I have also been watching you tube videos about wicking beds and agree this is the best so far. So easy to listen to and so much enthusiasm makes me want to get out in the garden right now. Thank you.
I've been watching tutorials on Wicking Beds and Sub-Irrigation Planters for daysssss, and this is the best one I've seen! Thank you so much for sharing!
Love Australian accents! Thanks for the video. I'm currently building my raised SIP by Urban Gardner. You video is an awesome supplement. Thanks! From Spring Tx
Hi thanks very much for this video it is all you need to start a wicking bed, great clear concise information. The step by step information is brilliant I now have all the information I need to start the wicking bed, I am starting with a recycled stainless steel laundry tub as a practice run - to grow strawberries and some herbs.
Mate, it is now choco pudding night in our house tonight- do you ever do double sauce quantities, too? Yumbo scrumbo. I've been doing my wicking beds on a smaller scale in styrofoam containers from the vege shop- another thing to keep out of landfill! I find they work really well in our aussie summers, when the moisture can be leeched out of a normal pot about an hour after you water it, argh! They're also pretty brilliant over autumn/winter, as with the occasional bit of rain, I NEVER have to water them. I've since stopped using the intake pipe, though, as watering as normal fills it up no probs, and it saves me a bit more. I just use the ol' finger test to see if it needs watering. I use a mix of budget compost from bunnings, mushroom compost, coir, six month aged horse manure, and sand. Seems to work really well. Cutting some holes into the sides of old pots and burying them in the middle of the bed, adding some moist coir, some shredded paper, and some vege scraps means I can raid my sister's worm farm for a few in-bed helpers, too! Just make sure to keep a terracotta saucer on the top of that, with mulch over it, otherwise the poor wormies cook in summer.
Fabulous video - succinct, informative, entertaining, and inspires me to get out there and give it a go. I have 2x wooden crates (100 x 100 x 90) so reckon these should be perfect. Thanks++ ps: love the t- shirt and your enthusiasm pps: include the chocolate pudding recipe next time...!!! 😜
nice. i wonder if this can be done also for containers. i enjoy it very much. it's perfect for here where mosquitos are a problem. thanks for your videos.
I have just purchased 5 raised garden beds. Height is only 480cm. Would I need to add more height to make the wicking system work properly? Love the enthusiasm of this lady. So excited to get going on this project. Thanks for the easy instructions.
Great video, thanks. However, the box looks quite flimsy and I think you should have used thicker lumber. The last shot shows the planks bending considerably under the weight of the soil, which will get worse over time. Still a great video, because it taught me to use thicker lumber. :)
Actually this covers it all, thanks a lot. Could you please explain why you built yours 600mm high? Is there a general rule how much of the total hight should be dedicated to the reservoir? I'm sorry if you mentioned that one already in the video. I might have overheard that as English is not my first language.
I love the idea of wicking beds and made one similar to this. I went to the expense of buying the best organic vegetable container mixture (aka the most expensive one at Bunnings) and I added a little cow manure as well (from memory)....and whatever I planted hardly grew. It was like every seedling I planted went into suspended animation. A friend suggested that I add some soil to the mix and when I did that my seedlings did a bit better, but still nothing startling. Totally frustrating endeavour. For me, trying to work out what to put in the bed is pivotal. Don't tell me to "buy a really good quality soil compost blend." Just tell me.....what brand and where to get it.
You shouldn't have to replace either as long as you've used a good quality liner - a pond liner is ideal. The green shade cloth layer on top of the red scoria toppings should prevent any of the organic materials in the next layer from passing through. Preventing contamination of the reservoir layer with the organic materials is important.
What a great idea. With extra O2 delivered to the root zone it'll almost be like an aeroponic system. Have a look at "deep water culture" or dwc for short.
I have pondered using wicking beds but I have concluded they are not a great idea. They use too much water. I spot water my plants whereas wicking beds soak the whole bed. They also tend to over water the roots leading to outbreaks of disease. My friend's wicking beds have seen all but corn die in the early stages of growth whereas my spot watered and mulched vegies are thriving.
I don't agree with this method at all. The best wicking bed designs are from Albo pepper or Gardening with Leon, and in their videos they explain everything. The important concepts are, 1) having a reservoir that is separated from growing medium by a 1" air gap, 2) putting a drainage hole in the bed that maintains the 1" air gap, 3) the reservoir can be maintained with perforated drainage pipes, perforated plastic water bottles, perforated cans, or a platform that creates and maintains the 1" air gap, 4) approximately 10-20% of the growing medium will dip down into the reservoir area and create the water column that will supply the entire bed with water, 5) there are other details, but these are the important ideas.No sand, no escoria, (which are are heavy, expensive and unneeded) no mulch (except on top) is needed; these materials just take up space that should be used by water or growing medium. If you build it this way you'll never have anerobic conditions. I've been growing this way for several years and the plant health and growth is amazing. It saves about 80% of watering, which in my arid part of the country is very important.
The inventor of Wicking beds, Colin Austin, deeply regrets that the information he posted on wicking beds got misread. Won't go into details here but to say that any type of gravel/scoria/bluemetal inhibits the wicking process as does the geotextile/shadecloth etc. Using sandy loam throughout the reservoir and a good soil compost mix in the growing level produces the optimum wicking process. Beds will still function using the gravel etc but nowhere near as efficiently. For more information go to Colin Austin’s website: www.waterright.com.au/stones%20again.htm?fbclid=IwAR1a_sGAvRHlS81Rxpg1dE6a--7sKlpViyDYqc_1ZQBi8Znk14UOBdcr5Lc Another interesting development is work by Chris Curtis testing various wicking methods. See:- www.roogulli.com/wicking-beds?fbclid=IwAR2GpjoQVv7A-HzDOCTtL-N1uHQCK-xQrZe64ohibvgGcuLLn4y5_ozM_wQ
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Is she the Steve Irwin of gardening? So much enthusiasm and character. Brilliant!
I have also been watching you tube videos about wicking beds and agree this is the best so far. So easy to listen to and so much enthusiasm makes me want to get out in the garden right now. Thank you.
What a great video. The enthusiasm for food, vegies and gardening is sooo contagious.
Indeed this is the best video on wicking I have seen to this date! Thank you so much!
I've been watching tutorials on Wicking Beds and Sub-Irrigation Planters for daysssss, and this is the best one I've seen! Thank you so much for sharing!
Seen a few videos on wicking beds but this one is the best one ever. I will definitely be giving it a go now. Good job. thank you.
Love Australian accents! Thanks for the video. I'm currently building my raised SIP by Urban Gardner. You video is an awesome supplement. Thanks!
From Spring Tx
Thank you! Well described and great to have a reference to the creator!
Very good video. Easy to follow instructions. Thanks for the info!
Hi thanks very much for this video it is all you need to start a wicking bed, great clear concise information. The step by step information is brilliant I now have all the information I need to start the wicking bed, I am starting with a recycled stainless steel laundry tub as a practice run - to grow strawberries and some herbs.
Mate, it is now choco pudding night in our house tonight- do you ever do double sauce quantities, too? Yumbo scrumbo. I've been doing my wicking beds on a smaller scale in styrofoam containers from the vege shop- another thing to keep out of landfill! I find they work really well in our aussie summers, when the moisture can be leeched out of a normal pot about an hour after you water it, argh! They're also pretty brilliant over autumn/winter, as with the occasional bit of rain, I NEVER have to water them. I've since stopped using the intake pipe, though, as watering as normal fills it up no probs, and it saves me a bit more. I just use the ol' finger test to see if it needs watering. I use a mix of budget compost from bunnings, mushroom compost, coir, six month aged horse manure, and sand. Seems to work really well. Cutting some holes into the sides of old pots and burying them in the middle of the bed, adding some moist coir, some shredded paper, and some vege scraps means I can raid my sister's worm farm for a few in-bed helpers, too! Just make sure to keep a terracotta saucer on the top of that, with mulch over it, otherwise the poor wormies cook in summer.
Fabulous video - succinct, informative, entertaining, and inspires me to get out there and give it a go. I have 2x wooden crates (100 x 100 x 90) so reckon these should be perfect. Thanks++
ps: love the t- shirt and your enthusiasm
pps: include the chocolate pudding recipe next time...!!! 😜
Great demonstration, going to try it this weekend
nice. i wonder if this can be done also for containers. i enjoy it very much. it's perfect for here where mosquitos are a problem. thanks for your videos.
I love my Vegepod wicking bed we have extreme winds and fruit fly, both no longer an issue. Nearly ready to make my own 👏🏻
Great video thank you 😊
Nice video. Thanks!
thanks heaps, a really helpful vid.
great video-thanks!
I have just purchased 5 raised garden beds. Height is only 480cm. Would I need to add more height to make the wicking system work properly? Love the enthusiasm of this lady. So excited to get going on this project. Thanks for the easy instructions.
Great video, thanks. However, the box looks quite flimsy and I think you should have used thicker lumber. The last shot shows the planks bending considerably under the weight of the soil, which will get worse over time. Still a great video, because it taught me to use thicker lumber. :)
Awesome - thank you!
Actually this covers it all, thanks a lot. Could you please explain why you built yours 600mm high? Is there a general rule how much of the total hight should be dedicated to the reservoir? I'm sorry if you mentioned that one already in the video. I might have overheard that as English is not my first language.
What's the maintenance on these? Do you replace the plastic or gravel after 2,3 years?
you're fun to watch! hee hee
I love the idea of wicking beds and made one similar to this. I went to the expense of buying the best organic vegetable container mixture (aka the most expensive one at Bunnings) and I added a little cow manure as well (from memory)....and whatever I planted hardly grew. It was like every seedling I planted went into suspended animation. A friend suggested that I add some soil to the mix and when I did that my seedlings did a bit better, but still nothing startling. Totally frustrating endeavour. For me, trying to work out what to put in the bed is pivotal. Don't tell me to "buy a really good quality soil compost blend." Just tell me.....what brand and where to get it.
A trick for getting the plastic into the corners of the garden:
Fill with a small amount of water.
Nice vid..
Can ya grow a dwarf fruit tree in the wicking bed? Thank You!
You shouldn't have to replace either as long as you've used a good quality liner - a pond liner is ideal. The green shade cloth layer on top of the red scoria toppings should prevent any of the organic materials in the next layer from passing through. Preventing contamination of the reservoir layer with the organic materials is important.
I'm going to try adding a fish tank air stone into my water tube to help keep it from going anaerobic.
What a great idea. With extra O2 delivered to the root zone it'll almost be like an aeroponic system. Have a look at "deep water culture" or dwc for short.
I wan’t to try this wicking system with building a worm farm.
Heeey maaaate ✌️ from
Melbs-
great video SustainableGardening :) Is it possible to pop in some English subs, for the hearing impaired please?
Which one?
I suppose keep it filled so that you are wetting as much of the stick as she did when she first filled it.
Is she on a TV show?? LOL!!
But Mother Nature waters from the top????
I have pondered using wicking beds but I have concluded they are not a great idea. They use too much water. I spot water my plants whereas wicking beds soak the whole bed. They also tend to over water the roots leading to outbreaks of disease. My friend's wicking beds have seen all but corn die in the early stages of growth whereas my spot watered and mulched vegies are thriving.
I don't agree with this method at all. The best wicking bed designs are from Albo pepper or Gardening with Leon, and in their videos they explain everything. The important concepts are, 1) having a reservoir that is separated from growing medium by a 1" air gap, 2) putting a drainage hole in the bed that maintains the 1" air gap, 3) the reservoir can be maintained with perforated drainage pipes, perforated plastic water bottles, perforated cans, or a platform that creates and maintains the 1" air gap, 4) approximately 10-20% of the growing medium will dip down into the reservoir area and create the water column that will supply the entire bed with water, 5) there are other details, but these are the important ideas.No sand, no escoria, (which are are heavy, expensive and unneeded) no mulch (except on top) is needed; these materials just take up space that should be used by water or growing medium. If you build it this way you'll never have anerobic conditions. I've been growing this way for several years and the plant health and growth is amazing. It saves about 80% of watering, which in my arid part of the country is very important.
Please spell out all the material on screen. Hard to understand especially for USA
600 mm :) what type of measurement is this?
The inventor of Wicking beds, Colin Austin, deeply regrets that the information he posted on wicking beds got misread. Won't go into details here but to say that any type of gravel/scoria/bluemetal inhibits the wicking process as does the geotextile/shadecloth etc. Using sandy loam throughout the reservoir and a good soil compost mix in the growing level produces the optimum wicking process. Beds will still function using the gravel etc but nowhere near as efficiently.
For more information go to Colin Austin’s website:
www.waterright.com.au/stones%20again.htm?fbclid=IwAR1a_sGAvRHlS81Rxpg1dE6a--7sKlpViyDYqc_1ZQBi8Znk14UOBdcr5Lc
Another interesting development is work by Chris Curtis testing various wicking methods. See:-
www.roogulli.com/wicking-beds?fbclid=IwAR2GpjoQVv7A-HzDOCTtL-N1uHQCK-xQrZe64ohibvgGcuLLn4y5_ozM_wQ
she said about 200ml so keep it at that.
It's Pat from SNL!
What have you done to your hair? How far from nature isnt' that.
would have believed it more if i felt you actually ate vegetables
are you a girl or a boy i cant tell
r u stupid or just rude i cant tell?
no i legit cant tell
and how far did you have to gig through the comment to find this one
dj red hare aus There's only 31...so it probably didn't take much 'digging.'