This Ancient Watering Technique will Save Your Plants

Wonderful video Ben! I used a wine 🍷 cork to plug the hole in my clay pot olla, and then the clay saucer with some flat stones in it for the lid. I watch the birds come sip from the saucers after I water, and the bees use the rocks so they can drink too 🐝

I'm in a warm dry climate that is disposed to 10 year long droughts. I always had trouble watering correctly until this past year when I learned about the ollas and terracotta spikes. I'm having a wonderful harvest this year.

I've been using ollas for 3 years now. I love them! We've had harsh sun and drought. The ollas help get water to the roots with much less evaporation. I have some bulbs, but also use the terracotta stakes. I put one stake between each of my pepper plants and just fill each with a watering can. I do the same with my tomatoes. I use the flower pots in my large raised beds where I have greens. I think it gives more coverage for the many smaller plants. I don't use glass bottles because they heat up too much in our hot sun. Ollas and shade cloth have saved my garden in our 90-100° temps with intense sun.

don't seal the drainage hole, glue the saucer to the top of the pot, bury it upside down, use the drainage hole to refill the res

I use old unglazed terracotta wine coolers, they are a reasonable size, cheaper than Olla pots and less faff than making your own! I cover them with a small saucer filled with pebbles that collects a small amount of water when it rains to create a watering spot for bees, butterflies etc.

I like that you disgust something ancient being incorporated into current gardening. I have tried ollas, watering spikes, terracotta pots and other similar items. I always find them to be more inconvenient than useful. They get in the way when reading, you have to work around them when mulching, you have to remove them when harvesting or planting, and overall it is more time-consuming to refill all of them on a weekly basis than to simply have a proper watering method instituted. I myself like soaker hoses or drip irrigation hoses that are on a timer to run at the interval I choose based on the weather at the time. Using these underground watering methods also takes away the option to apply a liquid fish fertilizer or liquid comfrey tea to the plants which is best done via foliar feeding. All in all it's just more things to have to put in the garden early in the season, take out and store over the winter and work around every time something needs to be mulched, harvested, relocated etc. That has been my experience over the past 51 years anyway.

There's a reason terra cotta pots were so prolific, not only are they good at what they do, they are easy to make and if you can avoid cracking them they last a long time. And if you do crack them, you can use them in the bottom of other pots to help contain moisture and leave room for air. Also, they really are a lovely addition to your garden, your yard, your porch or anywhere!

Small ollas with bottles is brilliant! Ty

Helpful for me when we're away for a few days. Thank you!

Great video! I really like how you broke it down to really cover so many points!!

I found unglazed terracotta pot for baking, so it has no drainage hole. It is cheaper too compared to the terracotta spike. I can't find bottle shaped olla anywhere here. Thanks for the fertilizer tip

Pure wisdom. Thanks for sharing ❤

I've been waiting for you to cover ollas

Thank you, Ben as always for explaining the logistics behind how things work. This empowers your audience which is why we love you as a teacher!!❤

I caught the olla bug recently, installed a few on the fly but now with your superb advice, I feel really informed. You answered all my questions ! Thank you !!

As someone who lives in the high desert, ollas and watering spikes are an absolute life saver. They also make watering spikes with a cap and long rubber tube, where the tube is put into a water reservoir. These are nice for indoor plants (I think the rubber would disintegrate if left out in the elements) and you don't need a bunch of wine bottles, as any shape container will do and you can put multiple tubes into one container.

I discovered oyas (or ollas, depending on where you are) this year and made 6 for large containers in the garden. The terracotta pots had been in the potting shed for years so it cost me nothing. They really helped and made watering less of a chore.

Have used hand-made ollas for years. Ideal for between the rows of runner beans.

I needed this. I live in the south, so I have 80-90 degree days in the summer

I like the bottle holders for pots. You mentioned all the points—cover water to prevent mosquitoes and lifting them before winter. I know clay pots crumble here in winter. Lol, I would probably forget about the small neck Ollas and break them off.