All about wicking beds
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Wicking beds are a great way to grow vegetables in any area with hot, dry summers 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! We convert recycled intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) into wicking beds for sale. If you would like to make your own or learn how we make them, please see our information videos at the bottom of this page. |
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Buy a wicking bed from us
** UPDATE December 2022 - We are not currently making wicking beds **
Recent price increases in our supply chains have affected the viability of our wicking beds. On top of this, Cally's back has gone on strike when it comes to lifting IBCs, so we won't be making them for the foreseeable future.
Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused.
If you don't have the time or materials to make your own bed, we offer IBC wicking beds for sale. We use recycled food grade containers to do our bit for the environment, keep you safe 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 customise beds to your requirements: we drill the outlet holes where you want them to be, and can drill extra outlets if you want to join several beds together for convenient watering.
Recent price increases in our supply chains have affected the viability of our wicking beds. On top of this, Cally's back has gone on strike when it comes to lifting IBCs, so we won't be making them for the foreseeable future.
Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused.
If you don't have the time or materials to make your own bed, we offer IBC wicking beds for sale. We use recycled food grade containers to do our bit for the environment, keep you safe 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 customise beds to your requirements: we drill the outlet holes where you want them to be, and can drill extra outlets if you want to join several beds together for convenient watering.
Converted IBC beds (from $225)
IBCs 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!
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:
- Top or base half of IBC (just over 1 square metre growing space - dimensions are 1.2m long x 1m wide x about 45-50cm high) - check out the video below to learn the differences between tops and bases
- Food grade silicone used on lids to ensure no leaks (top half only)
- 5m length of 100mm slotted agi pipe (Australian manufactured, 100% recycled product)
- Section of geotextile (we use UV-stabilised fabric (grey or black) for long life)
- Flexible inlet pipe (Australian manufactured - we use the flexible one because it allows you to bend it easily to where you want it to go)
- One outlet hole with 25mm fitting comes as standard.
- Additional overflow hole above main outlet (no fitting)
- Additional basic outlets can be drilled and fitted for $10 each.
- If you want to connect beds together, we recommend using a more heavy duty, quality bulkhead fitting which we can provide for $25 per outlet/inlet.
- Connector piping can also be provided for a small extra cost.
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!
Prices
Top half - $225
Base half - $275
Additional standard outlets are $10 each
Quality bulkhead/tank outlet fittings can be provided for $25 each to connect beds together
Connector piping is $5 per 30cm length
$70 delivery (we can fit up to 3 beds in our trailer)
Bed comes with slotted pipe for reservoir, flexible inlet pipe and geotextile as a barrier between reservoir and growing medium.
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 how we make our IBC wicking beds, with handy some tips and tricks if you would like to try it yourself!
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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!!! |