Self-watering SIP Sub-irrigated Raised Bed Construction (How to Build)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- This DIY tutorial explains how to build an S.I.P. Raised Bed. But going further, it also teaches the fundamental mechanics of a self-watering system. Although this focuses on a wicking bed, the same principles apply to sub-irrigated tote containers. You'll be able design and build a water-saving grow system that meets your individual requirements.
★★ EPDM LINER 45 Mil (Fish Safe):
This is now my preferred liner: amzn.to/2HRojha
QUICK SPECS:
• Internal Dimensions (select your own length & width): 71.75" L x 30" W x 16.5" (deep)
• Over Flow Drain Hole Height: 3.25" up from bottom
• Recommended Gap Between Drain Pipes: 0.25" (minimum) - 0.75" (maximum)
IDEAL APPLICATIONS:
• Rooftop Gardens
• Impermeable Surfaces (Patios, Driveways, Parking Lots)
• High Drought Areas
• Contaminated Soils (Heavy Metals, Nematodes)
• Urban Environments
A self-watering garden bed translates into easy gardening! But you may wonder: What type of materials should I use? Is treated lumber bad? What kind of lining should I use? How deep should the bed be? How high should the overflow drain be? Should the pipes be wrapped? Do you need a plastic cover? What kind of dirt or soil should I use? What kind of potting mix do you need? Do you need to use fertilizer strips?
Once you have the answers to these questions, all of the guess work is removed. The only thing left is for you to start designing and building! Once you've made the jump to a sub-irrigated garden, you'll quickly appreciate the convenience. This allows you to be away for longer periods. Rain water is collected and saved for later use. When you do need to water, it's so easy. You'll love it, and your plants will love YOU!
★ NEW Tips & Tricks! (Watch this video next):
• Improved: Self-waterin...
► Rainy Periods & Moisture Levels (201):
• SIP Raised Beds (201) ...
► Watering & Aeration Screen (301):
• Watering Self-Watering...
► Winterizing Planters & Totes:
• SIP Raised Beds + How ...
For general S.I.P. info:
albopepper.com/...
For more info in this box check out my website:
albopepper.com/...
For instructions on building the raised SIP grow box (seen at the intro):
albopepper.com/...
Using Gravel in SIP Wicking Beds?
link.albopeppe...
What should you grown in an SIP?
link.albopeppe...
Refreshing SIP Potting Mix (What's wrong with bagged manures / composts?):
link.albopeppe...
NOTE:
I used a couple bags of Miracle Gro potting mix, which I bought in bulk for CHEAP. That stuff works (although it is synthetic). However, you can go purely organic in your mix composition if that is your preference. Use whatever ingredients conform to your gardening philosophy. Just be sure to follow the guidelines discussed in the video.
#Irrigation #RaisedBedGardening #GardenDesign #GoGreen #EasyGardening #WaterConservation #UrbanGardening
•••••••••••••••••••••
SUPPORT:
•••••••••••••••••••••
B O O K ➝ amzn.to/447HJpt
W E B ➝ albopepper.com
F B ➝ / albopepper
I G ➝ / albopepper
T E E S ➝ shop.spreadshi...
•••••••••••••••••••••
★ NEW Tips & Tricks! (Watch this video next):
th-cam.com/video/QHY5lQNYA6k/w-d-xo.html
► Rainy Periods & Moisture Levels (201):
th-cam.com/video/5orIjYKFRgE/w-d-xo.html
► Watering & Aeration Screen (301):
th-cam.com/video/VJ2T6gUv8Gc/w-d-xo.html
► Fertilizing SIP Beds:
th-cam.com/video/wNsm1YpXlbg/w-d-xo.html
► Winterizing Planters & Totes:
th-cam.com/video/aKrjC5sC5cU/w-d-xo.html
Self-watering planters have pros & cons. Read more about how they can benefit you the most: albopepper.com/sip_expectations.php
I 'm Hungary I Livin ÓZD
Hi there , what you think above Pipe put material to prevent soil going down to bottom and pipe , do you just strai put soil on top of pipe
How do you size the boxes based on what you are growing?
Good videoResult of hard work. Give your valuable comments to improve our channel thank you. Stay connected and stay blessed
Thanks ! Im new subs
I loved your tutorial so much! After I watched it a few times I made the decision to build it. It was such a great concept. I am a 15 year old kid and after 6 long days out in the back yard and a long discussion with my parents, I managed to complete the project. Thank you so much for the awesome tutorial.
I'm glad this tutorial was able to help you out! I hope you new SIP works out well for you. Keep us posted!
Hey bud how's it going? How has the bed worked for you after a year(:?
Good lad
Watch this video to see the status of my SIP after 9 years: th-cam.com/video/QHY5lQNYA6k/w-d-xo.html
8 years later and this is still the best video on youtube for building a SIP.
Thanks! I have even more tips in this new update: th-cam.com/video/QHY5lQNYA6k/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for a great video!!! I followed your plan to the letter and built a raised 4’ x 8’ bed. It works perfectly. Even in arid New Mexico my soul is always moist and my plants are happy. I travel a lot so I made one modification. I added a 50 gallon water barrel an plumbed in a float for self filling. My water level always stays at 3.25’. Greatest garden ever!!!!
Awesome Curtiss!!! I'm so glad to hear that. Good idea on feeding the float valve with a 50 gallon barrel! :-D
Amazing video! This is the kind of content TH-cam should be elevating
Had I not watched about self-wicking container gardening on the Gardening with Leon channel, I wouldn't have understood this. Mainly because I'm not handy, but also because he goes into a lot more detail about the importance of allowing for air, not just water. I'm so glad that I watched this though. I wanted to do the Gardening with Leon type, but wanted much larger containers. Thanks!!
Brilliant! I'm terrible at engineering things and this looks like the ultimate lettuce bed I've been dreaming about for years! I'm going to put a floor in it and raise it up to about 34" so I won't have to stoop as I age (65 now) Thank you :)
@SuLebo215...No offense intended. Don't ever say you're "terrible" at anything, because our subconscious hears everything and works against us proving us right. Second, try a "Green rolling scoot-n-do garden seat." Bob Vila gave them a mention. Read all reviews before purchasing anything. The model of it could inspire you to make your own to fit your needs. Also, when making raised beds make them narrow so you can reach all your plants without discomfort. Also resistance exercises with resistance bands are great for staying strong without having to lift weights and plenty of protein like red meat, to stay strong, and keeps brain in good shape (not soy because it weakens bones and causes osteoporosis). Good luck and take care.🪶🤍
Al. This is an incredibly detailed video and I want to thank you for your descriptions and content. I just completed a 6x3 bed 20" high like this... and the design I created was great because of you. I will caution folks who think this this looks great and might be easy to... think again lol. Although I chose to raise my bed by 4" over what Al describes here, mixing 27 cubic feet of soil is no small task. Wheelbarrow, tarp etc...it is bust ass work to get this mix right. Next time I will get the help of my able bodied son!. Happy growing and thanks again!
I've viewed hundreds of DIY videos, and I must compliment you. Not only is your design excellent, but your instructional content, videography and editing are very well done. Thank you for your efforts. I just subscribed and I'm eager to watch your other posts. Cheers!
+Jeff Bergerson - Thank-you Jeff! I appreciate it very much. :D
Also this is the best set up I have seen an I will use your design. I am planing on lifting some boxes off the ground so have you any suggestions on building the bottom and bases ?
Jeff Bergerson yeah his dad is great tooo check out his interviews
with his pops they got REAL passion for their art in what they do
Took the words st8t out of my mouth
👋👋👋👋👋👋👋
EXCELLENT VIDEO
Great video! You answered a lot of questions. Just a few tweaks I’ll be using: large tie-wraps to secure the cloth at the ends; going to make it one course higher and line the bottom with leftover brick to keep the moles out; use rigid pipe for the drain tubes. Other than that, there’s no reason to change anything else. Excited to finally get to try this!
Thank you so much Al. I have built two of your big SIP standing boxes. I have painted and am starting assembly
my third box. The first two are growing great! The bok choy and the radishes are my favorite so far. My girlfiend is picky but
she really likes the radish greens in her daily smoothie! ME TOO. I cannot thank you enough for your support along the way. My plan was to build three boxes, and the pandemic really slowed things down. So happy to be finishing the third for our garden at work.
My offer still stands to make you a SLATT'S Rescue belt to say thank you, I know you have a belt you really like. All the best, Gary
Thanks for the update Gary! I'm in the process of wrapping up an illustrated middle grade kids book which teaches some basic plant science concepts. If you'd like to show your support, maybe you could order a book and leave an Amazon review once it launches. That would be an awesome way to help me out!
I've seen lots of videos and read many articles and books devoted to wicking beds. You have totally dispelled a lot of mistakes I would have made by following the others particularly the wrapping of the pipes around instead of keeping them straight thank you very much. I also like the way but you gave clear concise instructions on how you did it and what you used
Thanks for the awesome video! I used this design as the basis for 3 4'x10' boxes and it worked great--my neighbors here in dry Denver were amazed at how massive everything grew. A couple little things I learned along the way that you might consider adding: 1) I covered the ends of both the drain and fill pipes with a bit of fabric to keep insects, dirt and other stuff from clogging it up. 2) I really wish I had done a better job of clearing out the ground where I built the boxes. I leveled it as much as possible, but there was still some bindweed lingering. It ended up growing through the space between the box and the liner and coming out in between the layers and at the top. Next time I might try putting a layer or two of cardboard underneath the whole thing--another tip I got from your videos!
Bind weed is terrible! Comes thru cement!
I am just getting started with gardening. You confirm a number of thoughts / answer questions I had after watching what seemed endless video clips. And I second previous comments on a well done video.
Thanks for putting the effort out.
Thanks for watching! I appreciate your support on my channel. :-D
What are the wood dimensions on the ‘top angled’ bracing supports? Thank you!
I grew tomatoes in 30 gallon totes built according to Ray's earthtainer design on Tomatoville forum for 3 years. Lowes no longer sells the 30g totes so was interested in building raised bed with SIP. Watched a lot of videos but yours is the best. Agrees with Ray's Methods on Tomatoville No compost, manure, top soil, logs at bottom. Ray's 30g totes had an aeration bed covered half way up with landscape fabric between water reservoir and potting mix with a wicking basket down in water reservoir. Worked awesome. I found I needed plastic on top . It rains a lot here in deep south and then blazing hot sun quickly dries out potting soil. Will use your design for SIP.
I like your methodical approach to your design. Having that air pocket between the soil and water seems like a very good idea. I’m kinda against not adding composting and manure in the box. I’m inclined to go against this because number one I like to go cheap and number two I have this killer compost I want to use. My last comment is: using treated lumber your upright posts are cut at an angle to shed water they are also more aesthetic, but the surfaces cut on treated lumber are as prone to rot as regular lumber. Actually more so because you’re dealing with open grain wood . to prevent this you could either paint the ends of the wood or char them with a blowtorch. Charring a wood post before buring it is a common practice
Thanks for your feedback! This page talks about the concerns related to certain types of compost / manure: albopepper.com/refreshing-sip-potting-mix-adding-fertilizer-year-2.php#manure
You make some good points about the treated lumber. I've just rebuilt the entire system & plan on doing a new video about it. In my new version, I've opted to keep the upright posts at a 90 degree angle to reduce surface area and minimize degradation. I don't place my planters directly on soil anymore either. That's a very problematic approach that definitely reduces lifespan of the wood. More to come on all of that...
If you're concerned about the cut ends, I believe they make a canned product similar to the chemical used in pressure treating, for that exact purpose (cut ends).
I've been watching a lot of SIP videos, this is by far the best of all, thank you!
Thanks Mark! I really appreciate it. :)
What's crazy is I work at a place that gives me literally unlimited access to pulverized pine bark and hardwood bark. I literally had to dust off before coming in before break time and watching this. Score one for me
I've been gardening in raised beds for over ten years. I wish I had known about this when I started. It's time to redo my beds and I'm going to build them your way. THANKS!
We built 2 of these we produced so many vegetables last year we gave several bushels away to our family
I’ve watched SO MANY of these wicking bed videos and this is the first one that made me feel confident that I won’t be wasting my time doing extra steps or building something inefficient or faulty. I can’t wait to get started on this project!
Love your patience explaining everything with details
Great tutorial and insightful information on SIP. This year I was going to build an elevated garden planter anyway, due to my last year’s battle loss to voles. But thanks to your videos, I added SIP to my planter design. I actually finished it this weekend (the planter) and will start purchasing the potting mix, perlite, peat moss, and fertilizers this weekend. Thanks for sharing your passion for gardening.
Outstanding video. I built one for my girlfriend following your instructions. All went well until I filled the bed. I should have realized that the inside of the bed where the drain hole was needed to be sealed with a waterproof sealant. I filled the bed and as the water got to the lower level of the pipe the water seeped out and down to the boards in the bottom. Thank you for the knowledge you have brought to us.
Agreed, I was wondering same thing! There might be a water-tight irrigation connector port that could be used. I’ve made a bunch of self-watering containers on a smaller scale.
This video is fantastic and I highly recommend SIP beds for consistent watering and to keep weeds/grass away from your raised beds.
I built my first 4x4 SIP bed in the Spring of 2018. I live in South TX and it’s hot in the summer. The SIP beds have taken the guess work out of watering. I fill them almost daily during the hottest time of summer, but it’s the first year I have not had any heat stress.
Second, I have Bermuda grass in my backyard. I have been plagued by this invasive, awful grass getting into my raised beds. The pond liner has kept the Bermuda completely out all year.
I have 8 beds now. Awesome video! Thank you.
Thank you so very much for your very well done video. I am definitely going to try it !
Thanks for the comment on the Bermuda grass. I'm building this bed, also have this grass and was concerned. Sounds like it should work for me!
This is a great video. Well thought out, anticipates most of the pitfalls a novice would find themselves falling into, very optimistic if you follow his rules. Thanks for such a great, free resource!!
Just finishing my 4 x 6 Ft using all reclaimed wood. I painted/sealed-in the wood to make sure it lasted. I'm also using some old fungus infused logs along the bottom but above all the pipes & Coco/perilite/Pete filled bottom.
ThanQ for being so informative in this video. It has been my go-to for prepping this project.
I ended up also cutting down some Pine from the yard & debarking it.
Take Care, Brother.
..."the problem is...that they did it wrong..." lol! Thank you for knowing what you're doing! Love your step by step instructions! Can't wait to make this!!
Hey AlboPepper.
Really need to thank you for this video mate. Has helped out a lot when folks ask about different ways to build SIP/wicking beds.
Cheers & Happy Growing mate.
What a great tutorial, super insightful! Love the "ways to fail". Also like that you said the depth of the bed to give a good reference and the "why" behind it.
Thank You Albo - for sharing the information. I have built 16 SIP's out of 27 gallon tote containers based on your design. Filled them with MiracleGro Organic Potting Soil (Costco), and mixed in "Dairy Doo 301" - composted cow manure made for vegetables... I have never had such incredible results on anything that I've gardened. I have them side by side with 27 gallon tote containers filled with the same mixture of soil. There is no comparison - the SIP's are winning hands down!!! Additionally, I can only go to that property once a week as it is on the opposite end of the state - they flourish for over 2 weeks with just one filling of the reservoir. Totally amazed at how well they are doing - Thank you for the great video's and sharing all the knowledge. Thank You!
Hiya Joe! I'm so happy to hear that!!! Thanks for sharing your personal experience and for your support on my channel. I'm glad that my information is able to help people out. :-D
Great Video. You cleared out some of the points that others were doing in their SIP which is to cover the irrigation tubes with garden fabric or plastic. The other important point you covered was the depth of the raised bed. Thank you. I am going to set one up this week.
Wonderful idea of combining the raised bed and sub-irrigation. Well designed sub-irrigation saves you a lot of time and work with irrigation and also prevents any problems with under and over watering. Now I am just thinking about using some free recycled material for construction, like the PET bottles.
I just finished building 3 of the raised bed wicking boxes. I must say it was a very labor intensive and a bit pricey project. I told my wife the first tomato we harvest will have cost around $1000 for all three boxes! I used most of your model ( I installed bulkhead drains and made the boxes 32"x72" inside) and used Mr. Leon's potting mix, fertilizers, and a few plants. My fill tubes show 2-1/2", 3-1/8", and 3-1/8" inches of water after the initial fill. I think I can utilize an elbow and a swivel pipe to raise the water level in the one box to match the others. I imagine I did not get the sand base level enough. I will see how it goes. We are excited to try growing some vegetables and flowers. You were correct about the quality of the treated 2x6's. They are very heavy and difficult to square up. I used 90 degree jigs and wood clamps to get the frames as square as I could. I even bought forklift forearm straps to move the completed boxes! Also I used a wood sealer on the cut ends and in every screw hole to keep the wood from checking. We look forward to harvest time later in the summer and hopefully we can plant a fall crop as well! Thank you for your excellent step by step tutorial! God bless you!
Hopefully you have a great season! Keep us posted. 😃
NICE. i love your methodical approach, and talking through why you did things certain ways.
The best (informative and fact based) video I've seen on the Subject of Self-watering systems. I tried SIP in TWO BUCKET system a couple of years back; but the lack of space between water table and the soil mix resulted in a water logged layer. Your setup appears to have eliminated that issue. Thanks for your efforts in creating the Videos!
Looking to build 2 or 3 of these raised beds myself.
Thanks for taking the time to make a great and easy to understand video. You saved me allot of searching and time wasting I would have had without watching this. Love the idea of a self-watering container. Fits well into my busy lifestyle.
Thumbs up from me!
Thank-you very much for your kind words Johan! I'm glad this video was able to help. :-D
I'm glad I found this video. I'm in the middle of drawing up plans for a table height raised garden bed. I will definitely be using some things learned here.
This is the best self wicking garden design . I've seen others .Yours is the best I'm going to build many of these these in my backyard . Thanks mate from Australia
I like it a lot. I can't help but think incorporating something to make the watering automatic would be great. I use a PVC sewer pipe rain gutter system with grow bags over it to do something similar without the box. It uses 1/4 inch poly tubing in a float valve to maintain a constant water level. A bucket or tube in a corner could hold a float valve that would insure that the water level was an inch or so below your drain automatically, allowing the reminder to be filled with rain water when it occurs. I'd like to see the planting surface high enough to allow no-bend maintenance of the bed.
I followed your instruction and built a self watering garden--IT WAS
OUTSTANDING!!!!!!!!Best yield I have had in 6 years of growing my own
vegetables. I will be building a 2nd box soon just to grow onion,
lettuce and smaller tomato plants. I am not sure how often you answer
questions or if this is the right method to ask question. But, I would
like to know in my current box, what do I need to do to the soil to
start it this season? I followed your instructions for building a box
and the soil mixture to use. Not sure what, if anything, I should add
to begin the season.
Hi Ace! Thank-you so much for sharing your results and encouraging words. :-D At the start of a new season, I lightly rake the top of the potting mix to fluff it up and to break up any remaining roots. If the mix has settled, I top off the box with fresh components. At this point, I assume all nutrients have been depleted. Ideally, you could get a soil test. I do not do that.
I simply add all new nutrients by way of fertilizers which may include worm castings. Synthetic OR organics could be used - even a combination of both. If you are using pure synthetic, then you may need to add calcium and magnesium in the form of dolomitic lime. With organics like Espoma, you'll likely see that they already have calcium and magnesium in them. Last year, I followed the instructions according to an older bag of Garden-tone. I treat my SIPs like large containers. For containers, it called for 2 cups per 1 cubic foot (only include the top 12" in your calculations). This rate would apply to an organic that is close to 4-4-4.
It worked great last year. Mid season, you might need to supplement though if it looks like the plants have run out of steam. If you want to reset soil nutrients for the following season, you could throw in some heavy feeding crops at the end of the Summer or early Fall. I did this with Kale plants. They grew all Fall and survived in zone 6 into the Spring. I didn't fertilize. I just allowed them to suck up as many remaining nutrients as they could. Hopefully this will minimize excessive nutrient build up over time. Hope that helps! ;-D
Hi Al, I'm wondering a little similarly to Ace. Apart from nutrient depletion, how long before the soil that is perpetually wet turns sour, and there's then a need to dig out the box and refresh it all.
Hi Mike! For the SIP box shown here: albopepper.com/grow-box.php It is from 2011 and still has the original potting mix in it. It settles a little each season so I top it off with new mix that I blend into the old. But still, the structure has held up so far!
Great video. I followed this design in 2020. I had great results with minimal maintenance
I made two of these and they have worked perfectly. Thanks a million!
We made a number of wicking beds (sub-irrigated :)) during the recent drought here. I only just found your video but it would have come in handy several months ago as the videos we found at the time left a detail out here or there. :-o Ours were constructed very similarly (although we did use fabric between the pipes and the soil, and sat the pipe on a fine gravel layer as well). They work brilliantly. Your video will be a wonderful guide for people wanting to create their own. :)
Here we use covers to keep the heavy rains from washing all of the amendments from the mix and so we only have to fertilize once at the beginning of the season. If the covers are tucked into the interior edges, it still allows the beneficial rain water into the reservoir down the sides without disturbing the fertilizer strips, washing out the lime, and essentially changing an otherwise, semi-closed system. This also helps with things such as excess nutrient runoff, weeds, rodents, insects etc, and conserves yet even more water.
Nice job either way. 1-1/4 thin wall pvc for the fill tube lets you stick the hose in it and basically turn it on full blast. We use Kerick float valves in an enclosure to make them automatic and the fill tube is just in case we have a valve malfunction.
An excellent tip! Thanks for sharing the good info Mr Boat. :-D
Last summer, my daughter gave me some plants to grow. I had to come up with a self-watering bed fast, so I bought two kiddie swimming pools (the blue round plastic type) and grow bags. I put the grow bags in the swimming pools, drilled a hole in each pool to prevent over-filling. My plants did very well and all I did was top off the swimming pools each day. So now I have Birdie's raised beds to set up this year and I'm going to do this with one exception. Instead of drilling a hole into the side of the raised bed, I'm going to run the overflow pipe under the bed. It will look like a "U" with short horizontal end pieces.
You did a great job explaining everything and answering questions we might have!
What a great detailed tutorial!
I want to try this in our community garden. I’m thinking it’s a way to have protection with plastic overhead, but to be able to water much more easily, or even rig up a rain feed somehow.
I’ve got a feeling you might be talking about that in another video!
Many thanks!
👍👍👍 I built my raised bed planter by recreating your design with only a few minor changes. It took me a weekend but it really wasn't very difficult given your design. I also followed your instructions for the bed potting soil and other materials. Since there about 12 square feet of bed available; I used the square foot gardening guides from online searches to select my desired vegetable variety and provide proper spacing. I built a simple screen cover to keep the critters out too. It's very easy to water the bed and you always know when it's full; the soil stays moist. All this being said and done it's been ideal; after a month ALL the vegetables planted are doing phenomenally! Already harvested some exceptional lettuce and radishes. Thanks for your online how to - it worked for you and it worked for me as well! 🥕🥕🍅🍅🥒🥒🥬🥬
Is that 4" corrugated piping? I'm beginning to build 6 boxes here in Texas and I'm worried I'll be doing all this work and the heat will nullify my efforts. Hoping it all turns out ok by following your video to the T!
Yes, it's 4" corrugated, perforated. You can also check my site for additional tips: albopepper.com/SIP-raised-bed.php
I had a hard time ascertaining exactly how these wicking beds worked til I watched YOUR vid. Thanks for explaining things so thoroughly.
Thank for watching! I'm glad it was able to provide a good explanation. xD
I watched this video over and over, and over again. It’s so helpful. I decided to try it using stock tanks. One of the difficulties is that not all the pipes can lie straight because of the rounded ends of the tanks. Also, three of my tanks are 12 inches deep, and three are 24 inches deep. I’m working on the first 12 inch one now. I used three-inch black drains rather than four. There are a lot of gaps, so I stuffed them with a vermiculite/peat moss mix. I hope it works. I’ll post an update once I know.
Hi Karen, we are just about ready to finish our raised beds. Above the 4" drains we will have 13" of soilless mix. Looking forward to your update on your beds. Were they a success?
I had no idea that you could fit that much awesome in a 30:43 long video! I’m going to build one this weekend
I’ve watched a load of these videos as I’m planning to build something more permanent and move away from loads of containers and pots. And this is by far the best video I’ve watched....and I’ve watched A LOT! Extremely well thought out and explained and delivered perfectly.
I can only imagine the 1k dislikes came from the creators of all the other videos I’ve watched, because you blew them out the water in every aspect. Thank you for making this and finalising my plans. Subbed 👍
Thanks man! I greatly appreciate it. :-D
i just found your channel and this video just changed all of my plans for my future garden!!!! thank you!!!!
Welcome to my channel! Thanks so much for watching. I hope this info helps you out! :-)
I just built 3 SIP's. Used 2x12's, stacked 2 boards on top, so they're 55" x 33", 24" tall. They look great, now I just need the dirt. Looking for miracle grow, raised bed potting mix. If only I could find it in bulk! Thanks for the videos, great job with your posts!
Tim
I would like to build one or two of these. I do not generally reply to videos but I wanted to be sure to thank you for this one. I subscribed to you because I really appreciated how you try to help all the people asking you questions.
Awesome video, you the man.
I have a suggestion. I would recommend that you spray the outside of your pressure treated wood with a Thomson water seal once every 2 or so years to prevent warping, cracking , and chipping of the wood. This happens when the wood gets swelled with water, then dries too quickly and unevenly. The oil sealer allows the wood to still breath with moisture but it does it nice and slow and evenly. Same for concrete and brick walls.
Just wanted to let you know so all your beautiful work ages like a fine wine.
Keep up the great work. I'm a big fan.
In addition, all those drainage tubes help decrease the cost of filling with soil. Good tutorial.
That's an excellent point! Thanks for watching. :)
Thank you for the video. This looks like a really great design and also very attractive. I have seen other very well constructed S.I.P. beds but they were not really what I want in term of appearance. Your attention to detail and helpful advice is much appreciated. Best of luck with your gardening.
Im not going to have to watch another video ... This one is TOP NOTCH
THANK YOU
👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋
Building my bed according to your video instructions. Have the frame done and the piping cut, waiting for the liner to be delivered and then will test it out and fill the bed with your formula, thanks!
Awesome Ronnie! I wish you both all the best. I hope you have a great growing season! :-D
Got the first bed built according to your methods and it is working great.
Thank you for the great video. I used it step-by-step to build an 8x10 sub-irrigated bed over the weekend.
Great video, thanks for sharing your knowledge. I've been researching how to build my two 4x8 raised beds for a while, I wanted to find some way to make them so they could stay watered while I traveled but I didn't want any pumps or other mechanical stuff to maintain, your video finally gave me the confidence to get the materials today and start building!
+Ben Blum - I've been trying to compile some reliable information about SIPs for several years now. And the gardening community is giving some great feedback, including lots of good ideas I hadn't thought about. I look forward to showcasing some of the projects that other gardeners have created using SIPs. It should be lots of fun!
Thank you so much for this info! I followed your instructions exactly (although I widened my box a little bit more) the results are absolutely amazing! I told my family that this works too well! (24” zucchini leaves!!) 1 question: can I reuse my potting/pine bark/perlite mix for next year?
Great video! I think I may build something like this next season, coupled with a float valve to auto-water from rain barrels. Thanks for sharing.
Ian MacDonald Thanks Ian! Yeah a system like this would be easy to adapt to a float valve set up. A float valve system would mean ZERO dry periods. Moisture would be very consistent. So be sure your mix has good pore spacing and follow my specs. :D
Ian, did you ever create this system? If so, would you be interested in creating a video on it?
Good info here. 👍 One thing you mentioned is possibility of the soil entering the corrugated tube through the vent holes. This rarely happens to any significant degree. We have hundreds of thousands of MILES of this stuff buried in my surrounding farm ground with great success. My hometown has produced drainage tile since around 1900. Early stuff was clay tile fired in a kiln. Our factory switched to plastics a few decades ago.
My preference for the drain overflow is 1/2 inch PEX tubing. Just drill a 5/8 inch hole & insert the preferred length. It's cheap and stiff, so no bending up.
Thanks for the tips! I've used 1/2 PVC schedule 40 for the overflow and that worked well too. On future builds, I might try a bulkhead fitting. I'm not worried about soil entering the slits on the corrugated pipes. This video shows how empty they remained after years of usage: th-cam.com/video/q-JitnHKCY8/w-d-xo.html But obviously you need to ensure that the ends are sealed off in some way.
@Albopepper Yep, nearly all the farm fields in my area are tiled with the corrugated pipe. Only difference is that they are laid with a slight grade to ensure that the water flows downhill.
I used the PEX 'cuz I had a leftover length. I just snip off a 4 or 5 inch piece to use as drain tube.
You're a gardening rock star! Conserving water and using it wisely is the mantra here in California. I'll be curious to see how much time and money savings plus increased production this will bring. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for watching Lisa! I appreciate your support. For myself personally, I know that SIP systems have yielded tremendous results. The plants love them. :-D
hi just a note I think to stop water wicking into the wood at the over flow out let you could silicon a tap washer of the correct diameter over the hole. love the video I know that it is your thoughts and only a suggestion on how to make them (great tutorial )
CHARLES ADAMS Thanks for the suggestion! That's a nice idea. xD
Also, is sub-irrigation wicking really self watering? I always expect a device that triggers filling the sub chamber when water is too low. But if I’m filling a tube with water till drain water runs, then, I’m watering. Not truly self watering. But I understand the meaning. There are self watering methods of similar design using everything from sump pumps to toilet ball concepts. Very interesting. I’ve used several of your videos for some concept designs. Thanks!
I have a rooted and grown a number of plants in a very similar system based on 5 gallon buckets. Everything that you said seems to be inline with my successes and failures using the buckets.
Awesome! Glad to hear it Joel. :-)
Interesting, I would have thought the plants would eventually punch through the corrugated pipe. I'm going to build one of these, glad I came across the video.
+Jonas Devenport: There are wicking beds that use gravel, but they are a completely different sort of design. I personally prefer the pipe setup. But I've never tried the gravel systems, so I won't put them down. I will say that the pipes work very well and scale quite easily. They create a great aeration screen while also allowing for a hefty water reservoir.
+AlboPepper Thank you for making this video. I built something similar with gravel, landscape fabric, PVC pipe, a cheap tarp from Ocean State Job lot and 2X12's. I haven't had any problems unless giant flowers are trouble lol. Anyway, I will be giving your design a shot this spring/summer in my back yard along a slope that gets sun for a majority of the day and feel it would be cheaper and require less labor going with your drainage pipe design however you lost me with the vermiculite mix to prevent constant direct contact with water and soil which is a concern because I know of people who've had rotting problems. Another concern is mosquitos, I wrapped landscape fabric around the inside part of the overflow tube to prevent them from getting inside the aquifer and creating a breeding ground. Sorry for the long post, I hope some of my info is helpful to others who haven't heard about the wicking style of raised bed.
Rather than using the Pond Liner, would you be able to use a paintable drylok like material or something similar to waterproof the inside ??
Make sure you use some of that garden screening material to cover the drain, else you just built a nice snake breeding farm.
Not where I live. Where are you located? I usually just have to worry about slugs and snails.
No snakes in the Northeast that I know of
A moose could never stuff itself in that here in Canada.
Hi AL.
Greetings.. here we go ..
Hey I'm using your 5 gal. Bucked using those 4.5 inch shims. I used em last year using ONLY Master Blend water-soluble fertilizer.. My peppers were STUNNING.
Thanks for sharing that wonderfully SIMPLE. SIP
Happy Growing,Al..
Mike DAG
That's awesome to hear! I'm glad it all worked out. Thanks for sharing your results! 😀
Thank you for such detailed information. Feeling really glad that I came across this video when I am building similar raised beds.
One of the best videos I have seen on this topic. Thanks a lot!
Thanks for being really thorough with this build! Subscribed!
Gene Torres Thanks Gene! I'm happy to report that the system is working really well.
That's awesome. Built my first raised bed this year but its not as intricate. Will keep this in mind for the future!
I have loved how you have explained everything. I will try it out bse my place has alot of termites and your systems will fit perfectly very well...
Very professionally created help video with clear and easy to follow steps to build a very functional and long lasting SIP box. Excellent!
i think it is better if you did not poke a hole in the tube screen where you insert your overflow tube, the reason is that the screen will prevent debris which might clogged your overflow tube... my 2cents!
I really like the concept and design of your box. It is, in MOST aspects, an oversized earthbox. As I watched the video, I was concerned about the area where the overflow is located. Would it be advisable to caulk/seal around the liner to prevent the wood from becoming overly saturated with water? I was waiting for this to be addressed, but it was not. That is my only concern. Other than that, it looks wonderful. Very nice presentation. I subscribed.
Randall VanScyoc Thanks Randall! Yes, it is in most regards an oversized EarthBox. I didn't caulk inside the openings on my box. But doing so is certainly a great idea. Someone else had suggested this a while back and I've added the suggestion to the write up on my actual website: albopepper.com/SIP-raised-bed.php . I appreciate the good feedback! :D
Use a rubber grommet...cheap and effective
That’s an excellent idea of a self-watering planter.
I am excited about using your technique of gardening. We are in the third week of the Coronavirus quarantine here in Texas, and this is going to keep me busy. I look forward to the reward and plan to expand every year. I subscribe and thank you for such a professional video. I have been recommending it to all of my friends!
Great video, love your system and will try it this year. Thank you for your time in putting this together.
Thanks for watching Gary. I appreciate your support! :-)
Dunno about the bed, but the shirt just rocks :)
Yes, im diggin' the shirt. Thank you for comment and many great thanks for the the video!
i did Sub-irrigated Raised garden this year with just topsoil and just a little of miracle gro plant food. i am very amazed with the results. yes you can normal topsoil thank for the idea miracle gro plant food
Thanks for sharing your personal experience!
Great idea. You have solved the problem of DO ( Dissolved oxygen ), watering, adding fertilizer all in one go. Great.
Thanks! I appreciate your feedback. :-D
I was thinking of just this idea, and you show the best way to construct a S.I.P. raised bed I have ever seen.
My question is, can I integrate some worms into this bed?
+Mary Smith My beds are similar and I added worms from my yard into them last year. I recently dug in and found many more living happily in the soil. They are great for aeration of the soil and create worm castings.
Great information regarding especially the things to avoid doing. I was wondering, wouldn't it be best to focus the mulch on the top instead of mixing it in? It isn't needed so much for water retention concerns, I would imagine, but it sucks nitrogen and increases fertilizing needs if mixed in. Mulch on top still deters weeds. But let me know if I am missing something or if it works as well to only apply mulch on top. Thanks.
+Andi Amador - Hi Andi! Thanks for watching the video. Nursery mixes will commonly use bark as the primary component of their container mixes. I prefer to include pine bark mulch because it adds a little extra back bone, extending the serviceable life of my SIP mix. The box at the beginning of my video actually has the original potting mix that I first put in it 4 yrs ago. My goal is to see how long the mix can be used. I think that perlite, vermiculite and pine bark mulch help a lot in this regard.
You are correct, that the wood will initially require additional nitrogen to compensate for nitrogen draft. However, this is a temporary situation as the Nitrogen is slowly released back into the soil in subsequent years. I use bark because it has higher lignin content than the sapwood (such as with wood chips) and so it doesn't break down as quickly. Pine is likely to acidify your soil though, so you'll want to watch your pH. I always add dolomitic lime to help out.
As you mentioned, you can add a little mulch on top. This helps with not just weed suppression, but also moisture balance at the soil surface. It can also protect the plant roots from wind or water erosion. Hope that answers your question! Thanks, -AL
I’m going to build my first raised bed this year 2020 here in the UK and I will be incorporating your sip sub irrigated system after watching your vlog. I must congratulate you on the excellent and detailed tutorial so much detail. How can I possibly screw it up😱
Thank you for this comprehensive explanation of the dynamics and assembly of your self wicking irrigation for raised beds.
Thanks for watching Susan! Welcome to my channel. :-)
Can you provide a detailed "Buy" list for this box? (Assume buying everything).
Watch and take notes?
Very Nice and well explained!!!
That's a great instructional video. I will definitely use it to help me build my SIP. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your expertise.
This is by far the absolute best instructional video on this topic I have seen. Thanks so much. I do have a question. During drought how often do you need to fill it up? And how do you know it's empty?
I’ve used this system with great success using buckets and built planters but not on this scale but I like the size. It’s like the Kratky method with soil. In my systems it took a few times before success, however, mine are easier to correct smaller scales. I’m curious if you have encountered similar setbacks on your large scale attempts. 1. The drain hole is mega important. Wrong one way, it drains to much too fast. Wrong the other and it holds too much. How did you calculate the flow rate egress vs wicking uptake? Was it formulaic? 2. How do you manage nutrient flushing for overfeeds or deficiencies? 3. Soil PH and PPM ratios. Are you testing from the drain tube for corrections? 4. How are you controlling mold and pest issues in the corrugated tubes? Thanks and very intriguing build!
brilliant and well constructed , great work
I do not garden like this...great idea!! Awesome tutorial!!
Hello Al.
I don't really remember what I was searching for when I found your "
Self-watering SIP Sub-irrigated Raised Bed Construction (How to Build)
video. I've been retired now for several years and I've been bucket gardening and raised planter gardening for a good number of years with mixed results. I should say I'm an engineering type who most recently owned a hardware store and I enjoy inventing and building stuff.
I combined your planter box design with a rain barrel with a self feeding float valve, so as long as the rain barrel has water, the planter has exactly the same amount of water all day, every day.
I've had the basic equipment for making rain barrels for years now but thanks to the marrage of your drought resistant planter box and the barrel I finally got my butt in gear.
I only got plants in the ground on 6/5 but we had a great salad tonight with romaine lettuce, arugula, kale and radishes from our garden. Thanks for your help. Here is a snap of the initial setup.
i.ibb.co/qBLLtMK/20230605-155800.jpg
That pic was taken right after I planted, everything is going crazy now, we (Detroit Michigan area) finally have had some rain for the lawn, but the planter has been happy as long as the barrel has water. And of course I watch the barrel water in a drought like we recently had. I haven't done it but I was thinking of adding another automatic fill valve to keep a minimum water amount in the barrel from city water.
Also note; I'm really surprised at how little water the planter needs. Mine measures about 4 ft by 8ft. The water level in the tubes below is about 2 1/2".
Again thank you. If you have an interest I have many notes and pics of the whole project which as you so generously shared with me and many others I'd be happy to share with you.