the depth you are after.<br>Here's an example for a bed 30'x 23'= 690'sq.<br>Take 690 and multiply by .33 (4&quot; depth/.25 3&quot; depth) 690x.33=227.7 now divide 227.7 by 27 = 8.43 cu.yd.

[moonarrow]

TPC your calculations are right a 2 cubic bag will cover8 sq. ft. at 3&quot; thick, 1 cubic yard- 3&quot; thick- 108 sq. ft.<p>----------<br>Dale moonarrow@hotmail.com<br>Southern lawn and Landscape

[Greenkeepers]

Right on CLMI!! That's the way we do it. Try to get everything into a &quot;measurable&quot; area. Take your length times width = area<br>area/27 = cubic and take that # times (.07 for 1in, .17 for 2in, .25 for 3 in, .33 for 4 in, .42 for 5 in) and so on. The area of a triangle is (base*height)/2 then follow the same steps. We've always been very accurate with this method..<p>Mike<br>Greenkeepers

[grasscapeinc]

For those of you who don't need cypress mulch, or fancy stuff. I just got 25 yards from a tree service, and they delivered it free. Saved me a HUGE amount of money , and I still got the same from the customer.<br>Check with tree services. they usually have to pay to dump it, and will be happy to give it to you, although alot of them charge to deliver it. Also the city works devision usually has huge piles that you can take as much as you want or free. There some branches in this stuff, but overall it is good.

[eggy]

I hope you dont get termites in that mulch...

[Ssouth]

We do lots of mulching and I like to buy bulk and have it delivered. With a snow scoop and a ten cubic foot wheelbarrow I can put in two yards of mulch per hour by myself. You can make a lot of money real quick by installing mulch. <p>Good Luck,<br>Ssouth

[cjcland]

i agree i made 70 dollars profit in 1 hour 15 minutes today<p>----------<br>CJC Landscape Management<br>Winter Haven, Florida