Self Watering Wicking Garden Bed

Self watering pots have been around for decades and are based o the principle of sub irrigation where the water supply sits below the.

Self watering wicking garden bed.

A wicking bed is a self watering raised garden bed and even though the design is a relatively new innovation that is catching the attention of many produce gardeners worldwide it is essentially nothing more than a large scale version of a self watering pot. Watering from the bottom up prevents evaporation of surface water which occurs when you water beds from the top. After years of testing i m ready to share the most important elements that every self watering wicking bed needs to have in it. A full wicking bed should irrigate itself for.

Wicking worm beds have built in water tanks located below the soil and built in worm farms where the worms have access to the whole of the growing area as well as the worm farm itself. Building sip raised beds. The basic design is for a 50 cm high garden. Make a wicking barrel self watering garden bed a wicking barrel or wicking bed is a great way to garden in both a water and nutrient efficient and responsible way.

Wicking garden beds are the ultimate self watering garden they water the plants from below and you can easily build one yourself. Our raised cypress garden beds or instant veggie crates are also the ideal container for wicking projects. Think of them as a giant self watering plant pot. Its easy its cheap and works.

Self watering wicking bed design principles. We watered three times all summer long no kidding and we had garden fresh salads until frost. Crates tanks baths troughs and drums can all be used to create a wicking bed. I typically allow 1 2 inch to 1 inch max space between each pipe.

Wicking beds are an especially great system to use in community gardens because they save people from driving every day during hot weeks to water their beds. Wicking worm beds are similar to raised vegetable garden beds. We look at a simple design that shows how to build a diy wicking garden bed using second hand galvanised iron tanks. In self watering garden planters the perforated drain pipes are very easy to use and are quite adaptable to a variety of sizes.

They were developed by colin austin a retired engineer living in queensland australia. Water is drawn up into the soil via capillary action from a reservoir in the bottom of the wicking bed. The basic idea is that the bottom of the bed contains a reservoir where water is held until needed by the plants. I ve grown tired of incomplete or even faulty tutorials.

I can t keep silent any longer. The results of the diy self watering system were amazing.