Garden Bed Wicking Solutions

Healthier plants, less Water

The WaterUps system works in a raised or an in-ground garden bed.

 

Any garden bed can benefit from the innovation that is WaterUps wicking, significantly reducing the amount of water needed to grow healthy plants and the time spent nurturing plants.

Our WaterUps systems include individual wicking cells that can be joined to one another or a sub-irrigation channel that can easily be extended through connectors for larger garden beds. Both systems can work in raised garden beds or in ground applications to better manage water usage and support healthy, fast -growing plants.

Size: 400mm(L) x 400mm(W) x 130mm(H)  

Size: 1340 (L) x 470 (W) x 160mm (H) 

A WaterUps wicking system is the ideal solution for home gardeners, landscapers, property developers and local councils, providing proven savings and a gardening set up that will continue to perform year after year.

How It Works

WaterUps uses wicking to draw up water into the underlying soil close to the roots ensuring plants are watered where they need it most. It overcomes the challenges of water evaporation on the surface and also water penetration where it is difficult for water to get below the mulch layer when spray nozzles are used.

The wicking cells are made from 100% recycled plastic with four perforated feet per cell. Into these you place perlite which is the medium that draws or wicks water up to the soil in the garden bed above. Using the wicking cells and pond liner you can build free-form garden beds.

The wicking cells come in four popular DIY Wicking kits that have the wicking cells inside sturdy Reservoir Liners which create the reservoir. These enable you to easily create custom garden beds, designed to these sizes, that are efficient wicking beds.

In the Sub-Irrigation Channel (SIC), the wicking cells are encased in a plastic mould which is its own reservoir. This makes fast work of setting up longer garden beds as the reservoir is compact and ready as is. 

 

So in summary, there are 3 WAYS to create a Reservoir Tank & WaterUps garden bed:
 

1

Pond Liner for your Reservoir Tank

Any shape garden bed

What you need:

WaterUps Pond Liner
WaterUps wicking cells. (These can be cut down to single legs if needed)
WaterUps joiners as required
Inlet Pipe and Cap
Long Screw Overflow Pipe
Perlite as required

2

WaterUps DIY Planter Box Kits

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are for custom raised planter boxes.

Four sizes are available:

The 0880 Wicking Kit: 800mm (L) x 800mm (W) x 150 mm (H) (Ext).
The 1240 Wicking Kit: 1200mm (L) x 400mm (W) x 150 mm (H) (Ext).
The 1680 WickingKit: 1600mm (L) x 480mm (W) x 150 mm (H) (Ext).
The 2040 Wicking Kit: 2000mm (L) x 400mm (W) x 150 mm (H) (Ext). (pic)

See here for more pics and details .

3

WaterUps Sub-Irrigation Channel (SIC)

One Rectangle Size, various lengths

Our Sub-irrigation Channel Kit contains the 1 WaterUps Channel (1340 (L) x 470 (W) x 160mm), with 3 WaterUps Wicking cells, inlet pipe, overflow pipe and extension connection fitting.

Channel Extension Kits are the same size (with 3 wicking cells), allowing you to build any length garden bed or width per the dimensions of the channel

NOTE: They too can be used in wider garden bed set-ups designed to scale.

These systems work in and above the ground with less water used in above ground applications.

They are ideal from growing a range of plants including succulents through to shrubs and small trees up to 3 – 4 metres high (depending on the depth of soil below the surface). Specifically for tree planting we have the WaterUps Tree Reservoir. See here for details.

Which WaterUps Garden Bed System is best?

The system you use will depend on the type of garden you want to design and your budget. For long, uniform garden beds our SIC is the way to go. It can also be used in wider beds (that scale up in 400mm increments). The reservoir liners can be used in our own Oasis Wicking Beds, or your own or other commercial custom beds made to this size. The reservoir liners are not suitable for garden beds with internal posts.

Our pond liner, Reservoir Liners and Sub-irrigation Channels will last for years, using quality products made here in Australia.

Bonus Water Benefit

Aside from using less water to grow plants, WaterUps wicking systems provide you with the means to capture and store rainwater on your property – be that in your home, a high-rise building or a council street planter or rain garden.

This enables you to reduce your water bills even more by using free rainwater. It can be incorporated into stormwater downpipe and tank systems to better manage excess water runoff in periods of heavy downfall. See here for further info on the use of WaterUps in planter boxes, in-ground gardens and roof terraces.

 

Other Components & Set Up Guides

There are a few other smaller components to our WaterUps system used in the set-up of a WaterUps Wicking System. Explore products .

We also provide of easy-to-follow installation guides and YouTube videos to guide you through setting up a WaterUps wicking garden bed.

Why use WaterUps in your garden?

 

WaterUps will save you watering costs while delivering better plants.

Waterups will also save you hours in watering.

 

Water Usage Stats

From September to November 2018 a Sydney garden research centre conducted a 63 day trial across three different garden bed types, two of which were using the WaterUps wicking technology. All three beds had a mix of basil, lettuce, giant Mustard Lettuce, Violas, Snap Dragons and Lemon Balm.

Here’s what they discovered:

THE TRIAL CONSISTED OF:

Normal ground Garden Bed with Spray Irrigation

A garden bed measuring 1600mm x 800mm, watered by two spray nozzles

No WaterUps used.

This garden bed is equivalent to the Inground garden bed with 8 WaterUps Cells. One cell or Unit equivalent to 400mm x 400mm

Water Litres per individual unit: 216

Plant Results: small size, sparse

WaterUps In-ground Wicking Garden Bed

8 WaterUps Wicking Cells below ground level in an inground garden bed. The cells were placed inside the reservoir unit with excess water wicking out to surrounding soil.

Garden bed size 1600mm x 800mm.

Watered via top inlet pipe

Water Litres per individual unit: 73.83

Note: the area watered by the wicking cells was 60% greater than the area of the wicking bed.

Plant Results: medium size, better density

WaterUps in Raised Wicking Garden Bed

6 WaterUps Wicking Cells sitting in a water reservoir in an above the ground Garden Bed.

Garden bed size 1200mm x 800mm.

Watered via top inlet pipe

Water Litres per individual unit: 42.25 

This is 20% of the Normal Garden Bed and approx. 60% of WaterUps in-ground system.

Plants: large and prolific.