New Wicking Beds Just in Time for Summer Veggies

What used to be the junk yard was transformed today into a circle of wicking beds. We have so much kikuyu here that creating new garden beds is always a challenge, this is one of the reasons we’ve opted for the fully enclosed system of wicking beds. We experimented with this system last year and have now had the opportunity to watch their performance for a whole cycle of seasons. Our little wicking beds we set up last year have worked a treat, living up to their expectations, using much less water than standard garden beds, producing healthy veg and generally being a great low maintenance system.

A wicking bed system consists of an enclosed reservoir of water under the beds enabling the water to move up through the soil using capillary action thus reducing water and nutrient loss from leaching as well as reducing water loss from evaporation. Unfortunately the system does rely on a rubberised pond liner in the reservoir but we are keen to start experimenting with clay lined wicking beds in the future.

Planting out the finished beds once soil and mulch are in place

After digging a 30cm deep hole, we lined it with pond liner and placed the pre prepared pipe in