Compost in pounds

sjbutts 3/25/2013, 9:46 am

Ok so I am a newbie and I found vermiculite!! Woo hoo! Now on to the compost. I found a few of the types in Lowes and a few on craigslist that advertise pounds. How many pounds do I need for 3 4x4 boxes. I know based on the calculator I need 5.33 cubic feet of compost for each of my boxes but how do I convert pounds into cubic feet?

Thanks for your help!!

**camprn** 3/25/2013, 9:56 am

The compost that gets added to make Mel's mix is measured by volume. The weight of various composts will vary depending upon moisture content, typically.

You may have to eyeball the volume if it is not printed on bags that you are looking to buy.

Unmutual 3/25/2013, 10:19 am

sjbutts wrote:Ok so I am a newbie and I found vermiculite!! Woo hoo! Now on to the compost. I found a few of the types in Lowes and a few on craigslist that advertise pounds. How many pounds do I need for 3 4x4 boxes. I know based on the calculator I need 5.33 cubic feet of compost for each of my boxes but how do I convert pounds into cubic feet?

Thanks for your help!!

Take a bag of the compost you're buying and see how many times that bag will fill a 5 gallon bucket(or anything you have handy, just as long as it's gallons). 1 gallon = 0.133681 cubic feet, so a 5 gallon bucket = ~2/3 of a cubic foot. You can't go straight from pounds to cubic feet, however. You might be able to ask the vendor(Craigslist) how much a 5 gallon bucket of their compost weighs, but that depends if it's dry or wet(the center, assuming a pile, might be wetter than the outer edges..if it's bagged, then nevermind).

sjbutts 3/25/2013, 1:38 pm

Thanks for the replies. This is just getting more cumbersome than I had hoped. I am not giving up though. I may just drive to Columbia and get the Mel's Mix from the SFG office to make sure I have the right measurements. Maybe by next year I will have this soil thing together.

chjbr63 3/25/2013, 1:55 pm

Here are some conversions that might help. This site has lots of good info and a large produce line.
http://www.7springsfarm.com/
Wish they were closer to me.

22 qt bag is equal to .735 cu ft.
1/20th cu yd bag is 1.35 cu. ft. or about 40.39 qt.
40 lb bag of compost is equal to 1 cu. ft.
1 Cup = 16 Tablespoons = 8 Ounces

**walshevak** 3/25/2013, 7:29 pm

When I was first getting started, I found a bag of compost marked in both pounds and cu. ft. It was a 40 lb bag and labled .75 cu ft. FWIW.

Kay

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