Testimonials
Just wanted to send a quick note and some photos to say thanks very much for the wicking beds. They’re working really well and look wonderful (no doubt will be even better once the plants grow a bit more)! Once I found the instructions in the email they were a breeze to set up!
Kind regards
Emily
Hi Alan,
I bought three garden kits from you at the Qld Gardening Expo in July 2014!
We have moved, the gardens were dismantled and I am just now putting them back together. Somewhere in the move the nuts and bolts have been misplaced.
Can you advise the size and number of self- tapper screws, nuts and bolts you include in the kits. I think they would be the Extra Large from the copy of the brochure I had at the time – I paid just under $1000 for the three
Cheers
Sherryl
Hi Alan,
I bought a couple of extra large garden beds off you earlier in the year and they seem really good so cheers (I attached a couple of photos of them set up).
Matt
Gooday Alan,
I have previously ordered a couple of wicking bed kits from you and they have been a great success. Leafy greens, cucumbers, chillies and soft herbs have been particularly good compared to ordinary garden beds. The only slight disappoint were cherry tomatoes which produced brilliantly but maybe didn't have the flavour of the same ones I grew in the ground that year. Very interesting. I wonder if the constant water might diminish the flavour? I will try a different variety this year and see what happens.
In terms of soil improvement the wicking beds seem great for worms. A paper bag of kitchen scraps with a scoop of worms from the compost buried in the bed is gone in about two weeks. The level of activity after a week or so is amazing..
I have also found the wicking beds are great for seed germination and striking cuttings.
Paul (ACT)
I like the box you have built, suits my families lifestyle in that we are not able to water plants every day or so and what we do plant seems to thrive.
Scott Melbourne
I thought I would try a Watersaver Garden last year and found that they were so low maintenance I had to buy another two. Alan made them to fit the existing area and did a great job putting them in. All I had to do was plant the veggies.
Love the wicking bed concept, being away quite a bit they are just perfect for me. I would recommend them to anyone who wants truly fresh organic veggies and has better things to do than slave away in the garden.
Kath (Toowoomba)
Hi Alan
It was lovely talking to you this morning whilst placing my order. My husband said he thinks he first found out about you from the garden expo that was held here on the Sunshine Coast last month, we think we saw you there and took a brochure.
Thank you for giving us the two extra large paperbark garden beds at such a discounted price, we really appreciate it.
I have deposited the full amount of. As discussed we are happy for our garden beds to be delivered without a signature.
It was a pleasure doing business with you.
Thank you for your time
Brooke
Our garden is only four weeks planted and we have been eating lettuce and rainbow chard for weeks. Also have two capsicum ready to pick, and others well on the way. Amazing!
Fay
I am a teacher, who ordered 3 water saving gardens from Alan almost two years ago, and am pleased to announce, they continue to flourish, just as they did when first installed. I can’t recommend these Watersaver gardens highly enough. It astounds me, how, even though our gardens are attended by novice gardeners, we seem to have a permanent, steady stream of vegetables and herbs all through the year.
The watersaving element to the gardens has been invaluable to us, as I must admit, during school holidays and other busy periods, the gardens don’t always get the attention they deserve. Somehow though, every time we revisit and get set to start again, we are greeted with three faithful patches of healthy vegetables and herbs sitting there, waiting to be picked (there have been times when the poor things have gone to flower while waiting, but they have certainly fulfilled their end of the bargain in the process!).
Alan too was amazing in helping us set up our gardening programme. He generously volunteered his time to teach myself and the students about the fundamentals of vegetable gardening. Alan also helped us establish a worm farm, fascinating the students with weird and wonderful information on the world of worms. We are yet to fully establish our composting system…. poor Alan may hear from us again in the not so distant future!
It is without hesitation that I recommend Alan’s Watersaver Gardens – for large or small settings, the serious gardener, or those just starting out. I have been involved in gardening groups over the years, and recently tried to construct my own raised vegetable garden at home, but these attempts simply can’t compare to Alan’s raised beds we have at work – my meagre harvest always pales into insignificance compared to the volume and quality of the produce we pick from the Watersaver gardens.
I would like to add that, because the gardens have been so prolific, it has been easy to maintain my students’ interest in gardening, as the rewards have been so rapid and ongoing. With just three of Alan’s gardens, we are able to hold produce days (selling to the school staff), send vegetables home with the students, and cook with our harvest (broccoli and bacon soup, garden salad and beetroot and chocolate muffins were favourites!). It has been a delight watching school students enthusiastically pick anything from snow peas, lettuce and tomatoes, to carrots, strawberries and mint and devour them straight from the garden, with many a life lesson learnt in the process.
Sincere thanks Alan, I am confident that without your design for these watersaving raised vegetable gardens, we wouldn’t have had such easy success. Happy gardening! PS Sorry there's no photos, I left them at work!
Rosalind (Toowoomba)
Best garden idea. For a town that struggles at times with water shortage , this is ideal .....Its also handy for older people who don't want to bend down to garden I bought one a couple of years ago and it has grown so much ...we even used it to grow all of the greens for my birds...
Currently im in the process of moving so a friend has asked if she can have my garden, so her husband is coming over to "lift it up" and take to her house so she can have it outside her back door and teach her newest addition to the family about gardening. That is another fantastic consideration is you don't have to leave your garden behind if you move.
Dawn (Toowoomba)
I have one of these, it's great.
Annette (Brisbane)
With limited yard available to dig in a vegetable patch our herb and vegetable (tomato) growing was limited to a collection of mix matched small pots. As soon as we saw the water saver gardens I knew that we could set up the garden in a gravelled part of the yard. Months on and with crops of lettuce, beetroot, tomatoes and shallots growing I couldn't be happier. Actually with an increased interest in gardening I need another one for the herbs!
Christine (Melbourne)
Love, love my watersaver garden! It was delivered to my door in Melbourne several months ago and hubby assembled it with ease. Had trouble getting the specified woodchips, but a Sunday morning phone call to Alan had it sorted immediately. Gotta love that! Have it planted with toms, snowpeas, lettuce, capsicum, chilli and some dwarf beans. Fabulous.
Anon
The frame arrived safely and my husband had the frame up quite quickly. Thank goodness for the instructions but my husband said that it all went together well and said that it was well thought out.
We have put a 70% shade cloth over the whole lot. It has kept out the possums so far and the plants are much happier and are starting to grow well. I am thinking about how to sew the shade cloth so that it fits better rather than draping it over and will tackle this once the silly season is over and I have more time.
The little irrigation lugs on the top of the frame work well even for the heavier shade cloth and prevents slippage.
We have had a lot of interest from neighbours and friends who love the concept and have passed on your web address details to them.
Regards and I wish your every success with your enterprise.
Kathy (Brisbane)
First, I'd like to say how impressed I am with your garden beds.
Beautiful design, so easy to put up and easy to follow detailed instruction.
I can't believe you even added a drill bit for the canopy section and fixed the polypipe edges to be joined, so kind.
Therese (Brisbane)
Letting you know the garden kit arrived safely today, thank you, and I finished erecting it before dark. The instructions were very easy to follow but wish I'd had an electric screwdriver.!!
I'm very pleased with it.
Sue (Brisbane)
Hello, I bought 3 XL gardens from you and they have been planted for 5 weeks now. I wanted to send a photo to you - I cannot believe the growth. I confess that I used a mix of tired garden soil and possibly not enough compost so I was worried I didn't have the mix right! I don't think I needed to worry! Great beds, I am over the moon with the growth.
The only negative I would point out is that it took me a couple of weeks before I started construction and water got into the packaging causing the newspaper print to mark the beds. Its only a minor thing but could bother some perfectionsists. I kind of liked the look of the effect.
Angie