Garden Irrigation with Ollas
Ollas are an unglazed terracotta vessel that traditionally resembles a bulbous vase with a tight neck. The vessel is filled with water then buried in the soil. The water slowly and gently releases through the porous clay to hydrate the plant.
Super bummed out we couldn’t find a pottery studio to make our own, so I’m experimenting with some ~8in high terracotta pots that should serve the same purpose. Protip: reuse wine corks to plug up the drainage hole. I bought matching lids to cover the pots to prevent mosquito infestations and reduce evaporation.
So far so good. I’m only testing on the gardening box that receives the most intense amount of sunlight. The water levels were almost completely drained at 7 days with temperature ranging for 30F to 60F in the past week. I’m sure the water level will go faster in the summer, but at least this means I can take a few days of vacation and not panic. The drawback to my vessels is that it does take away a bit of surface planting space.
I’ll probably do an update this summer to see how things hold up!
always looking for creative ways to irrigate and manage water. looks like this is great for small scale raised beds; curious if this could be scaled for a larger garden, bigger water catchment?
might try this for an herb spiral? then again, the natural swaling might eliminate the need for that….
