No rest for the ‘wicking’ with these beds

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Landscape and gardens, Practical advice and DIY

What does an old tank and a recycled fence have to do with growing your own food? A lot! If you are interested in doing more with less and saving water that is.

We spent the recent Recreation Day long weekend making several wicking beds for one of our favourite ‘clients’, Aunty Trish. Trish is renting her home but wanted to get more our of her garden. So we designed a plan featuring containerised plants that could be transported if and when Trish has to move out of that home.

The heroes of this plan are definitely the wicking beds we made, using two recycled food grade intermediate bulk container (IBC) tanks and several sections of the property’s fence that Trish had salvaged when the landlord replaced it. Trish was keen to grow her own food but wanted a fairly low maintenance set up. The wicking beds have a water reservoir at their base meaning less need to water on a regular basis.

TIP: You still need to water in plants at establishment to ensure that the soil profile is wet right through and to enable water to move up into the soil profile from the water reservoir.

Step-by-step illustration showing how two IBC tanks and old fences can be turned into four wicking beds and a bench—no rest for your gardening ambitions—with labelled diagrams detailing each construction stage from tanks to finished planters.

A garden design plan with labelled proposed features, including gardening beds, compost bins, and trees. Side images show a water tank, wicking beds, a watering diagramme, and two potted olive trees. Plant list and notes are included.

As well as the IBC tanks and recycled fence palings, we used a premium veggie mix from a local supplier as our soil profile and blue metal screenings in the water reservoir. Ideally we would like to have used scoria in the water reservoir. This volcanic material is porous and has an excellent water holding capacity and air filled porosity. However, it is not readily available in Tasmania, and if it is, is very expensive.

Two large white plastic water storage containers with metal cages are placed outdoors on a brick surface next to a yellow house and a wooden fence, perfect for transforming into wicking beds amid trees and grass in the background.

A person stands near a white compost bin at the end of a narrow back garden area, with piles of soil, a hay bale, and three coloured rubbish bins beside a wooden house. Raised garden beds sit nearby, surrounded by trees and a wooden fence.

Before we filled the wicking beds with these materials, we conducted a test to make sure that there were no leaks in the tanks.

A large metal wire cage with a square shape is placed on a paved outdoor surface. Inside, an empty, rusted metal container—perhaps once used for wicking beds in gardening—sits upside down. Some grass grows near the cage, finding no rest.

A person with a red beard and cap measures a wooden plank to build raised garden beds, placing it on top of a large white water tank outdoors beside a house and trees.

A person wearing work gloves attaches a black corrugated pipe to a white elbow joint whilst kneeling on grass, setting up a self-watering system for garden beds.

A man wearing a cap uses a yellow spirit level to check the alignment of a large white plastic container with a metal frame, which is being set up as a wicking bed for garden beds on the grass outdoors.

A person with grey hair leans over a large white plastic container with metal framing, pointing at a red circular object inside. The container, placed on grass outdoors, appears to be used for creating self-watering beds.

Then we shovelled the screenings into the wheelbarrow, tipped them into the tank, returned to the screening pile and shovelled another barrow load. I think you get the picture! There was a fair bit of shovelling involved, but what a great outcome.

Below you can also see that we placed the slotted agi (agricultural) pipe) at the base of the tank before we poured the screenings over it. This pipe was attached to a drainage pipe positioned vertically to enable Trish to top up the water reservoir as required. We then covered the screenings with a geotextile fabric that will stop the soil migrating into the water reservoir.

A person in a white wide-brimmed hat and dark clothing uses a spade to move gravel into a wheelbarrow outside a light-coloured house with red trim and a window, preparing the area for garden beds or self-watering beds.

A person leans over a large, white plastic container outdoors, holding a black hose inside it—preparing wicking beds for gardening. Another person nearby holds a white PVC pipe amid the grass. There’s no rest in setting up this garden project.

A man and a woman empty a container of small grey rocks into a large white bin outdoors, preparing materials for wicking beds, with a shed and lush garden beds in the background.

A person wearing gloves and a hat covers a large outdoor wicking bed with a white sheet in a grassy garden, with laundry hanging on a washing line in the background.

Then comes the ‘soil’. In this case, we used a premium veggie mix which should get Trish’s vegetables off to a good start. Given this is an organic material, and the plants will take up nutrients from it, this soil profile will need to be topped up over time. That is natural. Well rotted compost should do the trick when the times comes.

Two people are shovelling soil into a wheelbarrow, hard at work gardening in a narrow outdoor space between two buildings. Next to wicking beds, a wooden fence and green bins sit nearby, with trees and bushes in the background.

A person wearing a sunhat, gloves, and dark clothes stands on grass, using a spade to move soil into a large plastic container—possibly building wicking beds for gardening with no rest in their dedication.

A person wearing a mask is pouring dark soil from a black container into a large white self-watering garden bed frame outdoors, with green plants nearby.

A man stands in a grassy back garden with four large white wicking beds filled with soil. There is a shed, a woodpile, and dense greenery in the background.

After a bit more shovelling, we were ready to wrap the tank with sections of the old paling fence that were able to be reused. Instead of hiding the tank totally behind timber, we integrated the old palings into its structure. I like the fact that you can still see the original tank structure. It is a bit like the Centre Georges Pompidou, the structure is not hidden but forms part of the aesthetic.