Our Product

The Wicking Bed
Appliance

Water-smart growing, engineered for your home. The WBA uses passive capillary action to feed plants exactly what they need — no sprinklers, no guesswork, no waste.

01

How it works

The WBA is a self-contained raised planter built around a proven principle: plants pull water upward from a sub-surface reservoir through a process called capillary wicking — the same physics that moves water through a paper towel. The result is a root zone that stays consistently moist without surface watering, and a reservoir that you refill on your own schedule.

Growing chamber

The upper zone, filled with a compost-and-perlite mix. Roots explore freely in a medium that never compacts or waterloggs.

Sub-surface reservoir

Holds 10–18 L of water below the root zone. Water is never exposed to air, eliminating surface evaporation.

Wicking columns

Fibrous conduits draw water upward by capillary action. Plants regulate uptake — drought-stressed? More water rises. Saturated? Flow slows naturally.

Fill tube & overflow port

Add water through a dedicated tube without disturbing roots. The overflow port automatically caps the reservoir level so overwatering is structurally impossible.

The appliance aspect goes beyond the bed itself. WBA units are designed as modular stackable panels that can be connected to a drip supply or timer, linked together in series, and eventually monitored through an optional sensor kit that tracks reservoir level, soil moisture, and water consumed per harvest.

02

Better for the environment

Conventional raised-bed gardening wastes most of its water to evaporation and deep drainage before roots ever reach it. The WBA was designed from the ground up to close that loop.

  • 50–70%

    less water used

    Water in the sealed reservoir cannot evaporate. Drainage only occurs through the overflow port, which is intentionally set at the maximum useful reservoir level.

  • Zero

    nutrient runoff

    Fertilizers and minerals stay in the closed system. They are never flushed into the surrounding soil, drains, or waterways.

  • Compatible

    with collected rainwater & greywater

    Because water is delivered below the leaf canopy and never contacts edible surfaces directly, lightly treated or rain-collected sources are safe to use.

  • Extended

    growing season

    The thermal mass of the filled reservoir moderates root-zone temperature, buffering plants against overnight cold and midday heat spikes.

  • Reduced

    fertilizer dependency

    Nutrients cycle within the closed system rather than leaching out with each watering event, so less input achieves the same or better yield.

03

Build it yourself

We believe this technology should be accessible to everyone, so we freely share the core design. This is how you build a functional single-unit WBA from standard hardware-store materials for roughly $30.

Materials

  • –1 × large storage tote (~60 L / 16 gal) with lid
  • –PVC pipe, 3/4" diameter, ~50 cm length — fill tube
  • –2 × 3/4" PVC elbows for the overflow port
  • –Wicking basket: a plastic mesh pot or small colander, ~10–12 cm diameter
  • –Wicking medium: perlite or coarse washed river sand (~2 cups)
  • –Growing medium: 3 parts mature compost + 1 part perlite
  • –Drill + 7/8" and 1/2" drill bits
  • –Waterproof sealant (optional, for overflow fitting)

Assembly steps

  1. 1

    Mark the maximum water level

    Measure ~15 cm up from the base of the tote. This is your overflow line. Drill a 7/8" hole here and fit the PVC elbow so water exits when the reservoir is full.

  2. 2

    Cut the lid to form a grow platform

    The lid becomes a platform sitting on the reservoir below. Cut a hole in the center to hold your wicking basket and a smaller hole off to one side for the fill tube.

  3. 3

    Prepare the wicking basket

    Fill the mesh basket with perlite. It should sit in the platform hole with its bottom ~3 cm into the water below and its top 3–4 cm above the platform into the growing medium.

  4. 4

    Install the fill tube

    Cut the PVC pipe to reach from the platform surface down to ~2 cm above the tote base. Insert vertically through the side hole. This lets you fill the reservoir without disturbing plants.

  5. 5

    Fill the growing chamber

    Set the platform in place and fill the upper zone with your compost/perlite mix. Do not compact. The growing medium should make light contact with the top of the wicking basket.

  6. 6

    Prime the system

    Pour water through the fill tube until it runs from the overflow port. Your reservoir is now calibrated. The wicking medium will begin drawing water upward within a few hours.

  7. 7

    Plant and maintain

    Plant seeds or seedlings as normal. Refill through the tube every 3–7 days depending on plant size and weather. Never top-water — the whole point is to let the wick do it.

Want the engineered version?

The WBA we manufacture is built from UV-stabilized food-safe HDPE with optimised wicking geometry, pre-formed reservoir chambers, and a modular connection system. If you'd rather skip the hardware run, check the products page.

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