Phil’s sand mini-wicking beds

I was visiting our friend Phil last weekend at his home. While I was there, he showed me an interesting take on the wicking bed idea.

Phil’s idea is to use shallow trays of sand to raise seeds and seedlings using the basic design of  wicking beds.

You can see the concept in action in the above photo. Essentially, an inverted (recycled of course) soft drink bottle is supported by a plant pot. The bottle provides the water source.

The opening of the bottle is kept below several inches of washed sand in a tray. This provides the reservoir for the water below the sand’s surface and allows it to wick its way to the surface.

On the surface, you place seedling containers with seeds or seedlings in them. The water is drawn up into the seed raising mix and the seedlings put down roots into the sand, allowing for easy removal and cleaning.

The water level can be controlled by adding more sand and maybe a layer of fine gravel on the top to tidy things up a bit.

I reckon this is a great idea and when we make our seed raising area shortly, this is how things will be watered. I have a reputation for neglecting seeds and seedlings, especially in the watering department. This should help greatly!

Thanks Phil! You’ve saved many future seedlings.