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What if you could water your vegetable garden from below instead of above?
Wicking beds have a built-in water reservoir beneath the soil. Water moves upwards through capillary action, supplying moisture to plant roots.
In this episode, Steven Biggs talks with Alberta permaculture designer Rob Avis about how wicking beds work, how to build them, and where they make sense.
Rob shares lessons from building wicking beds in his own garden and for community projects. He also talks about their limitations, including the risk of keeping soil too wet and the extra attention needed to maintain soil fertility.
The conversation takes a fascinating turn into the bigger picture of water management, soil health, and soil carbon.
In this episode:
- How wicking beds use capillary action to move water upwards
- The advantages of watering from below
- Where wicking beds make sense, including small urban gardens
- Why it's important to let soil dry out between waterings
- Building tips, including reservoirs, liners, fill pipes, and overflow drains
- Soil mixes, compost, and maintaining fertility in raised beds
- Lessons from a large community-garden wicking-bed project
- How water management and soil carbon are connected
Resources
Rob also offers
a data-based Land Inspection service through 5th World, using maps and environmental data to help property owners and prospective buyers understand drainage, soils, sun exposure, and other site characteristics.
About Rob Avis
Rob Avis is a permaculture designer and co-founder of Verge Permaculture. His work focuses on designing productive landscapes, managing water, and restoring ecological systems, from urban properties to larger rural landscapes.
What is Food Garden Life Show: Helping You Harvest More from Your Edible Garden, Vegetable Garden, and Edible Landscaping?
Want to grow your own food but need creative ideas so you can get the most from your space and your growing zone? Our passion is the edible garden.
We help people grow food on balconies, in backyards, and beyond—whether it’s edible landscaping, a vegetable garden, container gardens, or a home orchard.
There are many ways to approach edible landscaping. Find out how to harvest enough fruit, vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers. Get top tips for exotic crops. And learn how to garden in a way that suits any situation.
Host Steven Biggs was recognized by Garden Making magazine as one of the “green gang” making a difference in Canadian horticulture. His home-garden experiments span driveway straw-bale gardens, a rooftop kitchen garden, fruit plantings, and an edible-themed front yard. He's a horticulturist, award-winning broadcaster and author, and former horticulture instructor with George Brown and Durham Colleges in Ontario, Canada.
Get started with one of our fan favourites. Season 6, Episode 10: Big Harvests from a Small Space with a Vertical Vegetable Garden.