You see you can get everything right - you can choose the right space, have the best quality potting mix, and what's more, a plant in the peak of its season - but time and time again it is water that derails the entire operation; more specifically, people not able to find the time to water their plants.

Wicking beds use the age old idea of capillary action to draw moisture through the soil from a reservoir below. That way plants then decide when to use water and how much to use. After initial surface watering to get them set up, the gardeners' ongoing challenge (and a much more manageable one) is to keep the reservoir topped up. This becomes a fortnightly job, rather than a daily job where the process normally falls over. 

A few years ago we teamed up with Glowpear and our friends at Taxi Dining Room to embark on a 3-month self-watering challenge where we tested just what can be grown in a single unit, over the peak of summer. Most people assume that come summer, starting a veggie patch is gardening insanity. This challenge was designed to prove otherwise.

Self-Watering Systems in our shop.

Learn more about self-watering beds in another post Wicking Beds 101

Related videos:

Self-Watering Challenge: Finale

Self-Watering Challenge: Month 3

Self-Watering Challenge: Month 2

Music:
"La Fata Morgana (con Lucrecia Dalt)
Los Amparito
losamparito.bandcamp.com