Innovative design options for wicking beds

Last week we showcased our newest wicking garden bed, the Foodcube, as well as a range of design options and attachments to 80 landscape architects, architects, landscapers and urban farmers at the HQ of Cirrus Fine Coffee and Australian Ecosystems in Port Melbourne. They were  on show at our 16 square meter, self watering pop-up farm that has just had a makeover with our older model of wicking beds being replaced with the Foodcubes. This 16 square meter set-up can be assembled, connected and planted in a day by a skilled landscaper and has the potential to grow 400 kgs of produce per annum.

The new features on show included a trellising system to allow the garden to climb vertically. We also demonstrated a netting system that keeps pests off the garden such as possums and birds. Both of these new features are extremely easy to set up, with the trellis and netting frame sliding into holes in the sides and corners of the Foodcube for stability. The net can be fixed onto the customisable edges of the Foodcube which were designed for this purpose. 

We also clad the garden rows with a number of different finishes including RedCore panels, modwood and recycled pallet timbers, to give a range of finishes.

Another innovation is height extender tree rings that raise the soil level to 500mm, allowing us to use the Foodcube as a tree planter for instant rooftop and backyard orchards and fruit trees. 

It was a great evening and we hope to help kickstart an urban farming revolution that sees any underutilises space in a city as a potential mecca for food production, composting, urban cooling, urban biodiversity and community building. 

Thanks to the staff at Cirrus Fine Coffee for your great work helping us have a really successful evening and thank you to all the people who came along. We hope to see you soon!