Thanks for posting, new info for me, live and learn!
Brief browsing leads me to believe that it would be useful for arid areas where no rainfall to speak of, for me with massive rains that we could get it would be veggie garden suicide. I do use similar idea for bog loving plants in my perennial gardens though...
Also I am always wary about people posting some misleading info like using box store bought $15 ph meters is great thing... BS and waste of your $$. Small thing I know but makes me suspicious of whole thoughtfulness behind their ideas...

lindalana,

Thanks for posting. Yes, I've read that wicking beds excel in arid areas as it's mode of supplying water is extremely efficient.

I'm in 6B (MD) that is not arid, but at the same time but we have been known to get 4-6 weeks of drought from time to time.

Creating a system in which root development is stressed since the water comes from the bottom of the soil line rather than the top seems like a great idea. I've had issues growing carrots using drip lines. Most likely because the water doesn't penetrate deep into the soil. I'm assuming that a wicking bed would be fabulous for carrot growing (among other things).

In terms of bog issues, if you have over-flow ports at the bottom of your wicking bed and install it with a slight decline present, I would think over saturation wouldn't be a big deal (unless of course you're dealing with monsoon like rains).

Finally, the mentality of low maintenance watering (i.e. you water once per week) is also enticing. The area where I'm moving my bed to is pretty far away from my water spigot and slightly up hill. So unless I want to run a line out to it, a drip system would be problematic.

smithmal

The thing is a drip system is only as good as your mulch. If you didn't mulch, or didn't mulch well, a drip system will underperform.

I don't think wicking beds are a good idea unless you are in a pretty arid region. For the 4 to 6 weeks of your "drought", they might be fine - but the rest of the time you'll be in that "garden suicide" area mentioned by the other poster. I'm IN an arid region and I've found that good mulch plus drip is quicker and easier for me to deal with.

Also, I get a lot more than a year out of my drip irrigation tubing and parts - perhaps because they are mostly buried by mulch or protected under the "canopy" of the plant they are watering. The fact that I roll the whole thing up and store it (well drained) over winter may have something to do with it as well.

I lay down a couple layers of broken down brown corrugated cardboard, lay out the drip system, and top with wood mulch (not the dyed stuff).

If you're in Arizona, NM, or Nevada, or places like that - a wicking bed might be just the thing for you. But I'm IN the High Sierra Desert and haven't seen a need to go to something like that yet. I have no doubt it would use even less water than a mulched/drip system (since I'd mulch a bed like that anyway) but I got by just fine without the extra expense and effort to put one in.

This post was edited by zensojourner on Wed, Dec 17, 14 at 3:33

I'm in an arid environment (Northern NV) and I would be hesitant to use that technique for a couple of reasons.
The first is that as we get very little rain during the growing season, the majority of the water for my garden is coming from the public water system. Which, though very good compared to other populated areas, tends to be alkaline and higher in salts just because I live in a fricking desert environment where the high evaporation rates leads to salt buildup in the soil and surface water bodies. Watering from below as the wicking bed design suggests would mean that there is no opportunity to flush the salts from the soil, and that buildup would leads to soil fertility problems over a few seasons. I've seen people selling the design here (mostly with sand as a growth media) and while they've never outright said it, they are careful to mention that constant and consistent monitoring of the soil pH is a REALLY good idea.
The second reason I would be hesitant is that even in this arid climate I've had problems with root rot. I have a couple of those Ikea self-watering pots which I've used outside for tomatoes and while the plants are initially healthy, they take careful watching because a spate of cooler or overcast days or an uncommon downpour can cause too much water to accumulate in the reservoirs. I realize the concept of a wicking bed is not the same but I would be still want to watch for the development of anaerobic conditions at the bottom of the bed.
I prefer watering from above, which with the addition of a good thick layer of mulch once the soils is properly warmed, isn't all that much work.

zensojourner/Aniaj,

Thanks for the response.

Your points are well taken. I hadn't thought about root rot, but if the soil is continually wet since it is always wicking water from the water reservoir layer, one could definitely expect rot to occur.

The wicking bed is well known as being a touted as a "self watering" system. If rot occurs, that's a deal breaker. I'm wondering how thick the soil layer should be to ensure good root development without root rot occurring.

Has anyone employed a wicking bed and can comment on soil moisture using this system?

Another thing with wicking beds is that there is a limit to how high water will "wick up" - which means the bed is effectively limited to a fairly shallow depth. That's why most wicking pots and containers are so shallow. About 9" is as far as you can expect water to "wick up". And that could be reduced rather significantly by the actual potting medium used.

Basically, I don't think the bed CAN be "deep enough to ensure good root development without root rot". Too deep, and the top layer stays dry. Too shallow, and its root-rot central.

You also can't flush these, or at least not very easily, to wash out the salt build-up Aniaj describes. Most of the designs I've seen for these (if not all) depend largely on some form of liner that retains water in the bed.

I used to be a big proponent of these types of beds. Of late, however, I'm significantly less enthusiastic.

For water retention designs permaculture has plenty of good solutions if you Google some. There are known deserts areas with fantabulous gardens. look into hugelcultur swales...

Am wondering though if it possible to build overflow dams?Here is my bog garden bed, with heavy liner, soil is clay set on a berm. It has ability to absorb all water plants need and release extra down to the pond, which in its turn has overflow by gravity into dry stream
{{gwi:242698}}

Thanks! Great info!

I've used soaker hoses and other watering techniques for years. I converted all my raised beds to wicking beds last winter and couldn't be happier with the results. It has made fabulous results just plain easy. I've never had such healthy and productive plants.