From Farmer Phil Seedlings & Wicking Beds
📗 The Unofficial Manual

Build robust, productive, & beautiful IBC vegetable wicking beds in one weekend.

Everything Farmer Phil has learned installing 100+ IBC vegetable wicking beds - written down, photographed and diagrammed so you can do it right the first time.

Loved by gardeners across the globe
Cover of the eBook “How to Convert an IBC into 2 Vegetable Wicking Beds” by Phil Timms, showing an empty IBC tote above the planted wicking beds it becomes
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40+years in horticulture
100+IBC vegetable beds installed
10chapters + growing bonus guide
The transformation

See what one weekend can do

From this
Phil tilting a second-hand IBC tote in its steel cage in a shed, before any work has started on it
To this
The finished result: a black-clad IBC wicking bed on a timber base, filled with soil, sitting in a landscaped garden
What's inside - 80 pages!

A weekend, mapped out chapter to chapter

IntroThe full list of tools & materials you'll need
GalleryA photo gallery of dozens of IBC wicking bed installations to inspire you
01Sourcing a food-safe IBC (what to avoid) and getting it home
02How to safely remove the black base
03How to cut the IBC in half step-by-step
04How to waterproof the IBC cap and tap
05How to cover the IBC in black - Day 1
06How to cover the IBC in black - Day 2
07How to create the wick
08How to build the timber base
09How to create the water overflow tap
10Putting it all together
ResourcesHow to get help
+ Bonus Guide How to set up your IBC wicking beds for spectacular plant growth
The eBook cover again, larger: “How to Convert an IBC into 2 Vegetable Wicking Beds”
Take a peek inside!

Clear photos & diagrams on 80 pages

No jargon, no guesswork. Every step is photographed from Phil's own builds, with clear diagrams for the cuts, plumbing and fill layers. Includes both metric and imperial measurements for gardeners around the globe. If you can follow a recipe, you can convert an IBC into 2 vegetable wicking beds.

Sample page: “What You'll Need” — a materials table for the timber bases with a dimensioned sleeper diagram in both metric and imperial
Sample page from Chapter 7, Create the Wick: photos of the corrugated pipe coiled into rings and lowered into the bottom of a bed
Sample page opening Chapter 5, covering the IBC in black weed mat, with a photo of a finished soil-filled bed and the tools needed for the step
Sample page from Chapter 9, Water Overflow Taps: close-up photos of Teflon tape being wrapped on a thread and a poly elbow being screwed on
Sample page opening Chapter 2, safely removing the black base, with a photo of the corner of an IBC showing the base fixings
Sample page from Chapter 10, Put It Together: a grid of finished wicking beds in different gardens, planted and growing
Not sure yet?

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Phil Timms of Farmer Phil Seedlings & Wicking Beds, against an illustrated garden background
Meet the author

Phil Timms - Farmer Phil Seedlings & Wicking Beds

Based in Central Victoria, Australia, Phil has spent a lifetime growing food in one of the world's driest climates. This guide distills everything he's learned converting and installing IBC wicking beds for gardeners - no guesswork, just what actually works. This guide is the shortcut Phil wishes he'd had when he started.

40+
years of horticulture
100+
IBC vegetable beds installed

What IBC wicking bed customers say

★★★★★

"Phil did such a great job - from helping me decide the best place to put them, to building and filling. It's going to make growing my vegetables so much easier, and cheaper with the saving on water."

Gayle, Victoria, Australia
★★★★★

"The wicking beds are fantastic. It's great to have garden beds that are easy to keep consistently moist, especially in a dry spot like Castlemaine. They make the growing of vegetables and herbs almost effortless. Friends without wicking beds have been amazed as to how much the small spaces produce. I started with three and quickly went to six. I'd have more if I had more flat ground! Phil is great to work with."

Bree, Castlemaine, Australia
★★★★★

"He adapted his design to our space and joined the beds to share a reservoir. Already producing lots of beautiful produce - friends have commented on how great they look."

Alistair, Castlemaine, Australia
★★★★★

"I'm getting so much produce from your vege bed."

Lynda, Maldon, Australia
★★★★★

"So pleased with my wicking bed I am looking at getting a second one."

Christena, Chewton, Australia
★★★★★

"We already love the new beds."

Deb and Brett, Moruya, Australia
★★★★★

"I'm really enjoying the wicking bed - it's produced so well."

Gwen, Malua Bay, Australia
★★★★★

"It looks fantastic! Thank you for opening the gate for the chooks too. Beautiful job!"

Jan P., Chewton Bushlands, Australia
★★★★★

"I'm really happy with the wicking bed, Phil. I'd like you to install a second bed."

Catherine J., Castlemaine, Australia
★★★★★

"Phil did a great job installing a raised wicking bed with all the plumbing parts, soil and gravel. It looks fantastic and we can't wait to put in some vegies. Thanks Phil!"

Anne C., Castlemaine, Australia
Get Inspired!

Phil's Step-by-Step Guide Shows you How it's Done

Three freshly built IBC wicking beds on timber bases in a gravelled yard, filled with soil and ready to plant
A long run of IBC wicking beds in an orchard, planted out with rows of young leafy greens and onions
IBC wicking beds beside a water tank and shade house, growing herbs and greens
A wicking bed on a brick courtyard packed with silverbeet, kale and lettuce grown to full size
Newly installed wicking beds on a rural property, just filled with soil and mulch
Rhubarb and silverbeet growing tall out of wicking beds under a climbing frame in a mulched backyard
A row of wicking beds along a fence line filled with lettuces, pumpkin vines and flowering vegetables
Phil standing between two freshly installed wicking beds on a brick paved courtyard, showing their waist height
Close-up of green and red loose-leaf lettuce filling the whole surface of a wicking bed
Two wicking beds in a suburban backyard, one newly filled with soil and one already planted
Two freshly filled IBC wicking beds side by side on timber bases at Chewton Bushlands, with a hoop frame arching over them
A single IBC wicking bed on a timber base, mulched and ready for winter, standing in an orchard
A newly installed IBC wicking bed on a timber base on a Castlemaine lawn, against a colourbond fence
An IBC wicking bed raised on a pallet base beside a white weatherboard house, with a gravel path running alongside
An IBC wicking bed set into a freshly landscaped slope, alongside timber retaining walls and a raised garden bed
A finished IBC wicking bed on a landscaped garden terrace, with the gardener standing by the timber retaining wall

Build it right the first time

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