All Gardening Tools & Calculators

This directory lists every gardening calculator, finder and planner on Garden Voila. Use the search box or the category buttons to narrow the list, or scroll through it to see what is available. Tools marked “Coming soon” are in development and will become links as they launch. Below the directory you will find guidance on which tool to start with for common projects, how the tools connect to each other, and how to take measurements that give you reliable results.

How the tools are organized

Each tool belongs to one of seven groups, based on the question it answers. Knowing the groups makes it easier to find the right tool when you only have a rough idea of what you need.

Calculators

The calculators turn measurements into quantities. They cover the bulk materials every garden needs, which are soil, compost and mulch, plus planting quantities, water use and project costs. They are the most-used tools on the site because they answer a question you face every time you go shopping: how much do I need? Most take three or four inputs, such as length, width and depth, and show results in cubic feet, cubic yards and bag counts at once, so you can compare bagged and bulk prices without converting anything yourself.

Plant discovery

The plant discovery tools help you decide what to grow and how. The plant database is the core reference, listing spacing, planting depth, sun needs, days to maturity and starting method for common crops. The finders filter that information by your conditions: how much sun the bed gets, which hardiness zone you are in, and which plants grow well next to each other.

Planning

The planning tools bring the numbers together into a layout. They are where you decide which crop goes in which bed, how the beds are arranged, and what the finished garden will need in total. Planners for raised beds, containers and seasonal vegetable gardens handle the most common garden types.

Calendars

Timing is the other half of gardening. The calendar tools work from your local frost dates to show when to start seeds indoors, when to transplant, when to sow directly into the ground, and roughly when each crop will be ready to harvest.

Plant problems

When something goes wrong, such as yellowing leaves, wilting, holes or spots, the plant problem tools help you narrow down the likely cause. They work by asking where and how the symptom appears. Yellow lower leaves point to different causes than yellow new growth, for example.

Cost and shopping

The cost and shopping tools convert volumes into the bag sizes sold in stores, compare bagged and bulk prices, and turn a finished plan into a shopping list. They are designed to stop the two most common budget mistakes: buying far more than you need, and making three extra trips because you bought too little.

AI tools

The AI tools are planned for later. They will use the site’s plant data and calculators to answer questions and draft plans tailored to your space and location.

Which tool should I start with?

If you are not sure where to begin, find the project below that is closest to yours. Each one lists the tools in the order you would normally use them.

Building and filling raised beds

Start with the raised bed soil calculator to find the volume of soil for every bed, split into topsoil, compost and an aeration ingredient. If you are still deciding on bed size, run a few sizes through it. A bed that is 4 feet wide can be reached from both sides without stepping in it, which is why that width is so common. Then use the square foot gardening calculator or the plant spacing calculator to see what fits, and the raised bed cost calculator to price lumber and fill.

Topping up or mulching existing beds

For a spring refresh, measure each bed and use the compost calculator to work out how much compost to spread. An inch or two worked into the top few inches is typical for established vegetable beds. Then use the mulch calculator for a 2 to 3 inch layer around perennials and shrubs. If you are buying bags, the mulch bag calculator shows how many of each size you need.

Starting a vegetable garden from scratch

Begin with the garden size calculator so you know the real growing area after paths. Look up the crops you want in the plant database, use the plant spacing calculator to check that they fit, and then find your frost dates so you know when to start. The garden cost calculator puts a price on the whole plan.

Filling a new lawn area or leveling ground

Use the soil calculator with a depth of 4 to 6 inches for a new lawn on poor ground, or a quarter to half an inch for topdressing an existing lawn. Bulk topsoil is almost always cheaper than bags for areas this size. The weight estimate in the results will tell you whether a pickup truck can carry it or whether you need delivery.

Setting up watering

Start with the garden watering calculator to find weekly gallons. Then size a system with the drip irrigation calculator, or see how much a rain barrel could contribute with the rain barrel calculator.

Tools that work together

Many tools share inputs, so the result from one often becomes the input to the next. Here are the most useful chains:

• Garden size, then plant spacing, then seed quantity. The growing area sets how many plants fit, and the plant count sets how much seed to buy once germination rate is factored in.
• Soil, then soil bags, then cost. The soil volume becomes a bag count, and the bag count becomes a price you can compare against bulk delivery.
• Frost dates, then seed starting, then harvest dates. Your last frost date sets the seed-starting date, which sets the transplant date, which sets the expected harvest window.
• Watering, then drip irrigation, then rain barrel. Weekly water demand sizes the irrigation system, and roof catchment shows how much of that demand rain can cover.
• Plant database, then garden planner, then shopping list. Plant data feeds the layout, and the layout feeds a complete list of what to buy.

Each tool page ends with a list of related tools, so you can move to the next step without coming back to the directory.

Measuring your garden accurately

Every calculator is only as accurate as the measurements you give it. A few habits make a big difference.

Use a tape, not your stride

A long tape measure (25 feet for beds, 100 feet for whole yards) is worth having. Paced measurements can easily be off by 10 percent, and over a large area that error grows quickly. For a 20-by-30-foot area, being 10 percent long on both sides means planning for 21 percent more area than you have.

Measure inside dimensions for raised beds

Lumber takes up space. A bed built from 2-inch-nominal boards loses about 1.5 inches on each side, so a bed that measures 4 feet across the outside is closer to 3 feet 9 inches inside. For small beds the difference is minor, but across a dozen beds it adds up to several bags of soil.

Convert inches to decimal feet

The calculators take length and width in feet, so convert any inches by dividing by 12. Three inches is 0.25 feet, six inches is 0.5 feet and nine inches is 0.75 feet. A bed that is 7 feet 6 inches long is 7.5 feet.

Break odd shapes into simple ones

An L-shaped bed is two rectangles. A kidney-shaped border can be approximated by a rectangle plus two half circles. Measure each part, run each one through the calculator, and add the results. For a curved border, measuring the average width at three or four points along its length gives a good estimate.

Measure depth in several places

Ground is rarely level. When filling a low area or topping up a bed, measure how far below the target level the surface sits at several points and average them. For an existing bed that has settled, measure from the top of the frame down to the soil surface in the middle and at each end.

Getting the most accurate results

A few more points help you turn a calculator result into the right purchase.

• Add a cushion for settling. Loose soil and compost sink as they are watered and as organic matter breaks down. Allow about 10 percent for topsoil and 15 to 20 percent for mixes rich in compost. The soil calculators include this setting.
• Check bag sizes on the label. Not every bag that looks the same holds the same amount. Bagged soil is commonly sold in 0.75, 1, 1.5 and 2 cubic foot sizes, and mulch in 2 or 3 cubic foot bags.
• Compare price per cubic foot. To compare bags with bulk, divide the bag price by its volume in cubic feet, and divide the bulk price per yard by 27. Remember to include delivery fees for bulk.
• Use your own plant figures when you have them. If your seed packet gives a spacing or days to maturity for the exact variety you are growing, enter that instead of the typical value.
• Round up, not down. A small surplus of soil or mulch is easy to use elsewhere in the garden, while a shortfall means another trip.

Understanding the results

Most calculators show one large headline figure and a table of supporting numbers underneath. The headline figure is the answer to the main question, such as the cubic yards of soil to order or the number of plants that fit. The table shows the same answer in other useful forms, along with the values used to reach it.

For material calculators, the supporting table usually includes cubic feet, the area covered, bag counts in several sizes and, for soil, an approximate weight. Cubic yards are the unit to quote when you call a landscape supplier. Cubic feet and bag counts are what you need in a garden center aisle. The area figure is a useful check: if it does not roughly match what you expected from your measurements, an input is probably off by a factor of 12 or a decimal point.

Notes under the results explain any assumptions, such as the settling allowance that was added or the fact that bag counts are rounded up. If a note does not apply to your situation, change the matching input. Lowering the settling allowance to zero, for example, gives the exact geometric volume.

If you see an error message instead of a result, it names the field that needs attention. Every dimension must be a number greater than zero, and some calculators check that values make sense together. For instance, the unfilled gap at the top of a raised bed must be smaller than the height of the bed. Fix the highlighted input and the result reappears immediately.

Because results update as you type, the calculators are also useful for quick what-if comparisons. Try a bed at 8 inches and then at 11 inches, or a border at 2 inches of mulch and then at 3 inches, to see how much each choice adds to the order before you decide.

How new tools are added

Tools are released in phases, with the core material calculators and plant data first, followed by planners, calendars, problem-solving tools and cost tools. As each tool launches, its entry in this directory becomes a link, and related tool pages are updated to point to it. Bookmark this page to check what is available.

Frequently asked questions