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Wicking Gardens

February 21, 2023



There are many designs for wicking gardens.
Some of them involve a cotton fabric wick which will always wick a fluid... in this case water... and draw the fluid until the whole of it is dampened. This merely means suspending a cotton fabric cloth... or rag strip... into a base of water and adding soil around the cloth, which is draped in the base of the planter.

With good soil that contains a lot of organic matter like straw, leaves, or wood shavings... the wicking will take place without the use of a piece of cotton. The plants get watered from beneath, making the most use of limited water supplies... and also eliminating the need for daily watering. The gardener fills the basin at the bottom of the enclosed garden bed through a pipe at the top and the plant does the rest.

Some gardeners put a floating device in the pipe, that drops as the water level drops... signaling when to refill the basin. Many designs are used... and many sizes of pots can be utilized. Sometimes a pot is set into a hole in a shelf... in a basin of water... getting watered through the bottom.



These wicking beds are useful for many reasons:

Trees in a yard have roots that compete for space and water.
Watering with hard water from the top will leave mineral salts behind.
Urban soil might be contaminated... not useful for organic gardening.
Gardeners have better mobility for maintenance of a garden.
Raising these beds higher, allows easier reaching and maintenance.
There is less need for weed control.
These can be better organized and beautiful in a yard.
Fertilizer can be added to the water itself.
There is more control over invading pests and critters.
Pets can be restricted from access to vegetable gardens.
Containers close to a house do not seep water under foundations.
Containers can be drained after a heavy rain.
Soil warms up quicker in the spring with raised beds...
but also will freeze sooner in the winter.
Cold frames can be attached easily, for greenhouse benefits.
Watering can be automated... on and off... as needed.





ehowgarden YouTube Channel


the most simple design

Homemade Plant Wicks : Gardening & Plant Care
video

This design used polyester fabric strips...
stuck with a screwdriver into the plant
then setting the pot on a sponge in a water basin.





Gardening with Leon YouTube Channel


Leon may have been the inventor of the wicking design

Planting Fruit Trees in Wicking Tubs Ep 38
video

Leon explains the plastic container design, and how it is different from the costly tube design. Holes at the bottom of the jugs draw in water from the basin, and holes at the top release air or draw air as the water is used... creating a vacuum. He has a large series on these wicking containers... as well as basic gardening topics.
Leon is an old farmer... and knows all things.

Leon's YouTube Channel





Hoocho YouTube Channel


automatic watering/wicking with rain gutters

How to Build a Wicking, Terracotta Pot, Rain Gutter Grow System
video

Hoocho YouTube Channel
this guy is into hydroponics, greenhouses, all of it





VergePermaculture


urban gardeners and greenhouses

Major Design Improvement to Our Wicking Beds
video

VergePermaculture blog -- wicking page
this blog page is very informative on all types of wicking designs
He explains that soil does better in cycles of dry and wet changes...
and it's not good to be constantly wet... or soil won't aireate.

His videos:
VergePermaculture YouTube Channel
for lots of permaculture designs and discussions

Looks like this guy is a Permaculture teacher.
https://vergepermaculture.ca/






Isn't Permaculture fun?? !!!!!!
Fixing the earth will be more fun
than they ever had destroying it.
These madmen have no real answers...
they never even started from the truth.
It isn't found in a bleached out ivory tower.
Perfection... is LIFE !! not death...

When we combine the old wisdom... with new knowledge...
THIS is what happens !!!
We can feed the world !!!
We can make the desert bloom !!!
We can enjoy this beautiful world !!!

Those who have disconnected themselves from the earth
just do not understand that humanity can find our answers
and... that robots... should never try to replace a thinking human.
All THAT would do is... engrain insanity into the immortal.
What we work for... is perpetual life...
not... human immortality.

Put limits on science... and enforce them with a strong law.

Keep the good things of this world...
that ensure the happiness and well-being of all living things...
and be rid of those things that oppress us...
even if we have to bury it in no-go zones in the desert.

We can build the answers to a peaceful world.
We can find... human sanity... and peace...
beauty... and freedom.








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