This is such an excellent instructional! I can hardly believe I'm the first to like and comment. Keep up the great work - because this video was super useful.
So pleased you liked it. I made it years ago when wicking beds were very new .. just didn't get around the posting it. Good luck with building it - they make such a big difference to water use and keeping roots out ... the best
Enjoyd you,re presentation and you,re Aussie accent , from up here in Canada ,cool . Being a guy , I,d need a few more measurments , ha . EG. -depth of rock , soil and such . Did ,very much ,enjoy the video,thanks .
Very good and clear illustration of how the self-watering ones are built. Many thanks for that! I really like it and will build one myself. How long does one water filling last and how do you know when to fill water in?
You are welcome! Depends on the weather , your level of mulch and what you're growing. I find in the heat and height of summer one filling a week is good when I've got a water-loving crop in (cucumber for example). I just look down the tube and see if I can see the water level. If it's half full it will still wick that water up into the soil. I generally fill it up once a week or when the water tank is full and we're about to get some rain!
I’m considering doing a wicking bed Well 5 . I see a lot of people paint them to prevent algae. Is painting them worth it or can you get away without painting them 😂 it’s all seems so much effort and painting them is just an added task
Yes and yes. I think it was a oil used in soap and we do did a very sold washing out the IBC. You can get food grade - this didn't seem like a huge issue for us but now that you mention it ...!!
No ... you need something that will wick up (or absorb and draw-up) the water from underneath the soil. I find the geotextile the best as it will last a long time. You could use another type of fabric but it might degrade quickly meaning you'll have soil all through the substrate/scoria layer and that would mean clearing it all out.
The biggest cost is the scoria stones. You can get lots of recycled/reclaimed bits to use but buying all the parts new it's about AUD$500 (Australian buckeroos!)
This is such an excellent instructional! I can hardly believe I'm the first to like and comment. Keep up the great work - because this video was super useful.
So pleased you liked it. I made it years ago when wicking beds were very new .. just didn't get around the posting it. Good luck with building it - they make such a big difference to water use and keeping roots out ... the best
Clever use of the overflow to hold the inlet in place!
Brilliant tutorial
Thanks so much
Brilliant presentation!
Thankyou 😎👍
Glad you enjoyed it
I'm impressed, i've never heard of this before.
They work a treat.
Thankyou I’ll be making some of those.
This was great, time to make ours. Thanks!
Looks great, thank you
Enjoyd you,re presentation and you,re Aussie accent , from up here in Canada ,cool . Being a guy , I,d need a few more measurments , ha . EG. -depth of rock , soil and such . Did ,very much ,enjoy the video,thanks .
Depths vary depending on personal needs.. i built a few of these for my sister and went roughly 1/2 of the total height in scoria or gravel...
great vid you make it fun
Glad you enjoyed
Great instructions, I cant wait to set mine up. Thankyou :)
You’re welcome 😊. Let me know how it goes and grows
Very good and clear illustration of how the self-watering ones are built. Many thanks for that! I really like it and will build one myself. How long does one water filling last and how do you know when to fill water in?
You are welcome! Depends on the weather , your level of mulch and what you're growing. I find in the heat and height of summer one filling a week is good when I've got a water-loving crop in (cucumber for example). I just look down the tube and see if I can see the water level. If it's half full it will still wick that water up into the soil. I generally fill it up once a week or when the water tank is full and we're about to get some rain!
This is super helpful..Thank you!! Is that black corrugated pipe having slots/hole in it (french drain)?
YEp. We call it agricultural pipe in Oz.
I’m considering doing a wicking bed Well 5 . I see a lot of people paint them to prevent algae. Is painting them worth it or can you get away without painting them 😂 it’s all seems so much effort and painting them is just an added task
I didn't do that ... and it's a lot of work but they do work brilliantly
Great video. Curious did you look at what the ibc had contained previously.? Do they need to be food safe? Thanks..
Yes and yes. I think it was a oil used in soap and we do did a very sold washing out the IBC. You can get food grade - this didn't seem like a huge issue for us but now that you mention it ...!!
Will builders plastic work to seperate soil and scoria?
No ... you need something that will wick up (or absorb and draw-up) the water from underneath the soil. I find the geotextile the best as it will last a long time. You could use another type of fabric but it might degrade quickly meaning you'll have soil all through the substrate/scoria layer and that would mean clearing it all out.
Why is there such a long piece of filling pipe?
I think it was over kill - but main thing is you don't want the resevoir to get too much dirt in it or the overflow outlet/hole to get blocked.
Wicking leaks. Lol
You're onto it!
How much would this cost to make?
The biggest cost is the scoria stones. You can get lots of recycled/reclaimed bits to use but buying all the parts new it's about AUD$500 (Australian buckeroos!)