0:00 Introduction 2:42 Intro to Raised Beds 3:00 Lining the Beds With Plastic 3:48 Filling With Rock 6:18 Overflow 8:27 Adding the Sewer Pipe 10:05 Adding Landscape Fabric 12:05 Adding Soil 12:42 How the Bed Works 16:44 Adding Trellising
This is the same concept of a wicking bucket and I’m happy to see you did it with a garden bed as the concept is the same and works beautifully if done correctly. Two hints for success - create furrows in the stone under the landscape fabric to allow soils to settle into the water a bit which increases wicking action of the soil as some of it is settling into water. Also if you want to save money instead of stone use rows of tile pipe (this is slotted plastic septic field pipe) cut to length and ends covered with landscape fabric. It’s lighter and easy to use and MUCH lighter to work with. See Gardening with Leon channel for an intro to this. Glad you created this video.
I was just about to suggest the same channel... one problem I'm seeing with the rock method is there is no air gap for the roots to self-prune, so the chance of rot increases with larger root systems/perennials.
I found this from a different channel ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Lp9Jdyno9hI.html on Leon’s channel I see self wicking tubs, not raised beds, I’m guessing the concept is the same?
Learn from our mistakes! After seeing the video we converted all our beds. After we were done and patting ourselves on the back for all our hard work, we filled them with water and many of them leaked!!!! I looked online and people recommend checking for leaks prior to covering covering with dirt. We didn't think of that! I think I may have gotten carried away with my staple gun. I recommend checking for leaks before covering with ground cloth and adding dirt. We are going to see how they work this year and if we need to, we will redo them next year. For now the worse we have are beds with great drainage lol.
A couple of pointers. Add the overflow pipe right at the level of the rock or maybe a half an inch under it. If it flora above the rock, there is a good chance the pipe will get filled with dirt and get clogged. Drill small holes all around the pipe. And wrap the pipe with weed stop or some other cloth that will stop the holes from clogging up. To stop the water from leaking past where the pipe comes in, cut the hole bigger and use fittings with a flange on both sides. This will seal the area around where you punch the hole, and stop the water from getting between the plastic and wood. Even with pressure treated lumber, having soaking wet areas over long periods of time, will cause rot and mold issues.
A simple visual method for knowing the water level in the reservoir is to have a 1" pvc pipe set up vertically that reaches near the bottom and use a cork (or multiple corks) on a lightweight stick. Cut the stick so only 1" sticks out when it's dry and mark it with a bright color. As the water level rises or falls, you'll see how much of the stick is exposed.
@@micheletanis9973 The vertical piece of PVC pipe would ideally be in a corner to maintain the vertical position with the bottom opening resting just above the plastic lining (an elbow or T-fitting can help ensure you don't risk breaking the plastic liner). The water in this pipe will maintain the same height as the water in the rest of the bed. A cork with a long straw or bamboo skewer attached will act as a buoy and float freely inside this vertical pipe. The length of the straw/skewer that is visible sticking out of the pipe will tell you the current water level at a glance
I have built several of these sub-irrigation planters. I added an additional 4in pipe with a cap and holes drilled in the pipes under the soil level and put food scrapes in the pipe. I added red wiggler worms 🪱 to the beds and that pipe was how I fed them. Doing this allowed the worms to add castings to my soil inside the beds.
Dale, The build was exactly the same as this version except on the opposite side of the bed I put another 4" pipe with half inch holes drilled around the bottom but would be under the soil. Then I placed a cover over the top of the 4in pipe. It could be a pipe cap or coffee can. I just intended to slow the flies from getting to the food in the pipe. I put food waste into the 4in pipe and cover it again. That fed the worms. The worms crawled the entire space in the bed, had water from the SIP reservoir and the bed served to be my worm farm all at the same time. I used red wigglers. I didn't feed every day because there was a good amount of organic matter in my soil. The video I saw doing a similar system the guy blended the food waste then poured the soupy mess into the four in pipe. It was just an all-in-one system but needs to be a good size for the worms. I used a deep mulch method to cover the soil. Everything else was the same. Since I had a four inch pipe I did lose a little bit of growing space but not too much. Hope that helps. William
@@scottmercier352 I looked at several different SIP like this and others but decided to try and combine elements of several different ones I liked into one system. It was a great system. I wasn't able to see longer term as I has them for a couple years before selling my house and moving.
Huge video for a guy just starting out. Youll hear old timers tell you "Never put plastic in your raised beds" "Never add stone" but i dont think they look at it as intricately as yall have. Great idea using the sewer pipe as a way to water the deep roots if your system runs dry. A common complaint from them old timers is "Wheres the water going to go if you put all that rock in there to take up space" But they never thought to add a simple overflow pipe. Wow. I really love your set up and im going to try it for my outdoor bed im building this year for tomatoes and peppers!
3 minutes in and this is one of the most valuable tips I've heard. That plastic liner means I don't have to take out a fourth mortgage to build with cedar! Never even occurred to me. Beyond that, this idea is genius. I'm just lazy enough that I would even automate filling the reservoirs using moisture sensors or a float valve, with an interconnected PVC delivery system.
You know what they say, "Laziness is the mother of invention", or something like that 😋 I was thinking a long the exact same lines. Always automate if it's an option, and it certainly is here. Did yours ever turn out, just curious?
weather will still weather it, but i think the breakdown will be slower. also, if you char the surface wood first, often people use a garden torch, it creates a nice barrier to water. there's a 'japanese method' that is borrowed for this. also, after brushing the wood, creates a nice look that is almost like a rich stain. very nice. i think it holds up better than cedar also.
To add to your idea, overflow pipe connects to water reservoir (like rain water catcher) outside raised bed. Add a solar pump to reservoir and pump water into the bed.
I couldn't be happier that I saw this video. I have been wanting to built a planter box in my yard so I can grow foods and this was an eye opener on the right way to do it. It's more involved from the start, but it really seems like the only way you should be doing it! Thank you so much. I subscribed and saved your video!
Great idea, just as an added thought you could attach flexible hosing to connect all of the beds together as one unit. Place the garden hose into the first bed and the water will flow from one bed to the next filling all of the beds in one hit. This would work even if your garden were not level as the water will flow downhill naturally. You could even set up a moisture control unit to activate the water tap automatically.
Thanks for raised bed garden ideas which I plan to do next year. Also, your in Russellville which is just a bit down the Hwy 64 to Ozark where my dad was raised and we frequently visited many years ago, and I still have a few cousins living there and other towns like Mulberry being a great small town where my aunt lived, and other family in Alma. Thanks again, and keep the informative videos coming!
This year I made many 'wicking tubs' using 15 gal planters and large storage bins but I used the 4" drain pipe in the bottom ( and even used 2 ltr soda bottles with holes drilled in them then covered with weed frabric and soil. Much less expensive and work than putting in stone! SO far working great! Tomatoes, peppers, squash other plants in them are doing great! I am in central Tx and we are having an excessive heat wave so I am so glad I did it this year! I do have drip also and ran a drip tube down into the watering pipe but my garden is doing so much better this year than it did last year when it was not as hot and I don't have to run the irrigation as often so I can conserve water.
@@Maracz47 Here is the channel I learned how to make them. They used PVC pipe but I used 2 ltr pop bottles in the bottom. The things I planted did do better this year than last but still struggled in the excessive heat we had this year. I even ran a drip line in the top and down the tube so I never had to fill it with a hose. Like she said in the 2nd video it depends on where your tubs are- mine are in total sun. I think next year I am going to move them to less sunny area. ru-vid.com/show-UCMAh7eJhRcIAyxm1wyw43Twsearch?query=wicking%20tubs
Thank you so very much for explaining everything so thoroughly, I have watched other videos and they must think that everyone just knows how, what when and why this works. I am just starting out and am trying to LEARN how to do things and you both have broke things down wonderfully for me!! I am going to subscribe just for the fact that you both are great teachers. This is my first video so I am praying the others are just as well informative. God bless you for wanting to help and teach us and THANK YOU again!!😊
This was so perfectly and clearly explained. It was terrific thank you ladies. Im a 62 year old woman with her first ever garden. And I want to do this-like so many injured people, I CANNOT be bending my knees down to garden. Not an option. This is the best are one I’ve seen. I will build only one bed and then if it rakes well i can make more. Thanks very much
Excellent video! This is amazing! I’ll try this in the spring. It would be great to see how the beds are built from the beginning too and the types of wood. Thank you!
This is genius, I'm disappointed I've already got a different system in place with my current garden beds, but I'm definitely saving this video for when I move and have to build more garden beds!
really outside the box thinking, you see the same principle in smaller flower containers. really cool, thanks for sharing. i will watch this again and again until I get it done in my garden area, pretty cool
Just what I've been looking for. I was searching for a watering system so I don't have to spend so much time watering. So time consuming. I'm about to build a couple of new raised beds so this will be ideal. Great job will be doing this. Instead of river rock I will use sand. I watched another video that compared sand and gravel. Sand evaporated faster in this mini trial. Great job ladies enjoyed your presentation. Very nicely explained and easy to follow. Enjoyed how each step was included. From here over the pond in Essex England
Neat. There can also be done on a small scale with 5 gallon buckets and other plastic totes. They're sometimes called "earth boxes" too. thanks for the vids. cheers.
Hey there! Glad I found you guys! This is basically what I have done without the pipe and plastic. I put lava rock for drainage in lots of beds and it sure does take this river valley heat with less work! Imagine my surprise when I heard you guys are in Russellville! I'll have to come see you all the next time I head up to Cental for more bees!
The physical properties of the bed's design make it a solar-box that aids the "wicking effect" Because water is comprised of 2 gasses, the natural "leaching" into the upper layer is helped by the fabric "re-netting" the water molecules together, while still allowing the oxidation of minerals and continued composting action... A wonderful experiment is to measure how many gallons it takes to fill the reservoir, that way you can calculate for rain-catch containers for home & shed gutters
Corrugated drain tile. Thanks for the ideas ladies I have a winter project now. If I decide to build this one thing different I would do is offset the overflow drain on the Southside of the bed so I do not have water runoff directly on the lumber creating a stain.
I use this concept in all of my humidity loving reptile enclosures, but we use leca in the bottom rather than river stone :) Awesome to show it on a very large scale
This was one of the best and most informative videos as far as raised beds go.I will definitely will be implementing this in my garden journey.Im so excited ro have come across this video.
This is brilliant! Thank you so much. It's exactly what I have been looking for at exactly the right time. I am in the process right now of making raised beds and have been racking my brains trying to work out a watering system as I have no access to water in the garden. So I have the eternal problem of having to use a watering can, not nearly enough. So everything suffers. I consistently underwater, then drown everything by overwatering. It's very frustrating. I am so glad you have all taken the time to share this. Mx
Thankyou so much, as I'm disabled and have issues bending this is a brilliant idea and you ladies kindly showed it in simple easy to do terms, you are both great xo
Jill, that was excellent! Excellent subject matter, excellent interviewing skills! You're such a natural! I greatly appreciate this information. I just gotta put this type bed to use! Genius! Thank you Jill and also thank you Green Thumb Nursery in Arkansas!
This is spectacular. I live in Southern Nevada (very arid desert). Anytime I've grown food olin pots I ONLY do it in self watering pots.....only way your plans will survive out here. Actually need to fill the reservoir 2x in the summer, sometimes 3x depending on the plant. I've always wanted to translate my self watering pot to a raised garden bed. This is a super helpful way to do it, although I would tweak this to have more water....like space out the rocks with bottom capped upright tubes with wicking rope dipped into them. We simply would need more standing water out here.
I'd suggest finding a way to work a float valve into the system, in that climate. We use them to keep cattle water troughs full, but I'm sure you could use one to keep the water up to your garden too.
i've done this using cut branches, instead of river rock. And only 8"s of wood. I didn't use a barrier and I constantly pumped a little water from a small pond. The water returning from the wicking bed was crystal clean. The veg grew fantastic!
@@nuclearchick27 only if you buy by the bag but mulch places are cheaper you just pay a delivery fee or use a truck or trailer and pick it up by the ton
@@sweetsrt rock doesn't absorb water or other nutients, wood is natural. I don't see what point I have missed. I have grown in rock with aquaponics which worked well. There is a place and time for everything.
@rjaquaponics9266 what you missed was the rock is being used to hold the water and keep space for a long period of time. You use wood in place of rock the wood would deteriorate. That Is the Point You Missed.
I've seen people use the corrugated pipe as filler instead of rock. Put a coil in the bottom with the filler pipe up the side and still cover with landscape cloth, then cover with sand to above the level of the overflow. You might need to put a little gravel around the overflow pipe to keep the sand from leaking out, but that seems to be all the gravel that would be needed. The sand will act as a wick and probably does a better job than gravel. I couldn't recall if they used another layer of landscape cloth between the sand and the soil, but it seems like a good idea. I just went a found a video where instead of landscape cloth on top of the sand, they used a mulch. Either would probably work fine.
The rock is actually better than sand or pipe. It is robust and stands up to the weight of the garden without collapsing over time like many types of pipe do. Sand holds more water, but the rock does a better job of wicking the water up due to surface tension, adhesive and cohesive properties of water. I’ve tried many different fills for the reservoir and we now use a fine layer of sand in the bottom to protect the liner and then 20mm drainage gravel as the main fill, cover with shade cloth or other landscape fabric of your choosing and then growing medium to suit your needs. A thick layer of mulch on top will ensure that the water doesn’t evaporate from the top of the bed keeping the soil at optimum levels of moisture.
@@acrom17 Thanks for that information. I haven't set up any wicking beds myself, but plan to in the near future and this will be very useful knowledge indeed. Out of curiosity, how deep do you go with the gravel?
According to the Back to Eden Gardening videos mulch getting into the growing medium will draw out the nitrogen to break down the mulch. Best to use mulch on top though, it slows evaporation and protects the soil from extreme temps. And if you can use mulch fresh from a tree trimmer, (or something that still has leaves, etc.), he said it is even better.
I agree with you, with using 4” corrugated pipe and then I would fill in around the pipe and bury it with about 2 inches of rock to bring the reservoir depth to about 6”, I think there would be more water this way than with 12” of rock, because that rock is going to displace a lot of water
After seeing this, when I do a raised bed, i think I might just put a 100 percent cotton sheet on top of the plastic to prevent puncture and then add a foot of of logs and yard debris with an overflow pipe and then add soil directly on top as in hugelculture beds leaving a fill pipe surrounded with rock to keep the dirt out. Somehow that seems as effective and less labor intensive and an opportunity to improve soil with decaying matter available for free?
Well I think you could use a loop system of a fish pool back garden wherein the feed each other and the water 💧 self cleans and a great environment and amazing natural food God gave us for our bodies.
An idea I thought of; connect the pipes together to allow for all beds to be at an equal level. This also means you only need one sewer pipe and one drain. It may cause a possible trip hazard which can be solved by running the pipe down, underground and then back up.
I'd considered this when I made my raised beds. It just seems more cost effective to put in drip irrigation on a timer. I might still try this in a smaller bed.
These wicking beds are common amongst home gardeners in Australia with raised beds. Our summers (especially in the southern mainland states) are long and hot. 40°C/104°F are common at the hottest part of summer. Evaporation is a problem, even with mulch, so wicking beds such as these are a good solution as it minimises evaporation and rot from irrigation.
@@erin.murphy That answers my question about using these here in Southern Utah where we have 110 degrees in the summer. I was concerned about the water getting too hot in the reservoir, but it sounds like it works well for you down under, and the water doesn't wick up the soil so far as to evaporate off the top?
JSclar - It is amazing the difference just between solar exposure and shade. 30 degrees for the air. You could also dig out the soil a bit before placing the liner and use the benefits of geothermal moderation. You just need the overflow pipe to be above grade.
@@erin.murphy The whole purpose of drip irrigation is you give the plant the water it requires and not much more. The plant should be taking up that water before it even evaporates. If the climate is hot to the point that evaporation is quick then you simply bury a drip hose a few inches into the soil. Being honest with you, if your water is evaporating so quickly that mulch and buried drip line isn't supplying your plants with adequate water I'd probably be more worried about my physical being and my possessions than I would be my plants. Even at 40c evaporation isn't that drastic, even more so if the humidity is high. Which I've been lead to believe that Australian summers are hot and humid.
The downside of using the rock for the reservoir layer is the video space in the rock will be about 25%. (Besides the weight of moving all that rock.) That means you can achieve the same reservoir capacity with a single layer of 3-4” pipe, or you could stack 2 layers and double the storage capacity in half the space. There are also a million alternatives to buying pipe. Any bottle (milk carton, soda bottle, upside down can) that you can poke a hole near the bottom and the top can provide a storage reservoir. Also, you don’t have to guess at the amount of water in the reservoir. A stick in the fill pipe can work just like the oil dipstick on a car engine. Just don’t leave it in the water or the stick will wick the water and give a false reading. An alternative that would allow you to leave the stick in the reservoir and give a continuous reading would be to add a cork or styrofoam or something else that floats. If you insert it first when it’s dry, mark the stick at the top of the fill tube, and then mark the stick again when the reservoir is full , you’ll always be able to see at a glance how much water is available to the plants.
@@rockymountainkitchen7834 First of all, is it worth it to nitpick? Secondly, I personally have seen people make negative comments about editing implying they changed the message. Third, who cares, you can understand the intent, right?
@@c.m.303 I wasn't trying to nitpick, I was just letting OP know something that he might not have known. I personally don't care whether someone edits or just posts a 2nd post to correct, just trying to be helpful.
I would consider using a couple columns of peat moss or coco coir that go down into the rocks (cut holes in the fabric, clear out the rocks down to the bottom, lay down an overlapping layer of landscaping fabric over the hole and fill with peat or coco coir and then dirt on top. This can create a wicking column down to the bottom of the rocks.
This is called a Sub-Irrigation Planter, or SIP. I have three of them in my garden. I use the perforated drainage pipe with a sock over it to keep it from getting clogged along with lava rock to make my reservoir. I also make sure that some of the irrigation tubing is higher than my drain tunes. This ensures that an air pocket always remains in the system, which also prevents root rot.
We have several poly cattle watering troughs. They have a drain hole that makes a great water depth limiter. I install a ring of 8” perforated PVC pipe coved with synthetic cloth against the outer wall and then I put a ring of 4” PVC perforated pipe inside it also covered with cloth. I have a direct fill line connected to the 8” pipe and drip irrigation on the surface. I adjust the sprinkler to over flow just a tiny bit. Don’t have to water at all, because here in California we get no rain from May through September.
Love the video and will be making a couple of them this year. Quick question; do you water the raised beds when you are done filling them to help settle the soil.
This was awesome! Thank you both for the education. I live in the area and have never been to this nursery. I will definitely be checking it out and would love to do some classes if offered!
Thanks for the water collection idea. 8: 25, I would make the overflow pipe extend out a foot, and set a collection container under the end, to later add that water back into the raised bed. We never know when it's going to rain again. And I'd add caulking around the overflow pipe on the inside of the wooden wall. Thanks again for the plan.
Great video. I’m in northwest Arkansas. I just got done milling cedar for my raised beds so this video came just in time for me. One question is how high are they? It may have been mentioned but I missed it. My guess would be 24 inches.
