Wicking Beds

[arthoz]

Maybe I was wrong but I think I read somewhere that there's problems like salt buildup if you use chemical fertilizer like what could happen in hydroponics system. So could the same happen in a wicking bed? Will there be salt buildup over time that require full purging or change of media?

What about the stuff that gary wrote in his microponics blog about using it as a grow and a compost heap for worms. How is this possible?

[GaryD]

Hi Arthoz,

I came across your post quite by chance......sorry about not responding to it at the time.

For as much as it might be necessary, wicking beds will get flushed whenever it rains.....or whenever you want, by just running water into the bed.

You can extend the scope of the wicking bed by adding worms and a simple worm feeding station. This enables you to add finely chopped food scraps to the bed in such a way that the worms convert the scraps to plant nutrients.

Quite by chance, I've just converted our original gravel grow bed into a wicking bed.

At its most basic, a wicking bed is a waterproof container with a drain hole a predetermined distance from the bottom.....so that the container holds some water.

Our new bed features a 50mm (or 2") deep reservoir at the bottom of the bed. Nutrient-rich water from the fish tank is poured down the PVC spout directly into the reservoir. The water wicks its way up to the plant roots.

You know when the bed is fully replenished because the water will run out of the drain hole.

Gary

[mornings]

Gary,

I found this on wicking beds Constructing garden Wicking Beds. Seems pretty clear.

On first impression, it seems to have much going for it. I think, however, that on a large scale, it might be rather expensive. For a small system, it is compact, easy to understand and inputs seem very low -- very much like one's garden.

Considering the work and investment it takes to construct, however, is it in fact productive? More so, say, than a no till garden bed? Are there any numbers on it?

m

[fishfood]

Heres proof of the pudding first 2 photos of spuds from 7 plants
third cococoir wicking bed just sprinkled a packet of onion seeds

[GaryD]

Hi Jim,

On first impression, it seems to have much going for it. I think, however, that on a large scale, it might be rather expensive. For a small system, it is compact, easy to understand and inputs seem very low -- very much like one's garden.

Compared to what? It would be much easier and no more expensive to set up than a raft tank or a gravel grow bed.

Because it's not connected to any fish tank, you can use organic pest control methods.....and you can dose the fish with salt if you need, too. It will grow root crops (which most aquaponics systems won't) and, provided you can get the fish tank water to it, the beds can be located anywhere.

Considering the work and investment it takes to construct, however, is it in fact productive? More so, say, than a no till garden bed? Are there any numbers on it?

At its most basic, a wicking bed is a sheet of plastic....and it is a 'no till' garden. The biggest difference that I can see is that it always has water and nutrient available and it minimises evaporation.....and it even stores water (rainfall).

Personally, I'd raise the beds up (I'm over scrambling around on the ground) and make sure that there was some structure in the bed to ensure that it had reasonable water-holding capacity.

While I have yet to see it used on any scale, it looks all good to me.

.....and FishFood has won me with the potatoes. I just love chat potatoes with butter.

I believe that the aquaponic eco-system is a good thing.....for fish, plants and the micro-organisms.....so I'd probably always have a grow bed/tank hooked up to any future AP system just to establish that eco-system. Thereafter, however, I'm most impressed by works best.....and wicking beds are looking better all of the time.

Gary

[Cucuteni]

Good morning Gary and all,

Happy New Year! It's still NY Eve here in Washington State.

I remembered a system I had made years ago in Florida which was primitive, but was, I guess, a wicking bed/frame sort of thing. And it made me wonder if the reservoir in wicking beds could be made much deeper that presently if the growing bed is going to be elevated anyway.

I made an open bottom frame to support big pots of veggies. When I filled the pots with soil, I curled a wicking rope through the lower levels and out the drain hole. This dropped down into a 5 gallon pail filled with water and nutrients.

The rope was a synthetic braided material like you see horse halters made of. The kind you have to burn the ends of so they won't unravel. Don't let it drip on you, tho. I did that once as a kid and it burns bigtime.

If such wicking material were incorporated from the bottom of the extra deep reservoirs up to the level of the shade cloth between the layers (over or under, whichever make the best interface with the soil) would that not enable you to extend the time between waterings. And also store more rain water from the times it may rain more than a thinner reservoir could accomodate.

Maybe have another substrate against bottom of the shade cloth which would distribute the upwicked water in a more complete contact with the upper layer? Make any sense?

Best of all to you all in the new year!

Gary K

[saila]

Hi All
I have some corrugated colourbond tanks to make raised garden beds - I want to make 3 of them wicked beds for fruit trees and one for veggies as I would probably forget to water them!- the tanks are 800mm high - Most of what I have read says to have a 100mm water section and 300mm soil. Because my beds are so deep should I increase the water? or just have lots more soil?
Thanks
Kathy

[fishfood]

Hi 800 high have water to 250 and fill only to 700 easy

[Taz]

I'm planning on building a wicking bed this weekend out of some old timber I had laying around under the house, some left over agi pipe & PVC pipe.

Only have to buy the plastic, gravel and any fixing hardware and all should be done nice and cheap.

I've got a lot of soil to use up from a hole I dug during the xmas holidays for my fish tank. I’ve been sifting out all the rocks and cr@p with one of the trays out of the can-o-worms worm farm, it's taking a while to sift it all but the soil is so nice now.

I'll top up the rest with coco coir, manure, some of my own worm compost and whatever else I can get my hands on.

Size should be about 2500 long by about 700 wide and around 600 deep. The timber I'm using is (I'm guessing here) around 20mm thick.

Couple of questions:
1. What sort of pressure should I expect from the soil on the longer sides at around 450-600 high? (I plan to dig in one end as my yard has a slight slope to it). Don't want any bowing when they are full!

2. Can anyone see a reason why a couple of old bed sheets or beach towels wouldn't work as the barrier between the rocks and soil? I'm not planning on buying new shade cloth and then cutting it up just to do this job, when I've seen on the web where someone used old carpet and found it did the job quite well.

A few other things I can/may do are, divide the bed into 2 or 3 sections (across the width-700mm) to allow for extra support along the entire length. Also I'll be using thicker sections (from memory /guessing around 70mm square,) for the corners. Depending on their length, they could be dug into the ground for extra support.

I'm planning to add a few buckets with holes in the bottom and using them as mini worm compost bins and seeing how they go. Almost like what mornings is doing but without the sump and pump (ducking and hoping that one sneaks through to the keeper untouched )

[mornings]

1. What sort of pressure should I expect from the soil on the longer sides at around 450-600 high? (I plan to dig in one end as my yard has a slight slope to it). Don't want any bowing when they are full!

I don't know how to calculate the outward pressure but, intuitively, I think 20mm is a bit thin for a 600mm depth and 2500m long . Twice that thckness would be much better. That is, unless you put a stake (maybe some re-bar) in the middle on either side and tied them together across the top of the bed.

2. Can anyone see a reason why a couple of old bed sheets or beach towels wouldn't work as the barrier between the rocks and soil? I'm not planning on buying new shade cloth and then cutting it up just to do this job, when I've seen on the web where someone used old carpet and found it did the job quite well.

Bed sheets are organic and will disappear rather quickly. Even the worms will eat them. One thing you might consider: go to a place where they tie together and make larger GH shade cloths. Usually, they will have remnants of rolls they sell for cheap. I have a whole burned out freezer full of them I bought years ago. I use them for shading of beds in the summer. Wish I could just give you some.

I'm planning to add a few buckets with holes in the bottom and using them as mini worm compost bins and seeing how they go. Almost like what mornings is doing but without the sump and pump (ducking and hoping that one sneaks through to the keeper untouched )

Taz,

I don't fully understand how wicking beds work or their advantages but here's I an idea you might use. I plan to it use this coming growing season.

I have a truck patch, a little less than a hectare. I grow a variety of vegetables and fruits there for market. The ground is fairly good but for a long time I've wanted a quick and easy, cheap organic way to supplement nutrient, especially to heavy feeders (like corn).

Essentially, I will set up a 7 gal bucket(26.5L) (highest) with a bell siphon that will drain it -- maybe every 12 hours -- into two partially gravel filled 7 gal buckets with worms (in the middle); they will immediately drain to a 55 gal (208L) drum (lowest). The bell siphon in the top bucket will act as a timer simply by controlling the income flow of water.

I am only guessing at the 12 hour timing -- experience will ultimately dictate timing and even the sizes of containers relative to nutrient demands. I think, however, the relative size among containers is pretty close to ideal. (For relative sizes, I can be more specific if you need it.)

This is just a vermi-composting system (no pumps, hardly any moving parts). The Worms are fed in the two gravel buckets -- with just about anything organic depending where the liquid is to be used. The water would be scooped or drained out and used on(foliar)/around plants. I would still ferment feedstocks for speed of conversion. Just feed the worms and take the nutrient liquid out.

As a part of my own experiment I will use this liquid on side-by-side half beds to see which things respond and how well.

At the end of the growing season, I would just drain all containers and put the gravel with worms in my root cellar for the winter. Then start it back up in the spring.

M