In India, in the 4ural areas and cities too terracotta pots are filled with drinking water and then wrapped in a wet muslin cloth.The slow evaporation of water through the wet cloth chills the water.This has been the practice since ancient times.We had a terracotta mutka at home for years .It is a boon where electric supply is erratic or people can't afford fridges.
Wow, that’s a great idea. I wonder what my husband would think if I put a clay pot on our kitchen counter! 😂. If our electricity goes out this summer, he might be ok with it. Lol. Really though, I love this method. Thanks for sharing!
Back home in Cyprus I remember doing a similar thing. We had clay pots for drinking water, you fill it up with water, put anywhere, even outside and the water would be chilled soon. No fridge needed. It was a lot healthier too because it was the perfect temperature.
Alternatively, put a sealed pot inside a terracotta pot and fill the space between with water. Evaporation of the water seeping through the terracotta cools both pots AND anything you keep in the sealed pot. Veggies kept this way keep days longer than ones that are left out to wilt. This is another ancient practice.
@Guerilla Grace interior pot is sealed so water won't leak in and spoil whatever food is in it. Exterior pot is terracotta for evaporative cooling. Can fill the space between with water, or fill the space with sand and then add water so capillary action between sand and water keeps the water level on the terracotta even for a consistent evaporation rate. Note that this works well in a dry climate but is less effective in high humidity. - Think of the old swamp coolers, if you're familiar with that kind of A/C unit.
Wow... I don't know why it's taken me so long to find out about these, but thanks for the educational how to, I deeply appreciate this! There's a German company selling terra cotta cones with a plastic reservoir on top, I think mainly for indoor plants.. I am using them outside and they don't stay together. So this is FAR better for my needs and I can see your environment is similar (hotter even) than mine.. Thanks again! I have some making to do!!
Wenn einmal um den in der Erde steckenden TerraCottaKegel herum gegossen wird, so das sich ein kapillarer "Randschluß" ergibt, funktioniert die Einleitung recht gut. Diese Gießkegel sind auch für PET-Flaschen verfügbar, womit also bis zu 2L bevoratet/eingebracht werden können.
You should burry the ollas more. The Sun dries out the exposed terracota and the water evaporates pretty quickly. It would be even better to stick a pvc to the top hole and burry the olla .
I really like your idea about running PVC. As they are set up currently, without running a PVC, it would be really difficult to water the ollas, as the plants grow over their tops. Next year I will give your idea of burying them with PVC running to each one with a main connection, allowing for a measured watering in one step. Since I really like using the ollas and see their effectiveness, your PVC idea is very interesting.
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 In my country , where too much water is ( used to be ) more of a problem they used to bury terracota pipe below plowing depth to slowly drain the soil, maybe a Long U of terracotta chimney pipe would work to water bigger projects ??
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 Our local dollar store sells three packs of inch and a half terracotta pots with tiny saucers to go with them in the craft section. I silicone them to the top of the olla just to keep everything clay and use the tiny saucer as a lid. If you can find them (Amazon has them cheap) a 3/4 inch tile hole saw drill bit is great for drilling through the bottom of the tiny pot and through the top of the olla if you used a larger dollar store pot that only has a quarter inch hole in the bottom like I did. The 3/4 inch hole makes filling much easier and the tiny pot on top acts like a funnel.
@@tammydepew5236 If I'm understanding your question correctly, then yes. The hole at the very bottom of the olla is sealed, and the tiny clay pot is added to the top act as a funnel, with the holes from the tiny pot and the top of the olla lined up to allow water flow. I use a 20mm (about 3/4") diamond hole saw to cut out the bottom of the tiny pot and enlarge the hole in the top of the olla. You don't have to do this step, but it makes filling a lot easier. The saucers that come with the tiny pots can be used as a lid after filling to keep debris out.
Thank you! SO MUCH. Ollas have always been out of my price range. I live in the Mojave Desert. Water is terribly precious. Ollas are so expensive. I am using the third method. Just pot, saucer, and caulk. I bury them up to the cork outside my indoor Norfolk Pine needs humidity so I do not use a cork. Now there is no need for a bulky humidifier! Much as gracias!
I am going to try this next year! Here in Tx this year we had triple degree heat in May (2 months early). I mulched with 3-4” of straw. Even through the record days of triple degree heat all Summer, I still only watered every 3-4 days. Many many gardeners in our FB group were watering daily. I think with ollas, I could stretch it out longer😮
I have used ollas for several years that I bought online. I really like them, but they are quite expensive and I am now inspired to make more of my own. We live in the desert and they definitely slow down evaporation. Thanks for the video.
Thank you so much for the thoroughness of this video. It was really nice to see the creation of the Ollas and then see how you used them. And then having the 5 week follow up really shows how useful they are. Great information 👍
Thank you for the helpful ideas. If you put a tube for adding water in the Ollas top hole, and put a good layer of mulch around it, covering the Ollas top as well as rest of the planting bed to reduce evaporation, then maybe you need to water even less.
Interesting idea. Vegetable gardens last months and not years. I do not use them long term. When I use them to support a potted plant in a scorching part of my yard, I remove the olla once the plant has established itself with deeper roots. Your idea sounds great if you see the need for your garden. Thanks for watching!
These are beautiful ollas. This is the very best way to give a plant the moisture it wants and at a constant rate. I used an olla next to a young tomato plant and was amazed at how fast it grew and how healthy it stayed. When I pulled the tomato plant out after months of harvesting cherry tomatoes, I saw that the roots of the plant had wrapped around the olla. Plants know how much water they need. Constant light moisture keeps them producing and staying green.
Yep bury them under the dirt With a cork in the top. Unless you have them inside and you want to use them for cooling. They’re good for the cooling the inside of your house to but they must be much larger. I’ve used mine for a long time now and I’ve had no problem with the silicon
@@bren3168 Of course that depends on the size of your room. But in a 12 x 12 room I use A 12 inch pot on which I silicon and another 12 inch pot after plugging the hole in the bottom of the first pot With silicone. I also use a little fan near it. I bet it would even be better if I could make something with thin aluminum vanes To fit around the outside of the top pot Heat sink style.
Good morning, this is like magical!!, a wonderful solution to watering and saving water. A little bit of work to get it started but on average for 10 years there should be no complaints in doing this project. By showing how well the plants have responded to this watering system, it really works. It's enough innovation for me to consider. Thank you for sharing many blessings and kind regards.
I watched both parts of your olla videos. They're really amazing and very informative. Thanks a lot for sharing the wonderful results of your great effort. Naeem Ameen A Pakistani
Well thanks ! That’s given me an idea for two new wooden hexagonal troughs that I have, waiting to be potted up in the next couple of weeks in a very sunny location, here in SWFrance ….😊
🌈A BIG Thank you the tip & for enriching our reality - Love your gardens...so looking forward to Spring - month & half of Winter to go Blessings from NZ 🌞🌻🌱
I hoped i can remember too do those next spring. Usually spring here is so wet we don't think about being dry and needing to water. When the rain quit this year it's really quit. We are now in a drought. October is usually we. Not yet a drop this month.
Thanks this is the first time for me to watch! I've learned a lot. I've been interested in the ollas before but they were just too expensive and watching you make them has been great!
Fabulous, thank you! We can't buy olla over here in NZ, so being able to make them for the garden will be great. It would also be great for liquid fertilizer (properly diluted of course). Thank you 😊
I really like them for garden plants. I have never used them for trees or extremely large bushes planted in the ground. Do you use ollas for anything other than garden plants?
It was extremely informative. You did very well in showing all the stages and where to put them. I am convinced that this is what I am going to do as I live on well water and I always thought that water is priceless and worth more than gold. Thank you and keep doing what works. That is what life is about.
I hate the heat here in FL. But stuck here 4 now. I have trouble growing anything (plus excessive bugs) I did plant a few things this year but have to go out in this early heat already every day to water. I'll try a few of these. They are a great idea. Thanks
Thank you xxxx totally inspiring. l am going to make some for our community gardens 4 raised outside beds and both sides of our tunnel house . And then some more to sell as a fundraiser to the gardenclub for comm. gardens . EXCITED !! ☆*☆ THANK U ☆*☆
Why not bury just an inch above ground and seal the exposed surface to eliminate evaporation? Can't wait to make these this winter and use throughout my raised bed gardens
You can insert some water level indicator (not sure about the accurate term, but quite often to see it in plant pots with water container at the bottom) so that you can know when the water runs out
Hi there! I'm up in Frisco. I use ollas, too. Been using them for about 3-4 years. I have a plot in a community garden, so it really helps with not having to go up there 3x/week to water. Do you also water the soil? I've found that I almost always need to water the soil, too, even tho I fill the ollas 2x/week. It could be because my "soil" is very, very sandy. I'm going to get some silicone and make them like you do. I've been putting them in hole down, and just placing a saucer on top. I like what you said about the cork making the water seep out slower: that could be another reason why mine empty so fast.
Thank you! Do you think if you sank the pots a bit lower, that you might get an extra day of not having to water? I know you don't want soil to get into the holes, but the amount that's still above ground will heat up, even in shade, & cause water evaporation. Just a thought, thanks again =)
Are there any plants you wouldn't recommend an olla for? Would you ever use an olla in addition to a timed drip irrigation system? I'm loving the olla concept and usage but am not sure I want to solely rely on it as it means always hand watering. Thanks for these great videos!
Hi, thanks for this. I had never heard of these things till I stumbled into this TH-cam rabbit hole. Just a couple of questions. How did you determine when they needed to be refilled? I am guessing a dip stick or something. Were they enough to handle the watering or did you need supplemental watering? Also wondering how to know how many to place? I am thinking of putting them in between the rows of plants in my raised beds.
There are many variables. But the minimum from my observations found them watering 2 days when extremely hot, with the longest duration being 7 days or so. If the olla is shaded by your mature plants you will receive maximum duration, with the air temperature and humidity being the another factor. BTY, I am gearing up to use them again in a few weeks. Finally, I also used one over the fall and winter that is currently in a 3 gallon nursery bucket's center surrounded by soil supporting the watering needs of 7 Asian spruce cuttings that I want to root. It's been four months now. I mention this because the duration of the olla is often 10 to 20 days, due to the much cooler weather.
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 thanks for replying. We recently moved from up North to the southeast zone 8 and this may be a way to keep things watered without it being a full time job lol. Cheers.
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 Thats impressive, and from what I saw from your video you weren't even using mulch. If you do that it could extend that period. What I would even do is water conventionally but deeply, letting the mulch keep the moisture in for days at a time with the ollas waiting idle to kick into action all on their own when the soil moisture dips enough to start the wicking action. You could even combine that with irrigation tubes to deliver the water deep down without wetting the surface at all, completely eliminating evaporation. Spend a couple minutes watering each bed if that for days of moisture, with the ease of simple pouring down a pipe or hole.
Thank you for posting this video!!! This is making me so exciting!!!! We just bought a bunch of pots to do Ollas for some trees we bought for our grow zone!! One guy recommended we let them dry out for a week or so to let the roots go more down. How do you feel about that? I think that will be especially good for things tree that we do not want to break the Ollas.
I have experience with using ollas for plants, especially for vegetables. I would be excited using them on trees also. If your grow zone has freezing soil in the winter, I would make plans not to use the ollas at all during that time. In addition, if I were planting trees, I would research their root growing habits. What do they do? Is there a tap-root that grows straight down? Once I established how the roots of the tree grow, I would consider the placement of the ollas. I would try to imagine where the placement of the ollas would best be served, meaning do I place them two feet from the trunk of the sapling or do I place them at four feet? Another question I would ask is the tree drought tolerant or does it require moist soil? If the soil requires moisture all the time, I would have to consider at what point would the fine roots locate the ollas and be able to drink the moisture contained in them? Next, I would think that the olla's size would have to increase to assist the tree, especially if it is not drought tolerant and likes to drink. In my humble opinion, I would think four ollas per tree would enable the roots to grow properly. Given that a circle is 360 degrees, I would place each olla at 90 degrees on that circle once I established how the roots grow (If they are non-invasive and will not destroy my ollas, as there are some trees that are not planted around home foundations as well underground pipes because of their destructive nature.) Finally, I have a video of making your own watering can that contains microtubing. I use them all the time on my unestablished saplings. I have ten of them and really see the benefit. I like them because they water slowly, deeply and makes it easy for me to know exactly how much water I am using on each sapling. th-cam.com/video/MgLZBscrEtU/w-d-xo.html (The watering works very well for established plants as well.)
I've been using these for about 10 years now in Andalusia. I would suggest burying them a little deeper so not so much of the top is exposed and varnishing the upper 3/4 of an inch of the olla. This slows down evaporation. Also, you will need to soak the ollas in vinegar every couple of years or re-fire them or they will clog up with salts and become non-porous. Great technique for making them!
Been using those same ollas for over three years now and have not had a water flow issue from mineralization yet. Water from different locations and sources has different calcification numbers ranging from low to very high, which is termed as "heavy water." My source of water is a lower medium or close to the middle in calcifying minerals. Those with "heavy water" might have the water source coming from an aquifer that contains high levels of limestone or gypsum; most people with this problem would have more issues with their home plumbing, from calcified pipes to the need to replace a water heater more often than normal. This heavy water would induce a much faster calcification of their ollas. Anyway, I know that somewhere down the line I will need to clean out my ollas. As vinegar was mentioned as a technique used to clean the olla, please elaborate on how you clean them out with vinegar. Is it a pure vinegar solution or diluted? Is it industrial or common household vinegar at about 5%? How long are they soaked?
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 - Yeah, where I live the water is very hard. I have to clean the pores out on the ollas every two years or so. Guess it depends where you live. Maybe if I used softened water to fill them that would help.
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 - Cleaning mineral deposits from ollas: Over time, mineral deposits can accumulate inside ollas, clogging the pores and reducing their effectiveness. To remove mineral deposits from ollas, start by removing the olla from the soil and emptying any remaining water. Then, fill the olla with a solution of equal parts white vinegar and water, making sure to cover the top of the olla to prevent the solution from spilling out. Allow the olla to sit for several hours, or overnight if possible, to allow the vinegar solution to dissolve the mineral deposits. After soaking, empty the vinegar solution and rinse the olla thoroughly with clean water. You may need to use a soft-bristled brush to gently scrub away any remaining mineral deposits. Once the olla is clean, allow it to dry completely before returning it to the soil.
Thanks for watching! Rubber stoppers/corks: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y31V5YM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I've included a link to making the ollas: th-cam.com/video/e7xckIcdBDA/w-d-xo.html
Do you make bigger ollas for trees? There are two challenges which I am curious to know how you deal with: 1) How do you watch the water level inside it? 2) I may have some hard time finding the plugs you put on the top, let alone the correct size. What are possible sources? Is it effective to make your own plug out of the caulk or would this crumble after a while?
I have never used an olla on trees. I think one might help a sapling take root over a year. But knowing how some trees have powerful roots, I believe a fast-growing tree might break the pot. Check water level by removing cork and looking inside. If it's too dark, use a small, dry stick to check level. Or you can poke your finger in the soil or use a soil moisture meter. The corks are #3 in size. I purchased them on Amazon
Have you considered putting a tube through those corks - to link up all the pots together and have them link to one big tub? so that you only have to fill a large water reservoir in order to water all the linked pots?
Interesting idea. Vegetable gardens last months and not years. I do not use them long term. When I use them to support a potted plant in a scorching part of my yard, I remove them once the plant is established with deeper roots. Your idea sounds great if see the need for your garden. Thanks for watching!
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 I live in a tropical climate with year round growing season. So i considered doing it with trees and with plants that are not perennials.
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 Clay pots that have any moisture in their walls will crack because of the water freezing. It is not unusual to have Temps of -20 F. here. All pots would have to be dug up and dried out. I will try plastic soda bottles with holes in them.
Interesting tip about the cork on top slowing the water flow. I gather you can use that to increase or decrease the amount of water dispersed as needed. Like if it's really hot maybe only loosely cover it so the plants can get more water?
Do you think running some 1/4" irrigation line through the top cork to, say, a 5 gallon feeder water bucket, would work to replenish the water in each one/ all of them at the same time?
Do you have hardware cloth under your raised bed? Our yard (and our neighbors next door at least for two houses over) has moles.I have two bins with worms so I can get worm castings. I keep the two bins in my laundry room bc I’m afraid the moles will get in my raised bed. I’m also worried about my garden too. In addition, I am fighting fire ants & piss ants. I can’t add Spectricide in my garden bc it is 98% vegetables, tho I do have some herbs & flowers to help entice bees. I do have drip line irrigation in all but my raised bed this year. I’ve considered ollas. I really hoped I’d be able to throw & fire my own terracotta planters. Sadly, I haven’t been able to afford a pottery kiln. I’d like to keep the raised bed (4’ x 8’ x 12”) watered this way; however I’m also fighting fire ants in it. Any pearls of wisdom? I’d love to add an earthworm bin to the raised bed. I’m afraid the moles would see it as an all you can destroy buffet.
I did add wire mesh under that bed. No digging critters. However, a year ago I had to add a frame above the box on which I hung plastic netting as I was being significantly raided by critters that go boo in the night (The top of the framing also doubled as a roof to support a shade cloth for the summer). Even with plastic netting, this year my winter crop in that bed was raided and all of my radishes, cauliflower were destroyed or devoured. I was left with one kale, and for some mysterious reason my carrots were left alone. I was able to get a good harvest from my carrots last week. It was a very discouraging moment. As a result, I built a total critter-proof 8x8x8 foot tall enclosed vegetable garden structure, using 2x3x8 lumber and 1/2 inch wire mesh. It has three beds. Just finished planting the enclosure last week with a variety of cucumbers and tomatoes. Yes. I still have my other bed laced with ollas that is now encircled with plastic netting, which I may convert to wire if I am raided as badly as my winter vegetable garden was. By the way, I am still using the original ollas that appear in this video. I believe there is wisdom in knowing that we gardeners will never know everything about what we are doing. We'll read books written by master gardeners. We'll try our best to comprehend types of soils and microbial activities, all the while trying to find what we might believe are the best nutrients for our plants, and how to deal with unwanted disease and pests. And finally, we do the best job we can given our resources. We know in the end that in our successes we will have food, flowers and trees that make us feel at one with ourselves and our natural world.
What do you use to cover your ollas is it soda pop tops? Good ideas I will be doing this so I don’t have to rely on my daughter to water my plants 👍👍👩🌾♥️
th-cam.com/video/e7xckIcdBDA/w-d-xo.html I am not sure if you've seen the part one version of "Making Ollas," so I've included a link. Have a great day!
I make about 40 cubic feet of my own soil every year. I am currently working on making humus--maybe 15-20 cubic feet of it. There are times when I run out of it. When I do I turn to established and commercially available two-cubic-feet bags of soil. I am including a link to how I fill my raised garden beds with this video link being an example. A viewer named Rhea commented on this video that what I was doing is “Hugelkulture,” which I found extremely interesting. th-cam.com/video/oBpE-IkItUA/w-d-xo.html
To start when the plants aren't shading the Olla If you covered over the tops of the Ollas with plastic would that help the water last longer in the heat?
Sounds like an interesting idea. Last winter I constructed a bamboo frame around my garden bed that rises 6 feet high. It supports a 40% shade cloth. It is basically filtering 40% of the sun's rays. The way it is set up allows the early morning sun to hit the plants. At about high noon to around 4 pm my plants and soil receive about forty percent less of the intense sun. I am including a link to "Update on My Palm Trees" as it appears briefly in the video at around ten seconds, if you are interested th-cam.com/video/aRsRvzL9Y3Q/w-d-xo.html
So you could put nutrients in the water in the pot…so how often did you need to refill the water…and was this your only watering source for the plants and flowers? (Other than rain)
I have not tried using nutrients inside the pots. Two possible concerns: 1. The terra cotta filters out the nutrients. 2. It prematurely clogs the porous nature of the pot. As with conventional watering, the gardener needs to monitor the soil for moisture since temperatures and humidity are always changing.
Thanks, the garden is very productive. Regarding the tomato plant, it is in a wire cage that is not circular. I suppose it doesn't show up too well in the video.
Isn't it a pain in the butt to fill those ollas with water every 2 - 3 days? Especially when the big plants grow over them?? Do you use a hose? A watering can?
Not too much of a bother. The microenvironment of this particular area in my yard requires extra attention to keep young plants or seasonal plants healthy. It's a worthwhile effort. I do not use them anywhere else but here. There is about 12 hours exposure to a merciless sun. If the plants lack water in that area, they suffer, weaken, and can become susceptible to other problems that are more time consuming.
The ones used for the vegetable growing season use, as shown in the video, I remove them and put them away until the spring. The few I have in "hot spots" to assist my perennials, as shown in the video, I leave them in. The soil does not freeze in my zone.
For Easy access to watering with hose; when shaded by plants, water trickles down the sides and into the soil. But given your conditions and techniques, positioning it level with the soil is definitely good.
In India, in the 4ural areas and cities too terracotta pots are filled with drinking water and then wrapped in a wet muslin cloth.The slow evaporation of water through the wet cloth chills the water.This has been the practice since ancient times.We had a terracotta mutka at home for years .It is a boon where electric supply is erratic or people can't afford fridges.
Wow, that’s a great idea. I wonder what my husband would think if I put a clay pot on our kitchen counter! 😂. If our electricity goes out this summer, he might be ok with it. Lol. Really though, I love this method. Thanks for sharing!
Back home in Cyprus I remember doing a similar thing. We had clay pots for drinking water, you fill it up with water, put anywhere, even outside and the water would be chilled soon. No fridge needed. It was a lot healthier too because it was the perfect temperature.
Alternatively, put a sealed pot inside a terracotta pot and fill the space between with water. Evaporation of the water seeping through the terracotta cools both pots AND anything you keep in the sealed pot. Veggies kept this way keep days longer than ones that are left out to wilt. This is another ancient practice.
@B Forman Was the interior sealed pot ever unglazed terracotta too?
@Guerilla Grace interior pot is sealed so water won't leak in and spoil whatever food is in it. Exterior pot is terracotta for evaporative cooling. Can fill the space between with water, or fill the space with sand and then add water so capillary action between sand and water keeps the water level on the terracotta even for a consistent evaporation rate.
Note that this works well in a dry climate but is less effective in high humidity.
- Think of the old swamp coolers, if you're familiar with that kind of A/C unit.
Wow... I don't know why it's taken me so long to find out about these, but thanks for the educational how to, I deeply appreciate this! There's a German company selling terra cotta cones with a plastic reservoir on top, I think mainly for indoor plants.. I am using them outside and they don't stay together. So this is FAR better for my needs and I can see your environment is similar (hotter even) than mine.. Thanks again! I have some making to do!!
Great! Thanks for watching
Wenn einmal um den in der Erde steckenden TerraCottaKegel herum gegossen wird, so das sich ein kapillarer "Randschluß" ergibt, funktioniert die Einleitung recht gut. Diese Gießkegel sind auch für PET-Flaschen verfügbar, womit also bis zu 2L bevoratet/eingebracht werden können.
You should burry the ollas more. The Sun dries out the exposed terracota and the water evaporates pretty quickly. It would be even better to stick a pvc to the top hole and burry the olla .
I really like your idea about running PVC. As they are set up currently, without running a PVC, it would be really difficult to water the ollas, as the plants grow over their tops. Next year I will give your idea of burying them with PVC running to each one with a main connection, allowing for a measured watering in one step. Since I really like using the ollas and see their effectiveness, your PVC idea is very interesting.
I’d you paint the very top.. it will help a the evaporation
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 In my country , where too much water is ( used to be ) more of a problem they used to bury terracota pipe below plowing depth to slowly drain the soil, maybe a Long U of terracotta chimney pipe would work to water bigger projects ??
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732
Our local dollar store sells three packs of inch and a half terracotta pots with tiny saucers to go with them in the craft section. I silicone them to the top of the olla just to keep everything clay and use the tiny saucer as a lid. If you can find them (Amazon has them cheap) a 3/4 inch tile hole saw drill bit is great for drilling through the bottom of the tiny pot and through the top of the olla if you used a larger dollar store pot that only has a quarter inch hole in the bottom like I did. The 3/4 inch hole makes filling much easier and the tiny pot on top acts like a funnel.
@@tammydepew5236
If I'm understanding your question correctly, then yes. The hole at the very bottom of the olla is sealed, and the tiny clay pot is added to the top act as a funnel, with the holes from the tiny pot and the top of the olla lined up to allow water flow.
I use a 20mm (about 3/4") diamond hole saw to cut out the bottom of the tiny pot and enlarge the hole in the top of the olla. You don't have to do this step, but it makes filling a lot easier. The saucers that come with the tiny pots can be used as a lid after filling to keep debris out.
Thank you! SO MUCH. Ollas have always been out of my price range. I live in the Mojave Desert. Water is terribly precious. Ollas are so expensive. I am using the third method. Just pot, saucer, and caulk. I bury them up to the cork outside my indoor Norfolk Pine needs humidity so I do not use a cork. Now there is no need for a bulky humidifier! Much as gracias!
The one you mentioned is the easiest to make. Good choice. Thanks for watching!
I am going to try this next year!
Here in Tx this year we had triple degree heat in May (2 months early). I mulched with 3-4” of straw. Even through the record days of triple degree heat all Summer, I still only watered every 3-4 days. Many many gardeners in our FB group were watering daily. I think with ollas, I could stretch it out longer😮
I have used ollas for several years that I bought online. I really like them, but they are quite expensive and I am now inspired to make more of my own. We live in the desert and they definitely slow down evaporation. Thanks for the video.
Thank you so much for the thoroughness of this video. It was really nice to see the creation of the Ollas and then see how you used them. And then having the 5 week follow up really shows how useful they are. Great information 👍
Thanks for one of the best comments I have received.
Thank you for the helpful ideas. If you put a tube for adding water in the Ollas top hole, and put a good layer of mulch around it, covering the Ollas top as well as rest of the planting bed to reduce evaporation, then maybe you need to water even less.
Interesting idea. Vegetable gardens last months and not years. I do not use them long term. When I use them to support a potted plant in a scorching part of my yard, I remove the olla once the plant has established itself with deeper roots. Your idea sounds great if you see the need for your garden. Thanks for watching!
These are beautiful ollas. This is the very best way to give a plant the moisture it wants and at a constant rate. I used an olla next to a young tomato plant and was amazed at how fast it grew and how healthy it stayed. When I pulled the tomato plant out after months of harvesting cherry tomatoes, I saw that the roots of the plant had wrapped around the olla. Plants know how much water they need. Constant light moisture keeps them producing and staying green.
Wonderful description. I agree. Their consistency of applying water really does yield good fruiting and sturdy plants.
Thank you, this was what I wanted to make them for
Thank you! Great video. Loved the update!
I needed this video this spring. My garden was an epic fail. The tomatoes and Bell peppers where the size of walnuts .
Me too. It seems like drying right out sets the plants back.
I really like this idea, especially for large potted plants. Very interesting. You did an excellent, thourough job explaining it in both videos.
Wow am definitely going to give this a try. I live in San Antonio and can’t keep up with watering. Thank you.
Genius. I've used plastic bottles and rope while on vacations and I recently saw the 46 dollar a piece variety. This ... I can do. Thanks a mill.
Yep bury them under the dirt With a cork in the top. Unless you have them inside and you want to use them for cooling. They’re good for the cooling the inside of your house to but they must be much larger. I’ve used mine for a long time now and I’ve had no problem with the silicon
How big does the pot have to be in order to cool a room in your house?
@@bren3168 Of course that depends on the size of your room. But in a 12 x 12 room I use A 12 inch pot on which I silicon and another 12 inch pot after plugging the hole in the bottom of the first pot With silicone. I also use a little fan near it. I bet it would even be better if I could make something with thin aluminum vanes To fit around the outside of the top pot Heat sink style.
@@rejn1420 could you post a picture, please?
@@Min.Fars.Datter I would love to but I can’t figure out how to do it.
Good morning, this is like magical!!, a wonderful solution to watering and saving water. A little bit of work to get it started but on average for 10 years there should be no complaints in doing this project. By showing how well the plants have responded to this watering system, it really works. It's enough innovation for me to consider. Thank you for sharing many blessings and kind regards.
I watched both parts of your olla videos. They're really amazing and very informative. Thanks a lot for sharing the wonderful results of your great effort.
Naeem Ameen
A Pakistani
One of the nicest comments I have every received. Thank you very much Naeem.
Well thanks ! That’s given me an idea for two new wooden hexagonal troughs that I have, waiting to be potted up in the next couple of weeks in a very sunny location, here in SWFrance ….😊
Thank you for including the link to part two below part one!
Wow, nice water dropping system. Your plants are so nice and healthy. Congratulations and great job!!!
Thank you for sharing this ancient wisdom. Your video is very well explained!
Thanks! Pots getting upgrades. They really struggle in Phoenix
🌈A BIG Thank you the tip & for enriching our reality - Love your gardens...so looking forward to Spring - month & half of Winter to go Blessings from NZ 🌞🌻🌱
You are so welcome! And thank you!
Love both of your Ollas videos and am looking forward to what else you put out.
I hoped i can remember too do those next spring. Usually spring here is so wet we don't think about being dry and needing to water. When the rain quit this year it's really quit. We are now in a drought. October is usually we. Not yet a drop this month.
Thanks for these videos I live in SE Arizona. Temps are horribly hot for plants in summer. Going to use your tutorial to make Ollas.
Thanks this is the first time for me to watch! I've learned a lot. I've been interested in the ollas before but they were just too expensive and watching you make them has been great!
Fabulous, thank you! We can't buy olla over here in NZ, so being able to make them for the garden will be great. It would also be great for liquid fertilizer (properly diluted of course). Thank you 😊
Good info! Think I will be making a few of these.
I’ve been using ollas for several years and they work great.
I really like them for garden plants. I have never used them for trees or extremely large bushes planted in the ground. Do you use ollas for anything other than garden plants?
You really don’t want to use them trees. The roots will break the pots as the tree roots get bigger.
Hello. may i ask what type of weather is in your area? i've been debating if i want to use it for toronto ontario canada weather.
Would be interesting to see the roots at the end of the year
Excellent video. I learned a lot. Thanks so much.👍
Thanks for the nice comment!
Awesome!! You’re teaching sir😅😂😆🥹Thanks again👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽❤️
So nice of you
It was extremely informative. You did very well in showing all the stages and where to put them. I am convinced that this is what I am going to do as I live on well water and I always thought that water is priceless and worth more than gold. Thank you and keep doing what works. That is what life is about.
Thank you!
This was very informative. I learned something. Thank you
Fabulous!! Wish I'd have found you before today! I'm in Phoenix AZ. This is perfect ☺
I hate the heat here in FL. But stuck here 4 now. I have trouble growing anything (plus excessive bugs) I did plant a few things this year but have to go out in this early heat already every day to water. I'll try a few of these. They are a great idea. Thanks
Thank you xxxx totally inspiring.
l am going to make some for our community gardens 4 raised outside
beds and both sides of our tunnel house .
And then some more to sell as a fundraiser to the gardenclub for comm.
gardens .
EXCITED !! ☆*☆ THANK U ☆*☆
Why not bury just an inch above ground and seal the exposed surface to eliminate evaporation? Can't wait to make these this winter and use throughout my raised bed gardens
And i thought i knew a thing or two about survival. Great info, excellent post.. just subscribed. 💞
Thank you never seen this before I will try it
Thanks, great idea. Nice dog :)
Thank you you are answering my question from part one! I so appreciate you thank you.
You can insert some water level indicator (not sure about the accurate term, but quite often to see it in plant pots with water container at the bottom) so that you can know when the water runs out
great video, thank you so much. living in az is really hard to grow plants.
Hi there! I'm up in Frisco. I use ollas, too. Been using them for about 3-4 years. I have a plot in a community garden, so it really helps with not having to go up there 3x/week to water. Do you also water the soil? I've found that I almost always need to water the soil, too, even tho I fill the ollas 2x/week. It could be because my "soil" is very, very sandy.
I'm going to get some silicone and make them like you do. I've been putting them in hole down, and just placing a saucer on top. I like what you said about the cork making the water seep out slower: that could be another reason why mine empty so fast.
Yes. Water the soil. Fill the olla.
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 but do you have to water after the initial watering? Or do the ollas keep everything moist enough alone?
What a great idea. Thanks!!!
Glad you liked it!
Wonderful informative video
Thank you! Do you think if you sank the pots a bit lower, that you might get an extra day of not having to water? I know you don't want soil to get into the holes, but the amount that's still above ground will heat up, even in shade, & cause water evaporation. Just a thought, thanks again =)
Never seen this before very interesting.
Thank you!
excellent idea
Just what I needed! Thanks! 😊
Are there any plants you wouldn't recommend an olla for? Would you ever use an olla in addition to a timed drip irrigation system? I'm loving the olla concept and usage but am not sure I want to solely rely on it as it means always hand watering. Thanks for these great videos!
I only use them in raised beds and selected large pots. I think using an olla on a timed drip system would be approaching awesome.
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 Thank you! I'm definitely going to try these. Also in ground to get a transplanted lemon tree to take root perhaps.
Found it! 👍🏽 Thanks
Do you have to do broad supplemental watering around your plants in between refilling the ollas?
It's all done when refilling olla.
Inspiring, thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great job I need you as a teacher!
Hi, thanks for this. I had never heard of these things till I stumbled into this TH-cam rabbit hole. Just a couple of questions. How did you determine when they needed to be refilled? I am guessing a dip stick or something. Were they enough to handle the watering or did you need supplemental watering? Also wondering how to know how many to place? I am thinking of putting them in between the rows of plants in my raised beds.
There are many variables. But the minimum from my observations found them watering 2 days when extremely hot, with the longest duration being 7 days or so. If the olla is shaded by your mature plants you will receive maximum duration, with the air temperature and humidity being the another factor. BTY, I am gearing up to use them again in a few weeks.
Finally, I also used one over the fall and winter that is currently in a 3 gallon nursery bucket's center surrounded by soil supporting the watering needs of 7 Asian spruce cuttings that I want to root. It's been four months now. I mention this because the duration of the olla is often 10 to 20 days, due to the much cooler weather.
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 thanks for replying. We recently moved from up North to the southeast zone 8 and this may be a way to keep things watered without it being a full time job lol. Cheers.
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 Thats impressive, and from what I saw from your video you weren't even using mulch. If you do that it could extend that period. What I would even do is water conventionally but deeply, letting the mulch keep the moisture in for days at a time with the ollas waiting idle to kick into action all on their own when the soil moisture dips enough to start the wicking action. You could even combine that with irrigation tubes to deliver the water deep down without wetting the surface at all, completely eliminating evaporation. Spend a couple minutes watering each bed if that for days of moisture, with the ease of simple pouring down a pipe or hole.
I intend on using your methods. Future raised beds are in our plans for next summer.
I added eight feet to this bed last year. Here's a short and unpublished video link, if you are interested.
th-cam.com/video/dl-oNpCP7NY/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for posting this video!!! This is making me so exciting!!!! We just bought a bunch of pots to do Ollas for some trees we bought for our grow zone!!
One guy recommended we let them dry out for a week or so to let the roots go more down. How do you feel about that?
I think that will be especially good for things tree that we do not want to break the Ollas.
I have experience with using ollas for plants, especially for vegetables. I would be excited using them on trees also.
If your grow zone has freezing soil in the winter, I would make plans not to use the ollas at all during that time.
In addition, if I were planting trees, I would research their root growing habits. What do they do? Is there a tap-root that grows straight down? Once I established how the roots of the tree grow, I would consider the placement of the ollas. I would try to imagine where the placement of the ollas would best be served, meaning do I place them two feet from the trunk of the sapling or do I place them at four feet?
Another question I would ask is the tree drought tolerant or does it require moist soil? If the soil requires moisture all the time, I would have to consider at what point would the fine roots locate the ollas and be able to drink the moisture contained in them? Next, I would think that the olla's size would have to increase to assist the tree, especially if it is not drought tolerant and likes to drink.
In my humble opinion, I would think four ollas per tree would enable the roots to grow properly. Given that a circle is 360 degrees, I would place each olla at 90 degrees on that circle once I established how the roots grow (If they are non-invasive and will not destroy my ollas, as there are some trees that are not planted around home foundations as well underground pipes because of their destructive nature.)
Finally, I have a video of making your own watering can that contains microtubing. I use them all the time on my unestablished saplings. I have ten of them and really see the benefit. I like them because they water slowly, deeply and makes it easy for me to know exactly how much water I am using on each sapling. th-cam.com/video/MgLZBscrEtU/w-d-xo.html
(The watering works very well for established plants as well.)
I've been using these for about 10 years now in Andalusia. I would suggest burying them a little deeper so not so much of the top is exposed and varnishing the upper 3/4 of an inch of the olla. This slows down evaporation. Also, you will need to soak the ollas in vinegar every couple of years or re-fire them or they will clog up with salts and become non-porous. Great technique for making them!
What is the water source that you use in to fill your Andalusian ollas? Aquifer, river, etc....
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 - Just tap water. 😃
Been using those same ollas for over three years now and have not had a water flow issue from mineralization yet. Water from different locations and sources has different calcification numbers ranging from low to very high, which is termed as "heavy water." My source of water is a lower medium or close to the middle in calcifying minerals. Those with "heavy water" might have the water source coming from an aquifer that contains high levels of limestone or gypsum; most people with this problem would have more issues with their home plumbing, from calcified pipes to the need to replace a water heater more often than normal. This heavy water would induce a much faster calcification of their ollas. Anyway, I know that somewhere down the line I will need to clean out my ollas. As vinegar was mentioned as a technique used to clean the olla, please elaborate on how you clean them out with vinegar. Is it a pure vinegar solution or diluted? Is it industrial or common household vinegar at about 5%? How long are they soaked?
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 - Yeah, where I live the water is very hard. I have to clean the pores out on the ollas every two years or so. Guess it depends where you live. Maybe if I used softened water to fill them that would help.
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 - Cleaning mineral deposits from ollas:
Over time, mineral deposits can accumulate inside ollas, clogging the pores and reducing their effectiveness. To remove mineral deposits from ollas, start by removing the olla from the soil and emptying any remaining water. Then, fill the olla with a solution of equal parts white vinegar and water, making sure to cover the top of the olla to prevent the solution from spilling out.
Allow the olla to sit for several hours, or overnight if possible, to allow the vinegar solution to dissolve the mineral deposits. After soaking, empty the vinegar solution and rinse the olla thoroughly with clean water. You may need to use a soft-bristled brush to gently scrub away any remaining mineral deposits. Once the olla is clean, allow it to dry completely before returning it to the soil.
Im going to try it out.
Awesomeness 👌 👏 👍 😍
Nice! Thank you!
Great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching!
thank you for sharing
Thank you for watching😇
What are you using to seal the hole? It looks like dome kind of cork.
Thanks for watching!
Rubber stoppers/corks: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y31V5YM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I've included a link to making the ollas: th-cam.com/video/e7xckIcdBDA/w-d-xo.html
I cannot wait o get started again. QUESTION: Where do you get the corks and do they come in multiple sizes for differnent size ollas?
I have the cork sized in the video's description.
Do you make bigger ollas for trees? There are two challenges which I am curious to know how you deal with:
1) How do you watch the water level inside it?
2) I may have some hard time finding the plugs you put on the top, let alone the correct size. What are possible sources? Is it effective to make your own plug out of the caulk or would this crumble after a while?
I have never used an olla on trees. I think one might help a sapling take root over a year. But knowing how some trees have powerful roots, I believe a fast-growing tree might break the pot.
Check water level by removing cork and looking inside. If it's too dark, use a small, dry stick to check level. Or you can poke your finger in the soil or use a soil moisture meter.
The corks are #3 in size. I purchased them on Amazon
Thinking I want todo one for my composting . A long tube type .
That sounds very interesting. If you do it, let me know if it was successful and the results it produced. Thanks for watching!
It also keeps the bugs out.
Have you considered putting a tube through those corks - to link up all the pots together and have them link to one big tub? so that you only have to fill a large water reservoir in order to water all the linked pots?
Interesting idea. Vegetable gardens last months and not years. I do not use them long term. When I use them to support a potted plant in a scorching part of my yard, I remove them once the plant is established with deeper roots. Your idea sounds great if see the need for your garden. Thanks for watching!
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 I live in a tropical climate with year round growing season. So i considered doing it with trees and with plants that are not perennials.
I live in Minnesota where clay pots crack or break during our cold winters. This is great but wouldn't work in my area of the country.
Sorry to hear that.
How about for seasonal vegetable gardens
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 Clay pots that have any moisture in their walls will crack because of the water freezing. It is not unusual to have Temps of -20 F. here. All pots would have to be dug up and dried out. I will try plastic soda bottles with holes in them.
Interesting tip about the cork on top slowing the water flow. I gather you can use that to increase or decrease the amount of water dispersed as needed. Like if it's really hot maybe only loosely cover it so the plants can get more water?
I haven't tried that technique. But it sure sounds interesting.
Where did you get the corks from? What size are they?
Amazon. Size #3. Here is the link: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y31V5YM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Do you think running some 1/4" irrigation line through the top cork to, say, a 5 gallon feeder water bucket, would work to replenish the water in each one/ all of them at the same time?
Sounds like a great idea!
What size pots would I use for a container garden
What about using fish emulsion in ollas every now and then to fertilize the plants?
I have not tried it. Do you think the fertilizer would successfully permeate the walls of the pot?
As the ollas get shaded by the plants, does the water last longer, needing fewer refills?
Yes.
Do you have hardware cloth under your raised bed? Our yard (and our neighbors next door at least for two houses over) has moles.I have two bins with worms so I can get worm castings. I keep the two bins in my laundry room bc I’m afraid the moles will get in my raised bed. I’m also worried about my garden too. In addition, I am fighting fire ants & piss ants. I can’t add Spectricide in my garden bc it is 98% vegetables, tho I do have some herbs & flowers to help entice bees. I do have drip line irrigation in all but my raised bed this year. I’ve considered ollas. I really hoped I’d be able to throw & fire my own terracotta planters. Sadly, I haven’t been able to afford a pottery kiln.
I’d like to keep the raised bed (4’ x 8’ x 12”) watered this way; however I’m also fighting fire ants in it. Any pearls of wisdom? I’d love to add an earthworm bin to the raised bed. I’m afraid the moles would see it as an all you can destroy buffet.
I did add wire mesh under that bed. No digging critters. However, a year ago I had to add a frame above the box on which I hung plastic netting as I was being significantly raided by critters that go boo in the night (The top of the framing also doubled as a roof to support a shade cloth for the summer). Even with plastic netting, this year my winter crop in that bed was raided and all of my radishes, cauliflower were destroyed or devoured. I was left with one kale, and for some mysterious reason my carrots were left alone. I was able to get a good harvest from my carrots last week. It was a very discouraging moment. As a result, I built a total critter-proof 8x8x8 foot tall enclosed vegetable garden structure, using 2x3x8 lumber and 1/2 inch wire mesh. It has three beds. Just finished planting the enclosure last week with a variety of cucumbers and tomatoes. Yes. I still have my other bed laced with ollas that is now encircled with plastic netting, which I may convert to wire if I am raided as badly as my winter vegetable garden was. By the way, I am still using the original ollas that appear in this video.
I believe there is wisdom in knowing that we gardeners will never know everything about what we are doing. We'll read books written by master gardeners. We'll try our best to comprehend types of soils and microbial activities, all the while trying to find what we might believe are the best nutrients for our plants, and how to deal with unwanted disease and pests. And finally, we do the best job we can given our resources. We know in the end that in our successes we will have food, flowers and trees that make us feel at one with ourselves and our natural world.
What do you use to cover your ollas is it soda pop tops? Good ideas I will be doing this so I don’t have to rely on my daughter to water my plants 👍👍👩🌾♥️
th-cam.com/video/e7xckIcdBDA/w-d-xo.html
I am not sure if you've seen the part one version of "Making Ollas," so I've included a link.
Have a great day!
What type of feed do you use 🤔
In the other video you said you make your own garden soil. What do you use in your raised beds?
I make about 40 cubic feet of my own soil every year. I am currently working on making humus--maybe 15-20 cubic feet of it. There are times when I run out of it. When I do I turn to established and commercially available two-cubic-feet bags of soil. I am including a link to how I fill my raised garden beds with this video link being an example. A viewer named Rhea commented on this video that what I was doing is “Hugelkulture,” which I found extremely interesting.
th-cam.com/video/oBpE-IkItUA/w-d-xo.html
To start when the plants aren't shading the Olla If you covered over the tops of the Ollas with plastic would that help the water last longer in the heat?
Sounds like an interesting idea.
Last winter I constructed a bamboo frame around my garden bed that rises 6 feet high. It supports a 40% shade cloth. It is basically filtering 40% of the sun's rays. The way it is set up allows the early morning sun to hit the plants. At about high noon to around 4 pm my plants and soil receive about forty percent less of the intense sun. I am including a link to "Update on My Palm Trees" as it appears briefly in the video at around ten seconds, if you are interested th-cam.com/video/aRsRvzL9Y3Q/w-d-xo.html
So you could put nutrients in the water in the pot…so how often did you need to refill the water…and was this your only watering source for the plants and flowers? (Other than rain)
I have not tried using nutrients inside the pots. Two possible concerns: 1. The terra cotta filters out the nutrients. 2. It prematurely clogs the porous nature of the pot.
As with conventional watering, the gardener needs to monitor the soil for moisture since temperatures and humidity are always changing.
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 that makes sense …that the nutrients would plug the pores…hard water would do that too…thank you for following up.
Really nice looking garden Tom. We were wondering why you didn't use a tomato cage for your tomato plant.
Thanks, the garden is very productive. Regarding the tomato plant, it is in a wire cage that is not circular. I suppose it doesn't show up too well in the video.
Isn't it a pain in the butt to fill those ollas with water every 2 - 3 days? Especially when the big plants grow over them??
Do you use a hose? A watering can?
Not too much of a bother. The microenvironment of this particular area in my yard requires extra attention to keep young plants or seasonal plants healthy. It's a worthwhile effort. I do not use them anywhere else but here. There is about 12 hours exposure to a merciless sun. If the plants lack water in that area, they suffer, weaken, and can become susceptible to other problems that are more time consuming.
What do you use to plug the hole at the top of the Olla?
It's a cork. Link is in the description.
How do you store ojjlas in winter? Remove or leave?😊
The ones used for the vegetable growing season use, as shown in the video, I remove them and put them away until the spring. The few I have in "hot spots" to assist my perennials, as shown in the video, I leave them in. The soil does not freeze in my zone.
That homemade olla with the plastic top that you showed but never talked about it. That looks like concrete around it. Is it?????????
Yes. It's mortar. I have a link to making all those ollas in this video's description.
Thanks for watching!
Where do you get the corks and what size are they?
Size #3. I purchased mine from Amazon
Why keep the ollas so high, my research shows ppl place further underground for best water 💦 evaporation?😊😮
Interesting. Was that research based on trees (deep roots) or vegetables (generally speaking shallow roots)?
Can you zoom in more to the thermometer and moister meter ? Hard to see
This is a technical question that will assist me in camera placement:
What size monitor did you view view it on?
What size cork fit in those holes?
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y31V5YM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
where did you get your corks?
Link is in the description
what is that thing that you are using to cover the holes of the ollas?
A #3 cork
@@doityourselferhomeandgarde9732 Thank you! I really appreciate your video, thank you for sharing =)
Nice. How come you leave so much of the olla uncovered ... looks like around 2”?
For Easy access to watering with hose; when shaded by plants, water trickles down the sides and into the soil. But given your conditions and techniques, positioning it level with the soil is definitely good.
I buried mine level with the ground and the lid got covered with water when I watered the ground around it. I had to grab it and pull it out.
What salad do you make from zucchini?
I sliced them thin and circular like a standard cucumber for a salad, put them in a bowl, and poured a vinegar and olive oil mix on them.
What do you use to cork the olla?
Solid rubber stoppers that are sized #3
Do you compost?
Yes.