Wicking Beds
The Kalannie CRC worked in collaboration with Yarra Yarra Catchment Group to run a wicking bed workshop, learning all about the process and benefits of permaculture.
On the 29th April 2024 we held a wicking bed workshop in partnership with Yarra Yarra Catchment Group. It was an immensely popular workshop, and we had a lot of interest from many people not just in Kalannie but from neighbouring towns including Beacon, Wongan Hills, Dalwallinu, Latham and as far away as Morowa. Thank you so much to everyone who travelled to Kalannie to take part in this wonderful workshop on a nice sunny day and who brought cuttings and seeds to share. It was great to meet you all and we hope that you enjoyed the day with us.
Everyone gathered to learn all about permaculture in a workshop run by the knowledgeable Fiona from Gaia Permaculturehttps://www.gaiapermaculture.com.au/ . Fiona covered many topics throughout the workshop, such as what permaculture was, how to design your garden and the best placement of a wicking bed. Which focused on where north is, where the sun rises and sets in summer and winter, where the wind direction comes from, as well as what structures, trees and plants are in the area. All influence how well the plants in your wicking bed will grow. We then learnt how a wicking bed is built, what the different components needed are and what each different layer does.
Fiona explained that a wicking bed is a water reservoir with soil on top and the water will wick up through the soil keeping it moist. Finally, we learnt about soil structure and how to test the soil for pH levels and what nutrients are present in the soil.
Following the highly informative presentation, we moved outside and out what we had just learnt into action by constructing two wicking beds.
The Kalannie CRC would like to give a huge thank you to Lizzie from Yarra Yarra Catchment Group for approaching Kalannie about this amazing workshop. Fiona from Gaia Permaculture for all her fantastic knowledge and we also extend a thank you to Nutrien Ag Solutions and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) who provided the funding for the event to be run.
We hope that these wicking beds will become a community garden that everyone can contribute to and enjoy in the future.
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