Ollas

Back in March we made some DIY ollas. These were made from 4" unglazed terra-cotta flower pots. We plugged the bottom holes with silicone. We glued the pots together with Guerrilla Glue and when that was dry we siliconed over the seam. I then filled them with water to test them out. The water weeps through the pores of the terra-cotta slowly. I burried my ollas in the middle of my planters leaving just the top hole exposed. I planted ornamental sweet potato vines and mint. I found the water evaporated out the tops of the ollas so I bought terra-cotta saucers to act as lids. More than a month has gone by and I love how these work. I take the lids off each morning and fill the ollas with water. I replace the lids and fill them with water. The roots of my plants are slowly watered all day. The plants have all doubled in size.

Above is a photo of my ornamental sweet potato/mint combination plants in cement planters

You can see the capped olla in the middle of the planter.

Here is a photo of the uncapped olla. I fill it each morning with about 1/2 a gallon of water.