This is the same concept of a wicking bucket and I’m happy to see you did it with a garden bed as the concept is the same and works beautifully if done correctly. Two hints for success - create furrows in the stone under the landscape fabric to allow soils to settle into the water a bit which increases wicking action of the soil as some of it is settling into water. Also if you want to save money instead of stone use rows of tile pipe (this is slotted plastic septic field pipe) cut to length and ends covered with landscape fabric. It’s lighter and easy to use and MUCH lighter to work with. See Gardening with Leon channel for an intro to this. Glad you created this video.

Learn from our mistakes! After seeing the video we converted all our beds. After we were done and patting ourselves on the back for all our hard work, we filled them with water and many of them leaked!!!! I looked online and people recommend checking for leaks prior to covering covering with dirt. We didn't think of that! I think I may have gotten carried away with my staple gun. I recommend checking for leaks before covering with ground cloth and adding dirt. We are going to see how they work this year and if we need to, we will redo them next year. For now the worse we have are beds with great drainage lol.

A couple of pointers. Add the overflow pipe right at the level of the rock or maybe a half an inch under it. If it flora above the rock, there is a good chance the pipe will get filled with dirt and get clogged. Drill small holes all around the pipe. And wrap the pipe with weed stop or some other cloth that will stop the holes from clogging up. To stop the water from leaking past where the pipe comes in, cut the hole bigger and use fittings with a flange on both sides. This will seal the area around where you punch the hole, and stop the water from getting between the plastic and wood. Even with pressure treated lumber, having soaking wet areas over long periods of time, will cause rot and mold issues.

She runs a nursery like a teacher. That is awesome.

A simple visual method for knowing the water level in the reservoir is to have a 1" pvc pipe set up vertically that reaches near the bottom and use a cork (or multiple corks) on a lightweight stick. Cut the stick so only 1" sticks out when it's dry and mark it with a bright color. As the water level rises or falls, you'll see how much of the stick is exposed.

I have built several of these sub-irrigation planters. I added an additional 4in pipe with a cap and holes drilled in the pipes under the soil level and put food scrapes in the pipe. I added red wiggler worms 🪱 to the beds and that pipe was how I fed them. Doing this allowed the worms to add castings to my soil inside the beds.

Teacher here- WISH I could retire TODAY and open my own garden center! You give me hope;)

Huge video for a guy just starting out. Youll hear old timers tell you "Never put plastic in your raised beds" "Never add stone" but i dont think they look at it as intricately as yall have. Great idea using the sewer pipe as a way to water the deep roots if your system runs dry. A common complaint from them old timers is "Wheres the water going to go if you put all that rock in there to take up space" But they never thought to add a simple overflow pipe. Wow. I really love your set up and im going to try it for my outdoor bed im building this year for tomatoes and peppers!

3 minutes in and this is one of the most valuable tips I've heard. That plastic liner means I don't have to take out a fourth mortgage to build with cedar! Never even occurred to me. Beyond that, this idea is genius. I'm just lazy enough that I would even automate filling the reservoirs using moisture sensors or a float valve, with an interconnected PVC delivery system.

I couldn't be happier that I saw this video. I have been wanting to built a planter box in my yard so I can grow foods and this was an eye opener on the right way to do it. It's more involved from the start, but it really seems like the only way you should be doing it! Thank you so much. I subscribed and saved your video!

One small hole on the bottom of that plastic and you've got to move a ton of rock and soil to fix it. I'd rather use pond liner. Much more durable.

Great idea, just as an added thought you could attach flexible hosing to connect all of the beds together as one unit. Place the garden hose into the first bed and the water will flow from one bed to the next filling all of the beds in one hit. This would work even if your garden were not level as the water will flow downhill naturally. You could even set up a moisture control unit to activate the water tap automatically.

Thank you, Ladies. I miss Arkansas. Used to love bargains galore on 64 starting there in Russelville.

One of the best ideas I have seen in a long time! Thanks for sharing 👍

I love this idea and explanation. Thank you for this video being so clear and concise.

As a machine operator in a previous life, I have to say good Bobcat skills. Kudos.

This is hands down the best thing I have seen for raised beds. Thank you so much!!!!!

Love this idea. I am just getting started with raised bed gardening.

CooL show and tell Jill! Thanks for showing the process of these beds 🌻

Thanks for raised bed garden ideas which I plan to do next year. Also, your in Russellville which is just a bit down the Hwy 64 to Ozark where my dad was raised and we frequently visited many years ago, and I still have a few cousins living there and other towns like Mulberry being a great small town where my aunt lived, and other family in Alma. Thanks again, and keep the informative videos coming!

This year I made many 'wicking tubs' using 15 gal planters and large storage bins but I used the 4" drain pipe in the bottom ( and even used 2 ltr soda bottles with holes drilled in them then covered with weed frabric and soil. Much less expensive and work than putting in stone! SO far working great! Tomatoes, peppers, squash other plants in them are doing great! I am in central Tx and we are having an excessive heat wave so I am so glad I did it this year! I do have drip also and ran a drip tube down into the watering pipe but my garden is doing so much better this year than it did last year when it was not as hot and I don't have to run the irrigation as often so I can conserve water.

Thank you sooooo much Tammy. Fantastic presentation. I will try.

She's still teaching. Love it 😊😊😊

What wonderful ideas which will help many to grow food! Thanks, Jill!

Awesome video, I will have to visit that nursery.

That's awesome. I have raised beds. Now I have to dig them up 😬. But the end results will be awesome! Thank you so much!

Grrrreat presentation I downloaded to try here in NE Louisiana. You answered all my questions and this she gardener can handle alone. Thank you❗️

Thank you so very much for explaining everything so thoroughly, I have watched other videos and they must think that everyone just knows how, what when and why this works. I am just starting out and am trying to LEARN how to do things and you both have broke things down wonderfully for me!! I am going to subscribe just for the fact that you both are great teachers. This is my first video so I am praying the others are just as well informative. God bless you for wanting to help and teach us and THANK YOU again!!😊

This was so perfectly and clearly explained. It was terrific thank you ladies. Im a 62 year old woman with her first ever garden. And I want to do this-like so many injured people, I CANNOT be bending my knees down to garden. Not an option. This is the best are one I’ve seen. I will build only one bed and then if it rakes well i can make more. Thanks very much

Absolutely brilliant, I can just imagine how good tomatoes would grow in this system. Definitely going to make one!!!! Thankyou so much for sharing!!!

From Australia ... thank you!! This video is full of wonderful information. 👏👌😊

Thanks Jill that's a Super idea for watering

Thank you from a 80yr old senior with a patio garden in B.C., Canada. 🤗🥰

Excellent video! This is amazing! I’ll try this in the spring. It would be great to see how the beds are built from the beginning too and the types of wood. Thank you!

Thank you! I’m planning more raised beds next year! Will totally do this! Also will switch out some of my smaller ones to the method!

Tammy is the BEST!! Love my bed that they built for me!

This is genius, I'm disappointed I've already got a different system in place with my current garden beds, but I'm definitely saving this video for when I move and have to build more garden beds!

We have a cousin that does this her garden is awesome. I was so impressed when she showed me her results.

Absolutely fantastic video wonderful ideas!

Glad to see fellow Arkansans ingenuity! Awesome stuff y’all.

What a beautiful garden! I think this is a fab idea! Worst bit about gardening in raised beds is that it drys out so this is perfect!

Just what I've been looking for. I was searching for a watering system so I don't have to spend so much time watering. So time consuming. I'm about to build a couple of new raised beds so this will be ideal. Great job will be doing this. Instead of river rock I will use sand. I watched another video that compared sand and gravel. Sand evaporated faster in this mini trial. Great job ladies enjoyed your presentation. Very nicely explained and easy to follow. Enjoyed how each step was included. From here over the pond in Essex England

really outside the box thinking, you see the same principle in smaller flower containers. really cool, thanks for sharing. i will watch this again and again until I get it done in my garden area, pretty cool

You have taken gardening to another level Thank you for your tutorial Bless you

I wish I could have seen this video before I build my raised bed... Awesome invention! 🙏🏻 Many thanks Jill and Tammy

Neat. There can also be done on a small scale with 5 gallon buckets and other plastic totes. They're sometimes called "earth boxes" too. thanks for the vids. cheers.

This is a great idea. Excellent skills. I'm greatly appreciate this information.

This is brilliant thank you for all the details. That’s how a video should be.

Hey there! Glad I found you guys! This is basically what I have done without the pipe and plastic. I put lava rock for drainage in lots of beds and it sure does take this river valley heat with less work! Imagine my surprise when I heard you guys are in Russellville! I'll have to come see you all the next time I head up to Cental for more bees!

The physical properties of the bed's design make it a solar-box that aids the "wicking effect" Because water is comprised of 2 gasses, the natural "leaching" into the upper layer is helped by the fabric "re-netting" the water molecules together, while still allowing the oxidation of minerals and continued composting action... A wonderful experiment is to measure how many gallons it takes to fill the reservoir, that way you can calculate for rain-catch containers for home & shed gutters

Wow what a great idea! And I’m your northern neighbor in Springfield MO. I need to come visit your nursery. Thank you so much for sharing!

This is an excellent video/interview. I learned so much. Keep up the good work.

That looks like a bog filter for fish ponds except it is limited to a low water level. Gives me a great idea! Thanks!

This is fantastic!!! Thank you for sharing it with us!

This was one of the best and most informative videos as far as raised beds go.I will definitely will be implementing this in my garden journey.Im so excited ro have come across this video.

I really love these raise beds

I use this concept in all of my humidity loving reptile enclosures, but we use leca in the bottom rather than river stone :) Awesome to show it on a very large scale

Says use river rock because it is smooth… Tractor proceeds to dump a whole bucket of jagged rock in.😂😂😂

Thank You, here in Nevada, this will help my raised beds.

I’m just beginning to build a raised bed. This is exactly what I need. Thanks!

Corrugated drain tile. Thanks for the ideas ladies I have a winter project now. If I decide to build this one thing different I would do is offset the overflow drain on the Southside of the bed so I do not have water runoff directly on the lumber creating a stain.

We will definitely do this for our next raised bed this fall!!!! Thank you for sharing this awesome idea!

I'm going to put some in this winter to save water! Thanks for the idea

You have inspired me & my Dog Dog to start our container garden and start a video blog on KZfaq. ❤❤❤😊 thanks. You are the BEST 😍😍🥰🥰👏👏🤩🤩

This is brilliant! Thank you so much. It's exactly what I have been looking for at exactly the right time. I am in the process right now of making raised beds and have been racking my brains trying to work out a watering system as I have no access to water in the garden. So I have the eternal problem of having to use a watering can, not nearly enough. So everything suffers. I consistently underwater, then drown everything by overwatering. It's very frustrating. I am so glad you have all taken the time to share this. Mx

This was great! Living in the desert, there is always concern about the water evaporation when trying to grow my own food…

Saw this just in time for next year’s garden; thanks!!

Thankyou so much, as I'm disabled and have issues bending this is a brilliant idea and you ladies kindly showed it in simple easy to do terms, you are both great xo

Jill, that was excellent! Excellent subject matter, excellent interviewing skills! You're such a natural! I greatly appreciate this information. I just gotta put this type bed to use! Genius! Thank you Jill and also thank you Green Thumb Nursery in Arkansas!

Thank you for posting this information. Now I am growing my very first vegie garden. Today, I will be harvesting my lettuce.

The nursery is very spacious and all the plants are very fertile. Thank you for sharing information and being an inspiration for my farm

i've done this using cut branches, instead of river rock. And only 8"s of wood. I didn't use a barrier and I constantly pumped a little water from a small pond. The water returning from the wicking bed was crystal clean. The veg grew fantastic!

This is spectacular. I live in Southern Nevada (very arid desert). Anytime I've grown food olin pots I ONLY do it in self watering pots.....only way your plans will survive out here. Actually need to fill the reservoir 2x in the summer, sometimes 3x depending on the plant. I've always wanted to translate my self watering pot to a raised garden bed. This is a super helpful way to do it, although I would tweak this to have more water....like space out the rocks with bottom capped upright tubes with wicking rope dipped into them. We simply would need more standing water out here.

Very cool idea 💡 thanks for sharing this.

I've just finished my wicking bed and it works a treat.

After seeing this, when I do a raised bed, i think I might just put a 100 percent cotton sheet on top of the plastic to prevent puncture and then add a foot of of logs and yard debris with an overflow pipe and then add soil directly on top as in hugelculture beds leaving a fill pipe surrounded with rock to keep the dirt out. Somehow that seems as effective and less labor intensive and an opportunity to improve soil with decaying matter available for free?

I've seen people use the corrugated pipe as filler instead of rock. Put a coil in the bottom with the filler pipe up the side and still cover with landscape cloth, then cover with sand to above the level of the overflow. You might need to put a little gravel around the overflow pipe to keep the sand from leaking out, but that seems to be all the gravel that would be needed. The sand will act as a wick and probably does a better job than gravel. I couldn't recall if they used another layer of landscape cloth between the sand and the soil, but it seems like a good idea. I just went a found a video where instead of landscape cloth on top of the sand, they used a mulch. Either would probably work fine.

i wish I would have known this 6 months ago, just simple and wonderful

This is absolutely brilliant-thank you!

Well I think you could use a loop system of a fish pool back garden wherein the feed each other and the water 💧 self cleans and a great environment and amazing natural food God gave us for our bodies.

An idea I thought of; connect the pipes together to allow for all beds to be at an equal level. This also means you only need one sewer pipe and one drain. It may cause a possible trip hazard which can be solved by running the pipe down, underground and then back up.

I use to live in Russellville, Ark. I loved it there. Thanks for the self watering tips

Thanks Tammy; you rock. Going to do here inAZ. Appreciate you.

I'd considered this when I made my raised beds. It just seems more cost effective to put in drip irrigation on a timer. I might still try this in a smaller bed.

The downside of using the rock for the reservoir layer is the video space in the rock will be about 25%. (Besides the weight of moving all that rock.) That means you can achieve the same reservoir capacity with a single layer of 3-4” pipe, or you could stack 2 layers and double the storage capacity in half the space. There are also a million alternatives to buying pipe. Any bottle (milk carton, soda bottle, upside down can) that you can poke a hole near the bottom and the top can provide a storage reservoir. Also, you don’t have to guess at the amount of water in the reservoir. A stick in the fill pipe can work just like the oil dipstick on a car engine. Just don’t leave it in the water or the stick will wick the water and give a false reading. An alternative that would allow you to leave the stick in the reservoir and give a continuous reading would be to add a cork or styrofoam or something else that floats. If you insert it first when it’s dry, mark the stick at the top of the fill tube, and then mark the stick again when the reservoir is full , you’ll always be able to see at a glance how much water is available to the plants.

Thank you, so informative! I’m in So. California where we get fined for watering often. These seem perfect for us!

I would consider using a couple columns of peat moss or coco coir that go down into the rocks (cut holes in the fabric, clear out the rocks down to the bottom, lay down an overlapping layer of landscaping fabric over the hole and fill with peat or coco coir and then dirt on top. This can create a wicking column down to the bottom of the rocks.

This is called a Sub-Irrigation Planter, or SIP. I have three of them in my garden. I use the perforated drainage pipe with a sock over it to keep it from getting clogged along with lava rock to make my reservoir. I also make sure that some of the irrigation tubing is higher than my drain tunes. This ensures that an air pocket always remains in the system, which also prevents root rot.

What a great informative video. Thank you.

Thank you for this video just in time getting supplies to build a race bed can’t thank you enough

Love the video and will be making a couple of them this year. Quick question; do you water the raised beds when you are done filling them to help settle the soil.

Lining a garden...with plastic....😂😂. Ok. Enough said here. Moving on..

I love the way she explains this!

Be safe love lovely garden

You can also fill the void with layers of perforated drainage pipe, and you will use less rock.

This was awesome! Thank you both for the education. I live in the area and have never been to this nursery. I will definitely be checking it out and would love to do some classes if offered!

TQ for sharing. I see this method as very green ! efficient with reduced wastage of water!

What an excellent idea and video. Thank you!

Thanks for the water collection idea. 8: 25, I would make the overflow pipe extend out a foot, and set a collection container under the end, to later add that water back into the raised bed. We never know when it's going to rain again. And I'd add caulking around the overflow pipe on the inside of the wooden wall. Thanks again for the plan.

Great video. I’m in northwest Arkansas. I just got done milling cedar for my raised beds so this video came just in time for me. One question is how high are they? It may have been mentioned but I missed it. My guess would be 24 inches.