Wicking Garden Beds Permaculture
Wicking beds work on the same principle as self watering pots they are watered from underneath as well as above.
Wicking garden beds permaculture. 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. And they don t have to cost a fortune either. Wicking beds are a great way to grow vegetables in any area with hot dry summers or where there is competition from larger plants like big gum trees that make it all but impossible to establish a vegetable garden in the ground. They can be placed close to the house without risking flooding your basement since the water is contained in the bed.
A full wicking bed should irrigate itself for about a week. Watering from the bottom up prevents evaporation of surface water which occurs when you water beds from the top. Advantages of wicking beds. This makes wicking beds a great alternative to swales on properties with sump pumps or basement water issues.
A wildlife proof no dig garden wicking bed on april 6 2017 we recently ran our real skills for growing food workshop at the very wonderful fat pig farm. Very edible gardens veg is a permaculture design education and gardening company in melbourne australia directed by dan palmer and adam grubb pictured above with the veg wicking bed managers jeremy and brendon. A personal highlight was completing the wildlife proof no dig garden wicking bed that local builder and permaculturalist blake harder built and we filled in with our students. A wildlife proof no dig garden wicking bed on april 6 2017 we recently ran our real skills for growing food workshop at the very wonderful fat pig farm.
Self watering pots have been around for decades and are based o the principle of sub irrigation where the water supply sits below the. Wicking beds have a lot of advantages over standard raised beds and in grown swale based gardens. And tagged best rocks for wicking beds bulk density calculating volume of scoria for wicking beds geotextile fabric for wicking beds gravel in bottom of plant pots for drainage lightweight aggregates scoria wicking bed construction wicking bed geotextile fabric. This entry was posted in gardening information permaculture what s new.
The chambers can be made from a single container separated into two units or from two independent containers stacked on top of each other and nested into a single unit. No evaporation means no salting of soil. Wicking beds are a great way to conserve water while producing great crops.