Wicking Garden Beds

Stop worrying about watering your plants and start to fully enjoy your food garden. With a wicking garden bed, you can relax and leave your garden unattended for weeks knowing that your plants will thrive because they have everything they need, when they need it.

What is a wicking garden bed?

A wicking garden bed is a raised garden bed with a water reservoir below the level of the soil. Water is drawn up from the reservoir to the soil above via capillary or wicking action. Moisture level in the soil is maintained at a constant rate over extended periods. This minimises the need to add water whilst evenly distributing moisture, providing better growing conditions for plants.

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An Infallible System

Watching your plants wilt and die on a hot summer day, or returning from a holiday to discover the damage caused by a water system failure are disheartening experiences. A wicking garden bed will never fail you. It will keep your plants alive and thriving for weeks, even when you are away.

Save water, plants and money

Keeping up with the watering needs of a food garden during the hot Australian summer is time consuming and often very costly.

Wicking garden beds cut 90 per cent of watering costs by collecting excess water and redirecting it into the soil when the plants need it.

Components

  • Water Inlet Pipe: Delivers water to the water reservoir
  • Slotted AGI Pipe: Connected to the Water Inlet Pipe, the Slotted AGI Pipe distributes water evenly along bottom of the garden bed
  • Water Overflow Pipe: Outlet positioned at 300mm below the soil surface. Prevents the water level from raising into the Zone of Root Growth
  • Food Grade PVC Liner: Lines the bed to make it waterproof. Needs to be food grade to prevent chemicals from leaching into the water
  • Drainage Scoria: The medium that creates the structure of the water reservoir. It has a high water retention capacity due to its porosity
  • Geotextile Fabric: Positioned between the Water Reservoir and the growing medium, prevents soil silt from ‘clogging’ the scoria

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Benefits

  • Water need is reduced by as much as 90 per cent compared to ordinary raised garden beds. This results in a significantly lower impact on the environment and less money spent on water bills
  • Increased water retention of the soil = low watering frequency: only every 2-6 weeks. Garden beds can be left unattended for extended periods of time without any risk of damage to plants
  • Plant roots grow deeply into the soil attracted by the underground water source. This results in stronger, healthier and more productive plants
  • Soil nutrients do not leave the garden bed by being washed away during top watering. There is more food available to the plants and less need to add extra fertilisers
  • Water is added directly into the water reservoir until it reaches the overflow level. No risk of over-watering the plants
  • Reduced loss of water due to evaporation. Topsoil in a wicking garden bed remains fairly dry due to the soil below retaining the moisture, and as such topsoil evaporation is very minimal

Tested And Proven

Treated timber that leaches chemicals into the soil and cheap plastic that fails to waterproof wicking garden beds are problems of the past. Now, with ModBOX, you can build your own organic wicking garden bed with an ingeniously simple DIY process, food-grade materials and chemical-free timber that will last for decades.

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