Wicking Beds are gaining in popularity in Australia due to their water saving capabilities. They are designed to draw water from the reservoir at the base of the bed, rather than from top-watering, which reduces evaporation and saves water by up to 50% on conventional raised beds.
I have been interested in them for a while, but I don’t have the skills to build a wicking bed (nor the time, or interest to learn, frankly). When I researched them, I found instructions to build a wicking bed (no thanks), or a range of options to buy ready-made at very different styles and prices.
Finally, I chose a South Australian company selling via Facebook Marketplace. These are built from reclaimed timber, which was attractive to me as a more sustainable option than the fancier models using virgin materials. These aren’t as stylish as some of the models I have seen, but they are sturdy, sustainable, cheaper, and easy to use.
I bought two beds to fit in the greenhouse, with the intention to grow tomatoes and eggplants. I was not happy with the eggplant crop last year, and while we had some good tomatoes last year I know we can do better.
Each bed is lined with thick plastic, and has a tap for overflow (pictured above). The box at the end is for storage (tools etc). The blue cloth you can see in the picture is used to stop the soil falling into the scoria once the bed is filled.
Preparing Wicking Beds
To protect the beds from sun and water damage and make sure they last as long as possible, the wood should be coated before use. You can choose oil, wax or paint. I chose to use exterior enamel paint, after first considering beeswax, boiled linseed oil, and decking oil. Exterior paint was the cheapest option, would last a long time, and as the wicking bed is lined and the paint was only used on the outside of the beds, was a safe solution. A light sand, and then three coats of exterior paint in pale eucalyptus (gloss) and they were ready to go. We had been painting our kitchen that week, so it was not much more effort to paint the wicking beds at the same time, and I think it was worth it.
Filling Wicking Beds
The base of the wicking bed should be lined with a medium such as scoria (volcanic rock) or perlite. I chose scoria as this was recommended to me by the company that built the wicking beds, and is more than half the price of perlite. However, it is much heavier, so be sure about where you want to place the wicking beds before you add it as you will not be able to move it again once you load it up with the scoria! I have accepted that these beds will be there forever now. I suggested to my husband that I could be buried in one of the beds when I die. Cheap funeral. He did not think that was funny. At all.
After placing the scoria (about five bags per bed), it is lined with the shade cloth, and then the soil is added. I used a mix of straw, compost, and potting soil, and watered in some soil wetting agent to make sure the soil does not dry out.
Watering the Wicking Beds
Each bed comes with a fill pipe in the corner. Using a hose, fill the bed through the fill pipe – too easy! You will know to stop if the overflow tap….overflows.
I have tomatoes and eggplants in the wicking beds. Each bed is also mulched to reduce evaporation. The beds comfortably fit four tomatoes and four eggplants each, as well as some basil. . The results have been remarkable. The tomato plants are enormous and healthy.
I am already planning to buy another wicking bed. I believe they have been worth the money. The wicking beds are 1.5 metres long and 60 cm wide, which is pretty large. These beds are not as pretty as some of the schmick wicking beds I saw online, but at easily half the price of many of the models I reviewed, I think they make up for it in utility. At a cost of $349 each (not including paint and filling), I would not say that these are cheap, but they are definitely not the most expensive option on the market either. These beds will help me achieve my dream of an almost self-sustaining vegetable garden, and as I age, I will be able to continue using my greenhouse easily without bending – this is becoming a more important consideration in my garden with every passing week, it seems. Cared for properly, they should last many years.
What else has been going on in the patch?
I have been out of action on the blog and in the garden due to a huge workload and project deadlines. While I have been ignoring the patch, it has continued to show the love with non-stop veggie production: broad beans, snow peas, spinach, and broccoli. When the kids ask me “what’s for dinner?” the answer over the past two weeks has been “something with broccoli” as we have had so much of it!
Our fruit trees are in full Spring production mode, including our Smyrna quince tree, which is so exciting! Planted and espaliered a year ago, you can see it was in full flower in its second season (this photo was taken a few weeks ago – it is now covered in baby quinces). I love quince flowers and adore quince fruit, so am delighted to watch them develop. We also have plums, mulberries (heaps of them, finally!!), avocadoes (for the first time), apricots, limes, and a potentially huge crop of apples and pomegranates. I don’t want to get ahead of myself as there are a good couple of months to go yet, but if all goes well it will be a bountiful Summer and Autumn. I’m helping things along with regular watering and feeding with organic fruit tree fertiliser monthly.
