Tag: wicking beds
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Building a wicking bed for schools
Choose and Prepare the Site Try find a position that gets at least 6 hours of sunlight per day in winter (e.g. North facing), with easy access and near a tap. Make sure the ground is level, not sloping. Avoid windy areas or ‘wind-tunnels’. Smooth the desired site. Remove sharp objects and/or use carpet or…
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No plastic liners, bark or stones in wicking beds, tubs and boxes
What is Wicking? Wicking is the movement of water in soil, cloth or other materials through very small channels called capillaries – tubes as thin as hairs. Wicking works best when there are many millions of capillaries (invisible to the eye). In soil, wicking can draw water up more than 300mm. What Prevents Wicking? Wicking…
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Making a Styrofoam wicking box
Building your first wicking box is a cheap and simple way to get growing. Take care while building and you will be up and growing in no time. You Will Need Materials Tools Making the Box The box Drill the 10 mm drain-hole in the middle of a short side with the drill centre at…
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Soils for wicking boxes and tubs
Many soils along the Queensland coast are sandy with low fertility. Often sold as garden soil, they are not good enough to producing healthy and high nutrition crops. These need a diverse soil biology and a complete range of major, minor, and micro minerals. Many of these minerals are supplied by a healthy soil biology…
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The what, why and where of wicking
Wicking refers to water moving in soil, like melted wax in a burning candle, through countless invisibly small channels called capillaries. With the right soil wicking can draw water upwards to 300mm. Wicking Boxes and beds Any containers that are waterproof or can be made waterproof by a plastic liner can be used for wicking.…