April 18, 2021

Ollas Revisited

We're having an early summer April; one where many days already pop up into the lower 80sF (upper 20sC). A week of hot days like that with no rain remind me of how quickly things dry out. So one of my April gardening projects is to install more ollas. 

Potted tree collard with olla.

I first blogged about ollas last summer (Conserving Water in the Garden: The Olla). It's an idea I found in a book that I really like, Gardening with Less Water: Low-Tech, Low-Cost Techniques; Use up to 90% Less Water in Your Garden by David A. Bainbridge. A simple olla (oy' ya) can be made by plugging the hole in a terra cotta pot, sinking it in a garden bed, and keeping it filled with water. Water gradually wicks out and does a great job of keeping things from wilting. For my potted tree collard (above), I decided to try a different design.


I took two pots, plugged the hole in the bottom of one, then inverted the other and glued it as a top half to the olla. When I transplanted my tree collard, I put both it and the new olla into a larger pot. The olla is sunk so that only the top shows. An inverted terra cotter saucer serves as a lid to keep mosquitoes out.

The crimson clover & vetch are nitrogen-fixing volunteers.

It's narrower, so it fits better in the large pot, but holds more water than a single.

Easy to add water.

Next up is a several more for the raised beds in my hoop house.


Those raised beds tend to dry out quickly in hot weather, so hopefully these will help. 

How about you? Is your weather nice enough to work in your garden?

Ollas Revisited © April 2021 by Leigh

21 comments:

tpals said...

Hahaha. No. We've got snow forecast. But, that double pot is a great idea and something I can make while waiting for spring. :)

Leigh said...

Tpals, I transplanted my tomato seedlings because the weather has been so warm! Now it's dropped back into seasonal range, and this morning I see they're forecasting 30s for next weekend. Hopefully, I haven't jumped the gun!

daisy g said...

This would be great for my strawberry pot, as it is not hooked up to the drip system. Now to find some pots at the thrift store! Thanks for this fabulous solution!

Most of our crops are planted and we are working on expanding the garden to include an asparagus bed and a blueberry patch. No rain in the foreseeable future so I am grateful for the drip system.

Enjoy the glory of spring!

Nina said...

Once a year we go visit one of our sons for a week since his family lives several states from us and an ollas just might help some of those plants I always worry about - now, if I could find something to automatically fill my hummingbird feeders! LOL!! It's a fairly normal Spring here, fluctuating in temps. Potatoes, onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, beets and carrots are in. I figure next week I will finally be able to uncover some of the more tender perennials in my herb garden that are stretching their necks toward the sun and perhaps be able to finally plant some squash seed in the veggie garden. Did I dare to say squash? My bad. TeeHee!

Cockeyed Jo said...

Almost put out our tomatoes but saw this cooler stretch of nights and days. So easy to get caught up in these kind of weather patterns.

Leigh said...

Daisy, just make sure you use unglazed terra cotta pots! I've had trouble finding them because everything seems to be plastic nowadays. I think the ollas will work great for large containers.

Nina, you need more hummingbird feeders! Which reminds me that I need to fill mine. April is the month they usually start showing up.

Do you simply cover your tenders with mulch? Or use cloches? The cloches are something I just learned about.

Jo, beautiful weather is a hypnotic gardening lure, isn't it?! I did put out my tomatoes, but I'm at a lower elevation than you, so hopefully I won't be regretting it.

Renee Nefe said...

we still have snow.

Ed said...

We worked our garden and planted a few things that like cold mornings but we are expecting snow in two days so are delaying the planting of warmer weather stuff.

Nina said...

Leigh, my tender herb perennials are thoroughly covered with loads of leaves. My garden is back in the middle of the trees and nearly has a climate all of its own. I consider purple sage, salad burnet, rosemary, pineapple sage, astragalus and lemon verbena as tender perennials here where I live. I cover the sage and rosemary with pots during the coldest times and so far I've been able to save most of them. Lemon verbena is iffy this year as well as the pineapple sage but I've got 3 plants of each coming through the mail. To be honest, generally, most of the herbs I use are pretty hardy. I just can't fool with a lot of fussy ones. Too much to do.

Leigh said...

Renee, and I'm guessing more is coming!

Ed, I'm guessing your last frost isn't until sometime in May(?) It's very easy to jump the gun down here, though mostly I tend to be cautious. One never knows!

Nina, I did the same with my Swiss chard over winter and notice it's survived. It will probably go to seed, but it's nice to see it. Sounds like you have an excellent feel for the lay of your land and your garden's needs.

Toirdhealbheach Beucail said...

Leigh, you read my mind (or maybe my climate zone): I got home about an hour ago from getting some clay pots to give it a go this year. I still have to grab some stoppers (luckily, a home brew store is within driving range) and hope to have everything ready for insertion later this week.

Leigh said...

TB, that's great! Now is really the time to be thinking about water conservation strategies and getting them in place. We actually could use a good rain now, so it's not a moment too soon.

wyomingheart said...

Absolutely gorgeous here, Leigh! We are getting rain tonight, but the temps are just beautiful! I have been sitting on the tractor a lot , which makes for long days....but the garden is all in, so it’s all good!, Great post today, and I may need to revisit this because I have some flower beds that need a little help! Thanks and get a good week!

Ed said...

Actually our average last frost is supposed to have occurred in mid April. But about half the time (and why it is an average), we can get them as late as the end of April. What seems to get us is the number of years we get warm weather early as in mid march. Those seem to be increasing with global warming and so we get lulled into the possibility that we won't get another frost but eventually get bit, pun intended.

Leigh said...

Wyomingheart, congratulations on getting your garden in! I'm still working on mine. We could really use some of that rain here.

Ed, my experience has been the same. Always wary about an odd late frost, though.

Cederq said...

Leigh, will the Ollas work with all plants? I think a great idea and will use it this spring in my containers. Will bigger Ollas work also with putting them together and supply enough water by wicking out?
Kevin

Leigh said...

Kevin, as far as I know, they will. The book I mention says that the roots of the plants actually grow toward and wrap around the olla. I don't have enough experience to know exactly how large an area any given size of olla will keep hydrated. You could definitely put some together. I think it would be a great experiment.

Cederq said...

Leigh,
I think doing that as an experiment is a dandy idea and will do it and post to you the results.

Leigh said...

Kevin, we've learned to call everything an experiment around here. Makes it less frustrating when it doesn't work out as planned, LOL. I'll be very interested in how this works for you and what you think of it!

Chris said...

I see you have a love of terracotta pots too! I'm a recent convert, but they have wonderful porous properties, many plants can take advantage of. So long as direct sun is kept of them. Otherwise they can cook the roots! I love your experiment here though. I will keep it in mind for some of the new raised beds I'm putting in.

Leigh said...

Chris, I've been experimenting more with container gardening the past couple of years. Yes, in our hot climate they are difficult to keep hydrated. The ollas help! I'm getting ready to put together two wicking pots and am anxious to see how well they work.