The document discusses wicking beds, which are raised garden beds that use capillary action to water plants from below. Wicking beds have a water reservoir underneath that stays in contact with the soil or potting mix above. This allows the soil to wick water up through capillary action, like a paper towel absorbing water. The document provides details on how to construct a wicking bed, including laying down a plastic liner, adding a gravel layer for the water reservoir, using a wicking layer of soil above that, and topping it off with more soil for planting. Wicking beds are growing in popularity for arid regions as they reduce the need for frequent watering from above.

1. Wicking
Beds
by
Travis
Mitchell
If
you
garden
in
raised
beds
you've
probably
spent
a
lot
of
time
watering
and
this
year
probably
even
more
than
usual.
Raised
beds
offer
the
gardener
a
myriad
of
advantages
but
being
water
wise
is
not
among
them.
So
what
is
the
water
conscious
square
foot
garden
devotee
to
do?
One
solution
is
wicking
beds.
Wicking
beds
take
advantage
of
soil's
ability
to
wick
water
up
through
capillary
action;
the
same
process
that
occurs
when
you
stick
the
end
of
a
Kleenex
or
paper
towel
in
water.
In
a
wicking
bed
there
is
a
water
reservoir
underneath
in
contact
with
your
soil
or
potting
mix,
which
allows
watering
of
the
garden
from
below.
A
popular
example
of
a
wicking
bed
system
is
the
Earth
Box,
but
there
are
many
DIY
examples
and
no
reason
to
limit
yourself
only
to
containers.
At
the
Downtown
Farmers
Garden
we
are
in
the
middle
of
replacing
a
traditional
raised
bed
with
a
wicking
system.
The
specifications
for
constructing
a
wicking
bed
vary,
but
a
universal
principle
is
that
water
can
only
wick
effectively
up
to
one
foot.
The
design
we
settled
on
starts
with
a
one-­‐foot
deep
hole,
four
by
eight
feet
wide,
in
which
our
two-­‐foot
tall
frame
will
rest.
Next,
a
layer
of
weed
barrier
or
ground
cloth
(we
may
add
sheet
metal,
thicker
cloth
or
plywood
below
this
to
block
roots
from
a
neighboring
oak
tree)
is
laid
on
the
ground
and
up
the
edges
to
smooth
out
the
surface
for
the
liner.
Pond
liners
were
a
bit
pricey
so
we
decided
on
6
mil
construction
plastic
sheeting
which
we
will
double
layer
in
case
of
punctures.
A
six-­‐inch
layer
of
gravel,
or
stones
along
with
the
watering
pipe
is
laid
down
which
will
comprise
the
water
reservoir.
Another
layer
of
ground
cloth
is
laid
atop
to
prevent
soil
from
entering
the
reservoir
and
the
six
inches
of
soil,
which
will
act
as
the
wicking
layer.
Above
the
wicking
layer
drainage
holes
are
placed
to
allow
escape
of
excess
water.
In
Florid,
heavy
rainfall
is
commonplace,
so
we
will
be
drilling
ample
drainage
holes
to
prevent
flooding.
The
next
layer
is
shade
cloth
or
another
very
porous
fabric
to
allow
wicking
but
discourage
roots
from
entering
where
they
are
likely
to
get
drowned.
Finally,
the
remainder
of
the
bed
is
filled
with
soil,
in
our
case
a
mixture
of
the
GM2
mix
from
Soil
Enrichment
Products,
and
some
native
soil
we
displaced
digging
our
hole.
These
systems
are
growing
in
popularity,
especially
in
arid
regions,
but
are
still
new
and
long
terms
effects
to
the
soil
and
their
durability
are
not
well
documented.
To
see
a
more
detailed
account
of
the
wicking
bed
at
the
Downtown
Farmers
Garden
and
follow
our
other
gardening
adventures
go
to
downtownfarmersgarden.blogspot.com
or
friend
us
on
Facebook.
http://www.sgaonline.org.au/?page_id=5533
http://permaculture.org.au/2011/06/20/from-­‐the-­‐bottom-­‐up-­‐a-­‐diy-­‐guide-­‐to-­‐wicking-­‐beds/
http://www.theruralindependent.com/garden-­‐projects/wicking-­‐beds