All about wicking beds
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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. Wicking beds work on the same principle as 'self watering’ pots - they are watered from underneath as well as above. The difference is that the reservoir in a wicking bed usually larger and often filled with gravel to help with the wicking action. Wicking beds are often much larger too, offering a viable alternative to standard raised beds for growing your vegetables. Because the soil in the bed isn't actually in contact with the surrounding soil, you can grow water loving hungry vegetables in places you wouldn't normally be able to - saving space, and integrating yields into established ornamental gardens. You can even grow good yields on top of concrete or underneath gum trees! In our garden we have several beds close to a very large gum tree. |
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Watch our video series on making an IBC wicking bed!
Ever since they featured on an episode of Gardening Australia, wicking beds made from intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) have been gaining in popularity. The (slightly cheesy) video series below explains we make our IBC wicking beds, with handy some tips and tricks if you would like to try it yourself!
If you would like to buy a wicking bed from us, please scroll to bottom of page for details!
If you would like to buy a wicking bed from us, please scroll to bottom of page for details!
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Video 1. All about IBCs.
A quick tour of an intermediate bulk container (IBC). IBCs can be made into very durable wicking garden beds. Video 2. Two ways to cut an IBC in half
Cally explains the pros and cons of different cutting methods. Video 3. How we cut IBCs in half
A time lapse including tools we use and safety equipment. Video 4. Filing down sharp edges
A time lapse showing filing down the cut ends of the cage. |
Video 5. Top halves vs base halves
There are definite differences between the two halves of an IBC. Note that we do try to get people matching halves when we can! Video 6. Components in a wicking bed
An overview of the piping, geotextile and outlet holes. Video 7. Drilling outlet holes and fittings
A quick look at the best location to put your outlet hole and what kind of fittings you can use. Includes fittings to join beds together. VIDEO COMING SOON!!! Video 8. Filling up an IBC bed
Watch as we put together and fill our latest IBC wicking bed in our garden. Features laying the piping, filling and testing reservoir, geotextile and soil. VIDEO COMING SOON!!! |
Click here to download a pdf with instructions on making your own wicking bed
The pictures here show some of the different wicking beds we have made:
Buy a wicking bed from us
If you don't have the time or materials to make your own bed, we offer two different types of wicking beds for sale. Both use recycled food grade containers to do our bit for the environment and give your vegetables a boost! See options below:
To order - call Cally on 0410 121 272 or email Canberrapermaculturedesign (at) gmail.com
We make to order and can customise beds to your requirements (e.g. number of outlet holes, and whether you need extra fittings) so please allow one or two weeks' lead-in time before they are ready.
** COVID-19 UPDATE **
We offer contactless payment and pick up/delivery so you can purchase safely.
To order - call Cally on 0410 121 272 or email Canberrapermaculturedesign (at) gmail.com
We make to order and can customise beds to your requirements (e.g. number of outlet holes, and whether you need extra fittings) so please allow one or two weeks' lead-in time before they are ready.
** COVID-19 UPDATE **
We offer contactless payment and pick up/delivery so you can purchase safely.
Converted IBC beds (from $195)Converted IBC BedsIBCs are used to freight 1 cubic metre of liquids around the world on container ships. The plastic tub is surrounded by a sturdy steel cage. Reusing IBCs is a great way to reduce waste.
But it can be daunting to buy a whole IBC because you will need an angle grinder to cut through the steel cage and then you need to cut through the plastic and drill your holes in the right places. Cutting through the plastic with a jigsaw, angle grinder (or by hand) also generates a lot of small plastic dust so there's a big clean up operation involved to avoid getting microplastics all over your garden! (We learned this the hard way! We have now invested in a special set of shears that cuts the plastic without leaving any bits of plastic to clean up - yay!) To save you the trouble, we can provide ready to use half IBC beds with all fittings. Please note we only use food grade IBCs so you can be assured of no nasty chemical residue in your garden bed. Each IBC bed comes with the following:
Important safety note: we take a bit of extra time and do our best to file any sharp edges of the steel cages of our IBC beds but we can't guarantee there won't be a few sharp edges left - please be careful when handling! As an extra precaution, we also cut out the middle section of the cage, meaning the plastic insert is higher than the cage, so there are no pointy metal ends sticking up to catch your arm on when reaching into the garden bed. Some sellers cut the cage and then turn it upside down - we experimented with this but it makes it much harder to transport. Our approach retains the strength of the original cage, while making it safer for you to work with and move around. This approach means it takes a little longer for us to make the beds but we think it's a sturdier and safer bed! PricesTop half - $195 ($210 with tank fitting)
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Converted barrel beds (from $69)Converted barrel bedsPlastic barrels are used to transport 220 litres of liquid around the world on ships - the blue ones pictured here contained organic soy sauce!
While making these barrels is simpler than an IBC, cutting through the barrels is still a bit of a job and very messy too! To save you time and effort, we cut these in half, drill the holes, make handles with quality rope, and provide all fittings (tank outlet fitting is an optional extra). The resulting bed has a capacity of over 100 litres - about the same as a half wine barrel, but at a considerably lower price! And of course, it's a water wise wicking bed with fittings too. If you're not sure how much you can grow in one, see the picture at the bottom of the page - it's very much about the soil, and as you can see, things really can go gangbusters in wicking barrels! Note: we only use straight sided drums as pictured above. Beds can be a bottom or a top half (the latter have two small sealed bungs in the base). We only use food grade barrels for our wicking beds. Each barrel bed comes with the following:
PricesHalf barrel bed $69 ($84 with 25mm tank fitting)
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