Creating a wicking bed
2016-07-26T05:07:58+10:00
Spring is almost sprung so now’s the perfect time to make a wicking bed to keep your plants well watered.
Wicking beds in a polystyrene box are water and time efficient, inexpensive to create, quick to set up, and easy to move around.
You will need:
The box
10cm length of hose pipe
20-30cm length of thicker irrigation pipe (PVC or poly)
Piece of stocking, rubber band, small plastic pot and a hessian bag that completely covers the base of the box and folds up the insides by a few centimetres
1 bucket (9L) of gravel and 2 buckets of organic potting mix, compost, worm castings and minerals
- Insert overflow pipe into a clean polystyrene box 10cm from base.
- Drill at least two holes in water inlet pipe, in the bottom 8cm only. Stand pipe in box with the holes at the bottom. Then add gravel to just above the overflow pipe level.
- Make a hole up one end of the hessian bag and lay it over the gravel, pushing the inlet pipe through the hole.
- Hold the inlet pipe steady while filling the box with organic potting mix, compost, worm castings and minerals, then mulch.
- Add water through inlet pipe until it runs out of the overflow outlet
- Plant seedlings and water with diluted seaweed extract.
- Cover overflow pipe with stocking and inlet pipe with a small pot to prevent mozzies getting in and breeding.
