Besides being waterwise and nutrient-retaining, our low-maintenance wicking beds can be custom made to suit your living space and needs – another reason why they’re so popular amongst our customers!
We have several package options available for installation by our friendly team.
Easy Grow, Low Care System
Wicking beds are low maintenance. Little watering is needed making it possible to go away for two or three weeks at a time without your wicking bed drying out.
Save Water
Wicking beds use a quarter of the water needed for a conventional garden bed. Watering from the bottom up prevents evaporation from the surface of your garden.
No Invasive Tree and Grass Roots
Our wicking beds are not only great for reducing weeds and grasses, but also ensuring the nutrients are not leached out of the soil like with conventional garden beds.
Easy Pest Control
Our wicking beds are not only great for reducing weeds and grasses, but also ensuring the nutrients are not leached out of the soil like with conventional garden beds.
Wicking Garden Bed Maintenance
The great part about wicking beds is that they are low maintenance. That being said, if you need us on hand we can provide maintenance and coaching services to ensure a successful harvest.
Custom Wicking Raised Garden Bed
We can apply the wicking bed concept in a variety of ways for you, with custom sizes, shapes, and colours available for you to choose from.
What Is A Wicking Bed?
A wicking bed is a water-efficient garden that is becoming increasingly popular with our Perth clients. Because they water plants from below, rather than from above, they save you a lot of time and water in maintaining your garden.
Wicking beds have a waterproof lining which holds a reservoir of water under the soil, water is then drawn upwards acting like a self-watering pot – meaning you only need to water your plants one to two times a week.
Why is a wicking garden bed better than a conventionally watered vegetable garden?
A wicking bed is a self-watering garden bed, built in a container at least 40cm deep. It is lined with plastic to create a reservoir that allows the plants to draw the water to the root zone where it is needed most.
Conventional vegetable gardens beds are actually watered in an ineffective and wasteful manner. While plants need the most moisture under the subsurface of the soil, conventional watering methods usually water the plants themselves and the topsoil, leaving the plants susceptible to fungus and diseases. Wicking beds allow the water to be distributed to exactly where the plants need it most, without any waste.
How often will I need to water my wicking bed?
This will vary depending on the size and material used to make the wicking bed, as well as environmental factors such as weather conditions. Generally speaking, in summer you will only need to water your wicking bed 1 – 2 times a week. Water your wicking bed until you see water coming out of the overflow pipe. It may take a week or more for the wicking to work effectively during this period, so top watering is also recommended. During those really hot 35°C days, a slight top watering in the early morning is also advised.
How often do I need to fertilise my wicking bed?
As a wicking bed is a closed watering system, it is possible to over-fertilise and create poor soil or salinity. Organic foliar fertilisers only need to be applied monthly, and you only need to dress the soil with organic matter and mulch seasonally. It is also a good idea to fork or turn the top 30cm of soil at least once a year to ensure it does not go sludgy or slimy.
How do wicking beds reduce carbon emissions?
Plants need carbon (CO2) to survive and to return oxygen back to us, but did you know that the soil can also store carbon? The argument here is that as we deplete our soils of nutrients, we are also reducing its ability to hold and store carbon, which in turn can be redistributed back to the plants as nutrients.
The wicking bed is the perfect environment to allow this natural symbiosis to occur as they are high in the organic matter, which allows that locking and storing of carbon emissions to occur.
Who came up with the wicking bed concept?
Wicking bed systems were designed by Australian engineer Colin Austin. They are a permaculture concept which imitate the natural way in which plants receive water in nature, using the water table underneath the ground and the natural ‘wicking’ effect of soil. As in all permaculture concepts, it attempts as closely as possible to recreate Mother Nature’s, or Gaia’s, flawless methods for growing plants effectively.
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Whether you’d like to book a Garden Consultation, order a custom package, or have questions about organic gardening, our team are happy to help!