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Tamarack mulch chart
Put your bed area, mulch depth and waste allowance in: 1400 square feet at 3 inches with 10% waste needs 1,540.00 square feet, 14.26 cubic yards exact — order 15 cubic yards.
★ CONSTRUCTION · MULCH CHART #508 · TAMARACK
Tamarack Mulch Chart: 1400 Sq Ft, 3 Inches, Order 15 Yards
On the defaults — 1400 square feet at 3 inches deep with 10% waste — tamarack mulch needs 1,540.00 square feet, 14.26 cubic yards exact, so order 15 cubic yards. This is the TAMARACK chart — the same area-times-depth shape as the hazelnut-mulch-chart page, the acacia-mulch-chart page and the mulch-chart page — with the tamarack figures and a 16-row lookup table worked in full.
What does 14.26 cubic yards of tamarack mulch mean?
It means a 1400-square-foot bed, padded by 10% waste to 1,540.00 square feet, covered 3 inches deep. One cubic yard covers 324 square feet at 1 inch, so at 3 inches it covers 108.0 square feet — and 1,540.00 ÷ 108.0 = 14.26 cubic yards. You cannot order 0.26 of a delivered yard usefully, so the order rounds up to 15 cubic yards, leaving a little spare for thin spots and settling.
Output · formula · meaning
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Area needed | area × (1 + waste ÷ 100) | 1,540.00 sq ft — 1400 × 1.10. |
| Exact volume | area needed × depth ÷ 324 | 14.26 cubic yards — 1,540.00 × 3 ÷ 324. |
| Order quantity | exact volume rounded up | 15 cubic yards — the next whole yard above 14.26. |
| Coverage per yard | 324 ÷ depth | 108.0 sq ft per yard at 3 inches. |
| Area behind a target volume | target volume × 324 ÷ depth ÷ (1 + waste ÷ 100) | 1400 sq ft — 14.26 × 324 ÷ 3 ÷ 1.10, approximately. |
| Depth behind a target volume | target volume × 324 ÷ area needed | 3 inches — 14.26 × 324 ÷ 1,540.00, approximately. |
| Waste behind a target volume | (target volume × 324 ÷ depth ÷ area − 1) × 100 | 10% — (14.26 × 324 ÷ 3 ÷ 1400 − 1) × 100, approximately. |
Three things to check before you trust the number
First, measure the beds properly: length times width per bed, added together, with L-shaped beds split into rectangles. A guessed area is the most common error, and it scales the whole order. Second, keep the depth honest: 3 inches over the whole bed, not 3 inches at the thickest drift and 1 inch elsewhere. Third, do not drop the waste allowance to make the order look smaller: spillage off the wheelbarrow, settling in the first rain, and uneven ground eat roughly a tenth, and a short order means a second delivery fee.
Worked example
Area 1400 square feet, depth 3 inches, waste 10%. Area needed: 1400 × 1.10 = 1,540.00 square feet. Exact volume: 1,540.00 × 3 ÷ 324 = 14.26 cubic yards. Order: round 14.26 up to 15 cubic yards. Drop the waste to 0% and the exact volume falls to 12.96 cubic yards, order 13; drop the depth to 2 inches and it falls to 9.51 cubic yards, order 10. Depth moves the answer faster than waste, because depth multiplies the whole bed.
Tamarack mulch lookup table
Every row below uses 10% waste, so the needed area is the bed area times 1.10, and the order is the exact volume rounded up to the next whole yard.
| Area (sq ft) | Depth (in) | Needed (sq ft) | Exact (cubic yards) | Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | 2 | 550.00 | 3.40 | 4 cubic yards |
| 500 | 3 | 550.00 | 5.09 | 6 cubic yards |
| 750 | 2 | 825.00 | 5.09 | 6 cubic yards |
| 750 | 3 | 825.00 | 7.64 | 8 cubic yards |
| 1000 | 2 | 1,100.00 | 6.79 | 7 cubic yards |
| 1000 | 3 | 1,100.00 | 10.19 | 11 cubic yards |
| 1250 | 2 | 1,375.00 | 8.49 | 9 cubic yards |
| 1250 | 3 | 1,375.00 | 12.73 | 13 cubic yards |
| 1400 | 2 | 1,540.00 | 9.51 | 10 cubic yards |
| 1400 | 3 | 1,540.00 | 14.26 | 15 cubic yards |
| 1500 | 2 | 1,650.00 | 10.19 | 11 cubic yards |
| 1500 | 3 | 1,650.00 | 15.28 | 16 cubic yards |
| 1750 | 2 | 1,925.00 | 11.88 | 12 cubic yards |
| 1750 | 3 | 1,925.00 | 17.82 | 18 cubic yards |
| 2000 | 2 | 2,200.00 | 13.58 | 14 cubic yards |
| 2000 | 3 | 2,200.00 | 20.37 | 21 cubic yards |
Every branch, checked
Zero waste with the same area and depth gives 12.96 cubic yards exact, order 13. Two inches of depth with the same area and waste gives 9.51 cubic yards exact, order 10. A 1500-square-foot area with the same depth and waste gives 15.28 cubic yards exact, order 16. A 1300-square-foot area with the same depth and waste gives 13.24 cubic yards exact, order 14. Each branch changes exactly one input, so the difference from 14.26 isolates that input.
The reverses, worked backwards
The area behind 14.26 cubic yards is 1400 square feet: at 1300 the figures are 13.24 cubic yards exact, order 14, and at 1500 they are 15.28 cubic yards exact, order 16. The depth behind 14.26 cubic yards is 3 inches: at 2 inches the figures are 9.51 cubic yards exact, order 10, and at 4 inches they are 19.01 cubic yards exact, order 20. The waste behind 14.26 cubic yards is 10%: at 5% the figures are 13.61 cubic yards exact, order 14, and at 15% they are 14.91 cubic yards exact, order 15 — the order stays 15 because the exact volume stays below the next whole yard.
What the defaults assume
The defaults assume one flat 1400-square-foot area, a uniform 3-inch layer, and a 10% waste allowance. Real beds slope, curve and thin at the edges, so the honest use is to measure each bed, add the areas, and keep the waste allowance on sloped ground. Zero area is the honest edge: 0.00 cubic yards exact, order 0. Negative area, zero depth and negative waste are rejected — none of them has a meaning here. A 324-square-foot bed at 3 inches with no waste needs exactly 3.00 cubic yards, order 3, which is the 324 rule checking itself.
Who uses this
A homeowner re-mulching the front beds: the area is the beds measured, the depth is the refresh layer, and the order is the delivery size to quote. A landscaper pricing a job: the waste line covers spillage and settling, and the lookup table gives a quick quote for common bed sizes without re-running the math. A garden-center clerk answering the phone: the table turns a caller area and depth into an order in one row. A school or park volunteer planning a workday: the order quantity tells how many deliveries to schedule and how much ground the crew must cover.
Accuracy & limitations
The arithmetic is exact for the inputs entered; the judgement is in the inputs. A guessed area, an uneven depth, or a dropped waste allowance will each move the answer by exactly the amount of the error, and a short order costs a second delivery. The model does not include compaction beyond the waste allowance, mulch blown off by wind, beds under trees that need topping up sooner, or delivery minimums — check those with your supplier, and re-measure when the beds change shape. This page is a calculation tool, not landscaping advice.
Cite this calculator
Tamarack mulch 1400 sq ft at 3-inch depth with 10% waste needs 1,540.00 sq ft, 14.26 cubic yards exact, order 15 yards. Calculator, plus 16-row lookup table. Source: Bright Side Kit, https://brightoolbox.com/tamarack-mulch-chart/, accessed 30 October 2026 (2026-10-30).
Frequently asked questions
What is tamarack mulch?
Tamarack mulch is shredded bark and wood from the tamarack tree, a deciduous conifer whose needles turn gold and drop each autumn. It spreads as a light golden-brown layer, holds moisture in the soil, suppresses weeds, and breaks down over a season or two, adding organic matter as it goes.
How deep should tamarack mulch be?
Three inches is the usual garden-bed depth, and it is the default here. New beds and weed-heavy ground may take 4 inches, while a thin seasonal top-up may take only 2. Deeper than 4 inches can smother shallow roots and hold too much water against stems, so keep mulch pulled back from trunks.
What does the waste allowance cover?
Spillage off the wheelbarrow, settling after the first rain, and thin spots on uneven ground. Ten percent is the usual allowance; sloped or irregular beds deserve more, and flat, straight-edged beds can manage with less.
Why does the order round up instead of to the nearest yard?
Because a short order leaves part of a bed bare and usually costs a second delivery. Rounding 14.26 up to 15 leaves a little spare for thin spots; rounding down to 14 would leave about a quarter-yard short.
How does the 324 rule work?
One cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, and 27 cubic feet spread 1 inch deep covers 324 square feet. Divide 324 by the depth in inches to get the coverage per yard — 108.0 square feet at 3 inches — then divide the needed area by that coverage to get the exact volume.
Can I use this chart for a different mulch?
Yes — the volume math is the same for any bulk mulch, because a cubic yard is a cubic yard whatever fills it. Change the mulch type in your head, enter your area, depth and waste, and the exact volume and order follow the same method.