How to Make a Self Watering Planter Wicking Garden Bed

In this video, I show you how to make a self-watering planter wicking raised garden bed. These types of self-watering beds help to save on water and give your plants more consistent access to water so they thrive.

Self Sufficient Me is based on our small 3-acre property/homestead in SE Queensland Australia about 45kms north of Brisbane - the climate is subtropical (similar to Florida). I started Self Sufficient Me in 2011 as a blog website project where I document and write about backyard food growing, self-sufficiency, and urban farming in general. I love sharing my foodie and DIY adventures online so come along with me and let's get into it! Cheers, Mark :)

[stevefranpimblett]

We are penniless middle aged hippies living in Tasmania and we worked out that the best way to have a water wise veggie garden was to have wicking beds. We had NO way of affording any kind of garden beds that would give us enough room to grow most of our veggies so we decided to think smarter rather than harder when we were at the rubbish tip one day and saw a stack of old fridges and freezers that were due to be put into landfill. We asked the tip guy about them and he said we could buy 3 for $5 so we bought 24 of them and siliconed them up drilled holes in the sides and they are now awesome wicking beds. I can't claim the idea in the first place, someone in Perth did it first and I saw a blog post about it so anyone thinking "I can't afford a wicking bed" might just be wrong :)

[James-cnno]

I do a wicking bed a little differently. I like to use the steel water troughs for animals. 1 foot (30 cm) deep x 2 foot (60 cm) wide and 4 to 8 feet long. I put 4-6 inches ( 10-15 cm) of well rotting wood in the bottom (think hugelkultur) then I drill one drain hole about 4 inches up from the bottom. Then I fill it with garden soil.
The bottom of the trough fills with water up to the drain hole. The wood soaks it up until it is saturated. The soil wicks it all up. Right now it is 100 degrees (38 celsius) and the top of the soil is moist. The roots also grow down to that water and the water soaked wood. I only have to water once a week or less when the weather is cooler.
Appreciate your videos.

[vociferonheraldofthewinter]

This guy is one of my favorite teachers. And the music he overlays with the video doesn't make me homicidal.

[mrdelaney]

I homebuilt mine, really easy with a plastic box and some UPVC tubing and anti weed matting, cost less than 30 quid for all the parts and takes an hour to build, did wonders for my tomatos and chillis last year in the heatwave

[Palalune]

I bought a couple of tomato planting pots with a built in water reservoir at the bottom 2 years ago. First year I just used it as advertised and the water usage was enormous. Second year I mulched the soil with straw and the water reservoir lasted many days. Guess when water is always available it will also "always evaporate". So be sure sure to mulch the soil if you're using a self watering system.

[PenelopeMason-zw]

Love your video, love your explanations and love the fact that you are using Australian company WaterUps for your wicking cells ... there is nothing better on the market. Keep your invaluable videos coming!

[beebob]

3 1/2 years later. How is it doing? I just saw another channel where this is built and of course it's raved. Your thoughts now you've run it for a few years.
With the deer we have in my community I've been looking to put netting up on the new beds (just starting).
I'm going to use rectangular beds with corner posts and netting. This is also what I needed to see. Thank you

[sandragarner]

This is the same method I used to use with potted plants. Great to see the manufacturing companies have decided to add it to their list!

[thestarspark]

I got mine from Aldi. :) They are black plastic, with legs, so are raised to hip hight. They were only $100 AUD each and gave been going strong for 2 years now. Love them!

[PreppingAngel]

This is wonderful for people that have no skills to do a DIY. This can be done with any bed. I used the black pipe with holes in it and landscape (20 year) fabric. Works great. It could easily be done with these beds also. I went to their websites to look into buying the beds in the USA but all are out of stock. Taller beds can be used because the roots will go down to the water to find it. Especially plants with a larger root system. :)

[ewellacres]

I find that if you are able to always try and water from the bottom significantly helps to reduce fungal growth through the bottom watering as mentioned. Coming from a high mountain desert region water conservation is by for one of the biggest challenges I face on a daily basis. That is why I am such a fan of these methods of watering system.

[marilynryan]

Newbie from Connecticut USA.... binge watching your videos and enjoy your wealth of knowledge.Thx for sharing with us.

[TheHouseThatBuiltMe]

Yes! It works! I already do this!! You use less water..

[missmisiowa]

It's a great system.
I had no money to spend and built a few myself out of plastic storage crates.
Outer crate about 80 litres capacity.
Inner crate about 15 liters.
The inner crate smaller about 1 inch on all sides so when fitted there is space for soil on all sides.
This is important, otherwise if there is not enough space on sides, no capillary sipping will occur.
The inner crate fitted up side down to create even more space for soil on all sides.
Cut a lot of thin holes all around the inner crate to allow for water to sip in and out.
Used 15mm plastic conduit (from electrical store) and fittings to install filler pipe and overflow pipe.
I mixed vermiculite and permiculite into the potting mix to allow for easier capillary sipping.

Can confirm after 2 seasons that this works very well.
Due to constant water access for the plants, I have twice the growth comparing to the same plants in ground.
I water every 3 days during hot weather, every 5 days otherwise.

The boxes, I made are about 1/3 the size of these in this video.
Each one cost me about $15 to make and took about 1h.

Happy growing!

[bobhoover]

I've got a whole bunch of 50 litre home made ones using heavy duty storage containers. Basil just loves it. Parsley grows mad too and strawberries do well.

[doloressolomon]

Thank you so much..KANG KONG ..is normally grown here in the Philippines .a.tropical country..its my favorite leafy veggie... I love this video.. God bless Sir

[dinosaur]

Thanks....suitable for our hot climate....

[IAmMisterD]

Great looking results there Mark :)

I had tomatoes and a pepper plant in diy self watering containers. (5 gallon buckets) I found that when watered well, they grew fantastically. However, when the bottom reservoir bucket ran dry, the plants immediately wilted (looked like a hydroponic disaster) in the summer heat.

This year I'm going to attempt a separate reservoir with float valve to keep constant levels in the buckets.

[gkp]

Im in the process of building my own wicking beds out of old steel bathtubs, this video was very helpful, Thanks Mark

[juliedurlak]

I'm trying to put something together for the larger taller sided ones like what you have. Need to get my thinking cap on. Got so excited initially thinking you came up with an idea for the taller ones.