How to Make a Self Watering Planter Wicking Garden Bed
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- Опубликовано: 1 мар 2019
- In this video, I show you how to make a self-watering planter wicking raised garden bed. These types of self-watering beds help to save on water and give your plants more consistent access to water so they thrive.
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Self-watering bed as shown in the video: birdiesgardenproducts.com.au/...
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Self Sufficient Me is based on our small 3-acre property/homestead in SE Queensland Australia about 45kms north of Brisbane - the climate is subtropical (similar to Florida). I started Self Sufficient Me in 2011 as a blog website project where I document and write about backyard food growing, self-sufficiency, and urban farming in general. I love sharing my foodie and DIY adventures online so come along with me and let's get into it! Cheers, Mark :) 
Хобби
Thanks for your support guys! Shop on Amazon for self-watering planters: bit.ly/2INKAyq
Self-watering bed as shown in the video: birdiesgardenproducts.com.au/...
My Blog: www.selfsufficientme.com/ (use the search bar on my website to find info on certain subjects or gardening ideas)
Bleeding Heart Amaranth! That plant species will love your climate👍
Kangkung.. Like it.. 😁 😁
Nice proyect Mark thanks but,no Mark
this is very e
$pensive x me !!
I trat other conteiners black and yellow tap at the store big lots 🤣🤣 $ 6 or 8 dollar each
How about revisiting this wicking bed idea for a review?
Great idea - so I want to make on my large balcony a greenhouse - minimizing work I am using large pots given from big shrubs
These will be in the base of the greenhouse, and I will make shelves
top shelves for starters
middle shelves for in between cycles
So now you give me an idea for the pots making a resevior they sit in
i was going to mist the starters and middle shelves with a timer
and collect rain water in a barrel
hmm
We are penniless middle aged hippies living in Tasmania and we worked out that the best way to have a water wise veggie garden was to have wicking beds. We had NO way of affording any kind of garden beds that would give us enough room to grow most of our veggies so we decided to think smarter rather than harder when we were at the rubbish tip one day and saw a stack of old fridges and freezers that were due to be put into landfill. We asked the tip guy about them and he said we could buy 3 for $5 so we bought 24 of them and siliconed them up drilled holes in the sides and they are now awesome wicking beds. I can't claim the idea in the first place, someone in Perth did it first and I saw a blog post about it so anyone thinking "I can't afford a wicking bed" might just be wrong :)
I'm confused. Did you use them as container beds? What is the wishing part?
@@mikeygee4564 Not "wishing" "wicking". Water wicking beds are what Self Sufficient Me is promoting here. The principal is the same with our fridge garden beds. We gutted them (they were already gas released), sealed up the holes with silicone, turned them onto their backs and "voila" we had water wicking beds. Instead of using scoria to fill the bases and geotextile to cover it we just part filled the bases with chopped up branches and then filled the beds with soil. We put a piece of white poly pipe upright in the beds so that we could easily fill the bases with water before we filled the beds with soil and there is a reservoir in the base of the beds that the sticks are in that contains the water. Because there is a large area of soil above this reservoir, it prevents the water from drying out and the water is "wicked" (like a candle wick) up through the soil to the plant roots as the bed slowly dries out. Using this method, you can usually get a few days in between watering rather than having to water every day. Its much more water wise and efficient and plants seem to love it.
@@stevefranpimblett8257 yes, of course, typo
@@stevefranpimblett8257 😊
This guy is one of my favorite teachers. And the music he overlays with the video doesn't make me homicidal.
I bought a couple of tomato planting pots with a built in water reservoir at the bottom 2 years ago. First year I just used it as advertised and the water usage was enormous. Second year I mulched the soil with straw and the water reservoir lasted many days. Guess when water is always available it will also "always evaporate". So be sure sure to mulch the soil if you're using a self watering system.
I homebuilt mine,really easy with a plastic box and some UPVC tubing and anti weed matting, cost less than 30 quid for all the parts and takes an hour to build, did wonders for my tomatos and chillis last year in the heatwave
Great stuff well done! Cheers :)
I do a wicking bed a little differently. I like to use the steel water troughs for animals. 1 foot (30 cm) deep x 2 foot (60 cm) wide and 4 to 8 feet long. I put 4-6 inches ( 10-15 cm) of well rotting wood in the bottom (think hugelkultur) then I drill one drain hole about 4 inches up from the bottom. Then I fill it with garden soil.
The bottom of the trough fills with water up to the drain hole. The wood soaks it up until it is saturated. The soil wicks it all up. Right now it is 100 degrees (38 celsius) and the top of the soil is moist. The roots also grow down to that water and the water soaked wood. I only have to water once a week or less when the weather is cooler.
Appreciate your videos.
Yup. This is the way.
Love your video, love your explanations and love the fact that you are using Australian company WaterUps for your wicking cells ... there is nothing better on the market. Keep your invaluable videos coming!
This is the same method I used to use with potted plants. Great to see the manufacturing companies have decided to add it to their list!
I actually had bought and used self watering containers for my strawberries last year and for my seed starting kit this year. I found them very effective and takes out the guess work of when to water my plants.
Newbie from Connecticut USA.... binge watching your videos and enjoy your wealth of knowledge.Thx for sharing with us.
Same man. Getting ready for this season by learning now.
Im in the process of building my own wicking beds out of old steel bathtubs, this video was very helpful, Thanks Mark
This is a big earthbox, love these setups. I have my earthboxes setup with automatic watering and other than feeding specific nutrients during the season they are 100% maintenance-free.
Wonderful demo, as always well organized, clear, and to the point. Thanks for all you do!
Seems like a decent bit of kit. I like the idea of being able to go on holiday and not worry about the watering. Cheers Adam
Great looking results there Mark :)
I had tomatoes and a pepper plant in diy self watering containers. (5 gallon buckets) I found that when watered well, they grew fantastically. However, when the bottom reservoir bucket ran dry, the plants immediately wilted (looked like a hydroponic disaster) in the summer heat.
This year I'm going to attempt a separate reservoir with float valve to keep constant levels in the buckets.
I'm very excited about the possibility of those garden beds coming to the USA!. I've been looking all over for some like them and no luck!
Great vid, I learn so much from your garden and methods. This will work perfectly where I live in south africa. Dry hot summers.
I got mine from Aldi. :) They are black plastic, with legs, so are raised to hip hight. They were only $100 AUD each and gave been going strong for 2 years now. Love them!
Mark! Another amazing and educational video. Thank you very much!!! and Good day back at ya!!!
Thanks Mark, great video. I saw a similar recycled container version of this on Arms Family Homestead for use here in the US.
I have been looking at makeing a wicking bed for a while, and this has given me some good ideas on how to make my own with some tin roofing I have lying around, it gets pretty hot and dry in our little corner of France and anything the reduces watering time is always good. Thanks for the great contene you are putting out, keep up the good work :)
Thank you so much..KANG KONG ..is normally grown here in the Philippines .a.tropical country..its my favorite leafy veggie... I love this video.. God bless Sir
Great concept Mark, can't wait to try this!
Think I'll be using some stuff around the house for the "wicking" bit though, just bought a garden bed and am going to try to convert it to one like this. Thank you! ;D
This is wonderful for people that have no skills to do a DIY. This can be done with any bed. I used the black pipe with holes in it and landscape (20 year) fabric. Works great. It could easily be done with these beds also. I went to their websites to look into buying the beds in the USA but all are out of stock. Taller beds can be used because the roots will go down to the water to find it. Especially plants with a larger root system. :)
Awesome....after watching this, just bought some for my garden - the kit price was surprisingly good and living 300km return trip from the nearest big hardware store it was just easier to buy the whole lot in one box!! So damn hot and dry up here that the veggies need all the help they can get! :)
It's a great system.
I had no money to spend and built a few myself out of plastic storage crates.
Outer crate about 80 litres capacity.
Inner crate about 15 liters.
The inner crate smaller about 1 inch on all sides so when fitted there is space for soil on all sides.
This is important, otherwise if there is not enough space on sides, no capillary sipping will occur.
The inner crate fitted up side down to create even more space for soil on all sides.
Cut a lot of thin holes all around the inner crate to allow for water to sip in and out.
Used 15mm plastic conduit (from electrical store) and fittings to install filler pipe and overflow pipe.
I mixed vermiculite and permiculite into the potting mix to allow for easier capillary sipping.
Can confirm after 2 seasons that this works very well.
Due to constant water access for the plants, I have twice the growth comparing to the same plants in ground.
I water every 3 days during hot weather, every 5 days otherwise.
The boxes, I made are about 1/3 the size of these in this video.
Each one cost me about $15 to make and took about 1h.
Happy growing!
I find that if you are able to always try and water from the bottom significantly helps to reduce fungal growth through the bottom watering as mentioned. Coming from a high mountain desert region water conservation is by for one of the biggest challenges I face on a daily basis. That is why I am such a fan of these methods of watering system.
Thanks for this Mark and the link to Birdies, I'm going to grow watermelon, cucumbers, beans, spinach and silverbeet/chards in mine all in one, the first 3 plants will be on a climbing frame.
Always love your videos.
Thank you.
Rod
I really enjoy watching your videos Mark. 😊 good day
Love the new animation! Channel keeps getting better keep the videos coming!
Reasonably priced for a prefabricated system too! Hey thanks for reviewing the product. Im researching this method currently.
Thanks for sharing. Love the idea.
I'm new to your channel. I like it very much. looking forward to continued watching . thanks for the info. Blessings all the way from TEXAS.
Thanku for sharing your wealth of information n good will for the planet n in general
I’m going to try and make one I don’t have that much for one little garden bed. But I do like it. And very much enjoyed this video that’s for sharing mark. Looking forward to sharing this clip in my gardening fb group here in Tasmania. Keep it coming.
I made my own out of blue 200l plastic barrels same concept as these and they are growing food great
love this,hoping I can make some plans I have bear fruit at the end of this year and I'll be able to maybe get a couple.
Mark. This is the best episode for me. It's the way of the future. I recommend planting beetroot next. It's expensive and highly nutritious.
I've got a whole bunch of 50 litre home made ones using heavy duty storage containers. Basil just loves it. Parsley grows mad too and strawberries do well.
Another great video, hello from New Jersey USA
Thanks Mark...good post as always
good job. High dollar grow bed. Happy you have access to those metal culverts. round here I see concrete.
Thanks....suitable for our hot climate....
Thanks....very helpful. Love your channel
Thank you for sharing that idea
3 1/2 years later. How is it doing? I just saw another channel where this is built and of course it's raved. Your thoughts now you've run it for a few years.
With the deer we have in my community I've been looking to put netting up on the new beds (just starting).
I'm going to use rectangular beds with corner posts and netting. This is also what I needed to see. Thank you
Awesome video mark!
awesome video today Mark !!
Good video thanks Mark
I love your work
Great video!!
inspired to try growing a few berry bushes :D
I'm trying to put something together for the larger taller sided ones like what you have. Need to get my thinking cap on. Got so excited initially thinking you came up with an idea for the taller ones.
The pond liner turns this open bed that could just be a standard raised bed frame, into basically a container. Taller beds that you are making for custom sizes can just use a PVC pipe or some other pipe to be the long pipe that goes to the bottom of your container.
Yes! It works! I already do this!! You use less water..
Geoff Lawton, Permaculture Guru, makes them out of IBCs cut in half. Very simple and a fraction of the cost and you get 2 beds out of an IBC. You should have a go 🤔😊 Cheers, Johno
Will try this for my tomatoes
Can we get an update on how this is performing compared to a normal one Mark?
that's cool! thanks
Hey, Mark. We bought a couple of little SIP garden planters about 24-in by 18-in last year at Lowes (Texas). We planted tomatoes, peppers, and lots of herbs. They did great. We are going to build a 3-ft by 6-ft SIP planter out of cedar this year from plans we found on the internet. These are great for our hot dry summer months.
could you share the plans with us for your SIP planter you are going to build? It would be much appreciated!!
@@dschott1083 foodretro.com/build-a-wooden-sub-irrigated-planter/
Love your articles,how about one on strawberries from British Columbia
Thanks for all your info
Wow this is awesome Yes keep us updated I would love to get one of these when they come to the USA . I shared Big hugs :") What about growing some bok choy or Fennel or celery would be good to grow in there too..
its easier AND cheaper just to grab a bin , stick drain slotted pipe (one that comes with sock) in the bottom and bend piece of it upward so it acts as filling pipe, then make few outflow holes at the just above pipe level for drainage and you are done.
Thank you for the wonderful vedio so can I get technical support from you
Excellent video and thanks for sharing. I am amazed at how you continue to improve your channel and help all of us out, it is greatly appreciated. I have a question about this. Do you think that the roots will find their way through down to the water reservoir and eventually fill it up?
Cool!
Hello Mark. Could you one day do a follow up on this bed. Has it lived up to your expectations? As always thumbs up.
Interesting.
I love your voice mate❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I've retro fitted a larger bed with milk crates, lining & pockets of sand, effectively creating a larger water reservoir. Works a treat! Loved your video. Please ditch the music though, it's very distracting. I'd rather focus on your voice & what you are saying. 😊
Need these self-watering raised bed kits in the USA, too. Birdie only has the small raised bed in America 😩 Birdie told me they will be making the taller raised beds available in America this year 😊
I tried looking for beds like his and found 1 company offering them for $50 each...minimum order was like 200 or something crazy lol. I'm like I just need 4 ugh!
If you have a Menards nearby they sell a large version of the earthbox for about $50 when it's on sale.
watch a few more instructional videos and you will see that you can make your own from many sized containers, whatever size you may be interested in.
eg 5-gallon buckets, 20 gallon totes, soda cup from fast food, water bottle, etc. the last two, of course, would be for smaller plants but it gives you an idea of what is possible!
Checkout the channel Albo Pepper. He has a good instruction video on making your own pretty easy
Lowes selling a 2x2 wicking bed for $30.
Oh man, he's lucky, it's quite a bit colder here in Norway.
Capillary action (wicking) will only occur to a maximum height of 300mm in soil. Easy to make yourself in old solid containers like concrete laundry tubs.
Yes - I converted old laundry wash troughs...used scoria rock in base + recycled washing machine hose, tank fitting for overflow, old shade cloth for separation between rock & soil, + poly pipe for watering.
Winter garden (lettuce, kale, beetroot, mustard greens, spinach, rocket) all have done very well.
Now not sure about summer as too heavy to relocate from full sun concrete outdoor area!!
May need to set up some overhead shade.
Referred to Gardening Australia’s Sophie Thompson experiences when setting up.
Watering definitely much easier / more efficient for low rainfall Mallee, SA.
Is there a reason you didn't do the Sub Irrigation system (like using drainage pipe and pond liner etc.) in you large Birdie raised beds? I don't believe Birdie has a kit for the large beds; however, the idea could have been re-created.
Thanks Mark your the best, have you heard of ''Ruth Stout Gardening Method''?
I have a friendly critique and that is that I normally find garden videos relaxing but the music is really killing the vibe for me. Makes it harder to focus on the information too. That said I very much appreciate the information and found it useful.
Agree wicking doesn’t work above a longer distance in the taller beds. I tried it with styrofoam boxes in a 76cm tall bed. Not much wicking occurred.
Recently I have been using some plastic raised garden beds bought from a well known hardware chain. The beds have the dimensions of 70cms long, 42 cms wide and 65 cms tall. So a good height. They achieve the height from four legs. The garden bed is around 30cm deep. I converted a few to self watering doing it my own way which is working. However I’m not sure if conversion is necessary as I think the beds retain water the way they were made. The have ridges in the base of the bed that would retain water.
I’m pretty happy with them and they only cost $20 each. Unfortunately they were a one off item and have sold out in most stores.
Building your own you can add a float box and have a truly self watering system. when the water level drops the float valve automatically tops it off.
Yes
lol my mistake when I got my first raised bed was not removing the lining from BOTH sides. Had to disassemble 3 panels :P
gdayyyyy Mark,
awesome review mate! any chance on doing a video on making a ‘poor mans sekf-watering planter’? would be very helpful for families struggling to make end meet. many thanks
He could make such a video but there are actually many of them available already, in case you're in a hurry to get started. I know the spring is springing in some areas so we're all eager to get going. Good luck!
Mark - I am in Phoenix AZ and I love this idea - we are planning our first garden for the coming fall and I want to use the birdies planters - but my question is around fertilizer. If the plant food is wicking into the base, how do you know when and how much to feed?
You looked like Fred Flintstone while carrying around that frame ;-)
Wicking bed vs normal raised gardening bed..which has less maintenance over the year in terms of soil ? do you have to wash out the soil in wicking bed and clear the root hairs in the water reservoir often ?
Would you recommend these over traditional raised beds? We're moving into a new house soon and a mate of mine swears by wicking beds. I really want to go down the Hugelkulture path that you have done a lot of videos on.
I'd like to try this with carrots and tomatoes. Maybe onions.
Is it deep enough for root veggies like Potatoes or radishes? Or would that not be the best to plant in a raised bed like that?
That is such a neat design! I'm probably going to look for homemade ones to see if others can cut the cost. Thank you for sharing!
I think I accidentally made one, or similar. I tried making hugelkultur in just large planting pot, that had a drip tray. Last week I found out the bottom tray was full of water and top soil always seemed to be moist. Not dry like any other soil being on sun so long.
Oh Mark! Really? You bought one?! Here's the Andy taunt - make me another clip where you make one from scratch. I know you wanna!
Umm, are you trolling me Andy? LOL... And, no, I didn't buy it - this bed was complimentary from Birdies for me to "play with" and give my opinion on. Cheers :)
@@Selfsufficientme LOL. It looks pretty good.
@@Selfsufficientme Link's broken
Hey Mark, Great Video! I have built my own raised garden beds and made them about 3 feet tall. I have seen some self watering bed setups for those on line, but never seen one in person or on film. Do you think that self watering just will not work on tall beds, or just that the pre made water system is too short but a taller water system could work? I am trying to figure out the best way to fill my beds. They are 3x8x3 and is going to take a lot of fill to get them up to growing level.
I am not speaking for Mark, but I have read that the wicking action extends only for about 12-15", which is perfect for growing veggies. Did you try it on your 3' beds?
Bummer, I was hoping for a tutorial to make your own. I watched a few last year, but didn't book mark them (fool!😋). Now I'm ready to make some, but want to check on the plans in my head.
Not to worry! Albo pepper has a fantastic tutorial on how to do it: albopepper.com/SIP-raised-bed.php
Hi..... Mark, Self Sufficient Me. I really enjoy your video, thank you for sharing your video 👋 bye 👋 bye 👋 bye 👋 👕🐔🐓🐥🐕🌱🐴🍒🍓🌴🎥👍👍👍
Sand wicks well so put it in the wicking plates THEN fill with good soil
I wonder if this would make a good low-hassle tomato bed. If you give it enough trellis, maybe you could make an indeterminate grow huge from from there, what with even watering being such a big deal for them.
Hello,
What do you do when the nutrients in the wicking culture bed are consumed ??? Does the soil change with a new one or is compost or biomass always added ??? How do you ensure plant nutrients for several consecutive growing seasons ??? Do we use organic fertilizers? At how many crop cycles does the soil change from a wicking crop bed ??? Everyone shows how to start a wicking culture bed ... Nobody says how to maintain it and how much it can be used until exhaustion and then changed ... Please, can you answer these questions ???
I just bought me the gravity 560 and was looking if any mods were out for it and came across this vid. Just did my first cook yesterday. Pork shoulder. It turned out awesome. I like all the mods you showed but if I do any it will be the fire box and lid mod and the dampener first. Do you think the dampened will keep more smoke in the cook area? Thank you for this.
I think cinder blocks would work really good set them on their sides make the bottom that way getting ready to make my raised garden beds I'm going to do three of them one for salads which will be close to the house keep the deer away and the other one for the other stuff like sweet potatoes potatoes corn I'll have to get an electric fence for that to keep the deer away
Really like your channel keep them coming
Our whitetail deer walk right up onto the patio and sidewalk right by the house. Hope your deer are more cautious than mine. Cheers.
where do you get the square bases you zip tied together. ???
How heavy do you think this bed is? Do you think it would be alright on a table to give it a bit of height?
what would you recommend to make this raised bed mobile/on-wheels? what type of bottom? what type of wheels? what type of pull/push system? my goal is to be able to move this unit daily from a garage/shelter out to the grass yard then back into the garage/shelter.