With a little planning , ollas are a executable and efficient tearing mechanics for your garden . This is particularly honest for gardens in blistering and drier climates , as ollas reduce the amount of water drop off to vaporisation and seepage . For traveler , ollas provide a poor period of worry - costless garden irrigation . concerned in learning more about olla ? take the facts and see if ollas are right-hand for your garden .
What are ollas?
Is n’t it riveting that this irrigation method acting is believed to have been developed over 4000 years ago in North Africa and is still a staple horticulture putz in some countries ? These glassless terracotta pots were make for to the American Southwest by Spanish settlers ( Conquistadors ) and aboriginal American gardeners adopted them in their own garden .
Ollas typically have a large , round base and a long - neck spout with a ⅕-inch to 3 - column inch opening . The base is the vas that stores water for steady and continuous watering , while the neck opening is used to refill the base vas .
How do ollas work?
If you have ever used a terracotta pot before , you may notice how it draws wet from the soil , which is great for succulent , but not so much for water supply - loving plant . In an unglazed pot , this wet will become usable to institute roots outside the pot . Roots will smell the moisture and fundamentally suck it from the jackpot itself . This is why old sewer pipes made of terracotta and seafarer liner experience ruinous breaks : orotund tree root that sense the moisture will burst right through .
But ollas are efficient waterers . If your plant life ’s roots are small , a small amount of water supply will be released . More water will be available to enceinte , thirsty root . Ollas can often be more efficient than modern - day drip mold irrigation systems , and cost less , too .
How to use ollas
Ollas are buried in the soil before you do your planting . When plan your garden , keep in mind that the amount of water go away the ola is some adequate to the radius of the ola . If you have a particularly large garden , you will need a larger ola or several small ollas space equally .
Bury the ola in your garden soil , leaving several inches of the olla cervix expose . This buffer zone keeps the olla opening gratis of stain and easily allows you to find the ola when replenishing its water . you could utilize mulch around the exposed neck to prevent small amounts of evaporation . Next , plant your seeds or plant within 2 - 5 in of the olla , bet on the size of the ola itself . If smaller , plant closer .
last , occupy the olla with H2O , which will now be almost entirely immune to evaporation . If your ola comes with a lid , use it to prevent grunge from entering the base and to guard off mosquitoes . If your ola did n’t come up with a lid , a rock will bring fine .
Maintaining your olla
Luckily , ola do n’t take much maintenance . A little guess will need to take place as you replenish your ollas for the first time ( this full point could be days or weeks ) since many factors contribute to how quickly water is take in : soil eccentric , time of year , industrial plant needs , and environs .
You ’ll desire to dig up and salt away olla over the winter . If the ola contains hint moisture , it may stop dead and crack . Otherwise , your ola should stay functional for days .
Referenceshttp://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2025-01-30/using-ollas/http://permaculturenews.org/2025-04-19/ollas-unglazed-clay-pots-for-garden-irrigation/http://growingawarenessurbanfarm.com/ollas
Creative Commons Flickr photo courtesy ofcheeseslave
