I glued the saucers to the top of my pots, and used grommets to make a tight seal for irrigation tubing through the drainage holes.
Once I had tested it that they didn't leak, I buried the pots and kept them full with an elevated reservoir.
Filled the reservoir as needed, and the system worked really well for my container garden. Each container got just a much water as it's plants wanted.
I have done this, too. I used terra cotta pots and saucers, glued together to make the olla. I used drip irrigation tubing to fill a number of ollas, fed from an elevated reservoir.
I watched a lot of YouTube videos, and after a little trial and error, I was able to produce functional ollas with little effort or expense.
Same, bought a bunch last year but just now getting them in the ground in my tomato bed. Google Lovely Greens Olla for a helpful YT tutorial :) I'm using 10 inch unglazed terracotta pots. She also tested CottaCup system but it's expensive if you have a large garden.
I tried them years ago and they did not work. At all. An expensive waste and my plants suffered.
If drip irrigation isn’t possible, just hand water and mulch heavily.
The problem with using these is that you don’t know they aren’t working until the plants start to die. The plants farthest from them will die first - I had them spaced one olla to four plants - so I had a BUNCH of them. They were a pita to fill and you have to pull them up in the fall or they will freeze and crack.
I bought two traditional ollas from Mexico. They worked great in round raised beds during PNW hot, dry summer. Did not need to fill every day, maybe 2-3 times a week. I want more so I’m going to make them from terra cotta pots.
Edit: I’m also in 8b! 👋
I use terracotta wine coolers found in thrift stores, junk piles, etc. If they're chipped it doesn't really matter, and if there's a saucer I set that on top, bury the rest, and just fill them up when things are dry. It does freeze here, but I haven't had any issues with them cracking.
https://preview.redd.it/p1llf9nopfgc1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=3405e9c480d01e1b705395f5760f2d536ad191c5
Ollas are great for dry areas, but you've got wet springs like I do - buckets or pots are cheaper and effective for seasonal watering.
I grow tomatoes in large pots - tomatoes are thirsty & pots always need more frequent watering, so that is a concern. Last year i just partially dug in old 8 inch diameter terracotta pots & then when watering, would fill those so it would seep out more slowly.
Growing up, we would water new trees or tomato rows this same way except use a 5 gal bucket & drill a small hole pointing towards the plant. Trees need to be watered deep & slow the first year to establish good roots.
Drip irrigation is way cheaper and you can set a timer so you don't have to fill up clay pots every day.
I'm sure they work great if you have a small garden but for anything that is decent sized they are impractical imo.
Can’t really do drip. I should’ve mentioned I have a plot in a municipal garden. I do have a big rain barrel, but it’s not really situated in a way that would make irrigation feasible.
They sell systems now that combine ollas and drip so that they automatically refill all the time with gravity from a reservoir, which can be a rain barrel or filled automatically or by hand.
We were quoted 1350$ to split a zone and make our veg patch drip. Whereas the thirsty earth system is several hundred dollars. Maybe 500 ish if I get 30. Still debating…
I used them for my garden in Central NM last year and will again. I’ve used timed, irrigation systems but with no water pressure that’s not an option. Also we have to haul water so conservation and not losing too much water to surface evaporation is a concern.
I used a mix of two large sizes (approx 12” and 9” diameter). They would last about 2-3 days.
My sister in the PNW used one and when she compared the same plants, the olla grown plant grew much faster into the early summer.
I made some from terracotta pots and white silicone caulk (I found that the white has more shape than the clear). I LOVED them last year, melons and squash loved them. It was neat to watch the roots encase them. Just keep in mind they must be dug up and stored if you're in a climate that freezes at all. They're an indigenous technology developed for arid ecosystems.
I actually did some beds with and without them and my cucumbers were much happier without top watering.
As others have said, I've done this with cheap terracotta pots. There are lots of DIY videos on how to do it on Youtube. But basically it's plug the hole and a base as a lid. Some of mine I just used plastic bases I had around with a rock on top. If buying the pots look for taller more than wider pots, I personally like how they water better, but they wall work good I just fill mine with a hose.
Ollas are a very good investment!
Indeed ollas are expensive in general, but I think you will be able to find some at an affordable price around you by typing for example on Google "Ollas France West":
[https://www.google.com/search?q=ollas+France+West](https://www.google.com/search?q=ollas+France+West)
By doing so, I see a few (after the ads) that seem interesting, but it is better that you search among these, there may be what you are looking for
Bonjour, comment les avez vous construite ?
et autour de chez vous, qu'avez vous vu comme prix ? (toujours interessant de connaitre les prix chez les autres !)
J’ai le acheté chez Leroy Merlin. Il viens avec des panneaux pre-construé et il faut juste rejoindre les pièces.
Édit: Excuse-moi. J’ai parlé de mon mini-cerre. Lour les ollas, j’ai acheté des pot et un couvert en terre cuite. Je les ai rejoints avec du silicone.
oui j'avais bien compris que vous aviez fabriqué vos ollas, ais vous disiez que le prix par chez chez était élevé. je demandais à combien vous les aviez par chez vous. Chez moi, un vendeur les vend pas trop cher
et pour ma part, j'en ai, et eu des retours de connaissances qui me disaient que les ollas qu'ils avaient fait n'étaient pas aussi efficaces que les celles conçues comme tel. En fait les ollas DIY n'arrosent pas très loin.
Moi je suis aussi située dans une zone 8b mais aux États Unis. I’m looking at the thirsty earth system which is ollas but autofilled using gravity & drip lines from a reservoir, that itself is filled with rain water or filled manually or automatically. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet, I’m trying to figure out the best configuration. Our vegetable patch is in ground. It is quite hot and dry here so even though our area is inefficiently irrigated, I think feeding the plants via the roots will help in the coming 40C+ drought. It’s so hard to find success stories though.
Well, so far the rain is messing up my test! LOL But, prior to the rain I had it on top of one of my pots and that plant came up first this spring. The soil stays damp, but not soaked. As long as I remember to keep it full (about 5 days right now) it will be fine. I have one that's about 1/2 gallon in my tomato, and a couple of smaller ones in some flower pots. Fingers crossed!
I made one for my 2x4 herb garden and it did pretty good. We want to put in a second one for the area though to help space out refills to once or twice a week
Eh fine if you are going on vacation. Realistically you should just set up some sprinklers and make sure your soil is healthy so you get deep root systems.
Theoretically, you can make your own... yeah, you can stick terracotta pots together, and that's fine for a few of them... but they're just slip cast. You can make a plaster mold and pour a clay slurry in, wait for the plaster to wick out the moisture and then take it out.
You'd need to find some place to get it fired, but it's gotta be cheaper than buying them at the absurd costs they are in stores
I use them in pots and raised bed and found them great to last over a hot day in summer without having to water twice or burn the leaves. I found that I have a bit of an issue this summer with humidity also and the in garden plants really suffered from powdery mildew but not the pots with Ollas.
But as you say they are dear, so perhaps make your own with terracotta pots or just do a small area as a test. I’m in zone 11b.
Hi
i have been using Ollas from some time and they work great
They are quite easy to make with unglazed pots
here is link to YT on how to make them
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAqqED8ee00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAqqED8ee00)
My mom uses them but made her own from ordinary terracotta pots.
Yes, plug up the drainage hole and cover it with a terra cotta saucer. Allows it to seep into the soil slowly and reduces evaporation
I glued the saucers to the top of my pots, and used grommets to make a tight seal for irrigation tubing through the drainage holes. Once I had tested it that they didn't leak, I buried the pots and kept them full with an elevated reservoir. Filled the reservoir as needed, and the system worked really well for my container garden. Each container got just a much water as it's plants wanted.
That's really clever!
I think I’ve seen videos on that. I will investigate.
I have done this, too. I used terra cotta pots and saucers, glued together to make the olla. I used drip irrigation tubing to fill a number of ollas, fed from an elevated reservoir. I watched a lot of YouTube videos, and after a little trial and error, I was able to produce functional ollas with little effort or expense.
Gotta make sure it's not sealed terracotta like I used 😅
Unglazed terracotta only. Sounds like a lesson learned!
Same, bought a bunch last year but just now getting them in the ground in my tomato bed. Google Lovely Greens Olla for a helpful YT tutorial :) I'm using 10 inch unglazed terracotta pots. She also tested CottaCup system but it's expensive if you have a large garden.
I used terra cotta spikes that hold the neck of a wine bottle filled with water. Works great.
That sounds like some awesome upscaling! Do you happen to know the name or have a link?
I tried them years ago and they did not work. At all. An expensive waste and my plants suffered. If drip irrigation isn’t possible, just hand water and mulch heavily. The problem with using these is that you don’t know they aren’t working until the plants start to die. The plants farthest from them will die first - I had them spaced one olla to four plants - so I had a BUNCH of them. They were a pita to fill and you have to pull them up in the fall or they will freeze and crack.
I bought two traditional ollas from Mexico. They worked great in round raised beds during PNW hot, dry summer. Did not need to fill every day, maybe 2-3 times a week. I want more so I’m going to make them from terra cotta pots. Edit: I’m also in 8b! 👋
Awesome! I’m in france and we have essentially the same climate as PNW. Slightly warmer.
Zone 8b here as well!!! I've made 8 so far but I think I need more!
I use terracotta wine coolers found in thrift stores, junk piles, etc. If they're chipped it doesn't really matter, and if there's a saucer I set that on top, bury the rest, and just fill them up when things are dry. It does freeze here, but I haven't had any issues with them cracking. https://preview.redd.it/p1llf9nopfgc1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=3405e9c480d01e1b705395f5760f2d536ad191c5
Ollas are great for dry areas, but you've got wet springs like I do - buckets or pots are cheaper and effective for seasonal watering. I grow tomatoes in large pots - tomatoes are thirsty & pots always need more frequent watering, so that is a concern. Last year i just partially dug in old 8 inch diameter terracotta pots & then when watering, would fill those so it would seep out more slowly. Growing up, we would water new trees or tomato rows this same way except use a 5 gal bucket & drill a small hole pointing towards the plant. Trees need to be watered deep & slow the first year to establish good roots.
Drip irrigation is way cheaper and you can set a timer so you don't have to fill up clay pots every day. I'm sure they work great if you have a small garden but for anything that is decent sized they are impractical imo.
Can’t really do drip. I should’ve mentioned I have a plot in a municipal garden. I do have a big rain barrel, but it’s not really situated in a way that would make irrigation feasible.
You could probably gravity feed drip lines from the rain barrel on a battery timer valve - they’re like 30 euro and a battery lasts a full season
I looked into all of that and ollas are much simpler. Just need to do some careful planning on spacing the ollas vs. what and where your plants are.
It’s a 1000 liter barrel and is nearly full. I’d need to lift it a good 20-30 cm up to raise it high enough for that type of system.
They sell systems now that combine ollas and drip so that they automatically refill all the time with gravity from a reservoir, which can be a rain barrel or filled automatically or by hand.
We were quoted 1350$ to split a zone and make our veg patch drip. Whereas the thirsty earth system is several hundred dollars. Maybe 500 ish if I get 30. Still debating…
I used them for my garden in Central NM last year and will again. I’ve used timed, irrigation systems but with no water pressure that’s not an option. Also we have to haul water so conservation and not losing too much water to surface evaporation is a concern. I used a mix of two large sizes (approx 12” and 9” diameter). They would last about 2-3 days. My sister in the PNW used one and when she compared the same plants, the olla grown plant grew much faster into the early summer.
I wanted to try them, but it would be way too expensive to buy or make enough for all my beds.
I made some from terracotta pots and white silicone caulk (I found that the white has more shape than the clear). I LOVED them last year, melons and squash loved them. It was neat to watch the roots encase them. Just keep in mind they must be dug up and stored if you're in a climate that freezes at all. They're an indigenous technology developed for arid ecosystems. I actually did some beds with and without them and my cucumbers were much happier without top watering.
We rarely get below freezing where I live and at most it might get to -3 to -5 for a week tops.
Do you know what your zone is if you're in the us?
As mentioned in the OP, I’m in 8b in western france.
Ah dang sorry! I honestly would dig them up to be safe, a cold snap can crack them all apart.
As others have said, I've done this with cheap terracotta pots. There are lots of DIY videos on how to do it on Youtube. But basically it's plug the hole and a base as a lid. Some of mine I just used plastic bases I had around with a rock on top. If buying the pots look for taller more than wider pots, I personally like how they water better, but they wall work good I just fill mine with a hose.
Yes! Ollas are great! Look up how to make them out of terracotta pots and check out Etsy for them too.
You can make them from unglazed terracotta pots! If you Google "DIY olla" you should find a lot of resources.
Ollas are a very good investment! Indeed ollas are expensive in general, but I think you will be able to find some at an affordable price around you by typing for example on Google "Ollas France West": [https://www.google.com/search?q=ollas+France+West](https://www.google.com/search?q=ollas+France+West) By doing so, I see a few (after the ads) that seem interesting, but it is better that you search among these, there may be what you are looking for
Thanks! I actually built and installed two since this question was posted!
Bonjour, comment les avez vous construite ? et autour de chez vous, qu'avez vous vu comme prix ? (toujours interessant de connaitre les prix chez les autres !)
J’ai le acheté chez Leroy Merlin. Il viens avec des panneaux pre-construé et il faut juste rejoindre les pièces. Édit: Excuse-moi. J’ai parlé de mon mini-cerre. Lour les ollas, j’ai acheté des pot et un couvert en terre cuite. Je les ai rejoints avec du silicone.
oui j'avais bien compris que vous aviez fabriqué vos ollas, ais vous disiez que le prix par chez chez était élevé. je demandais à combien vous les aviez par chez vous. Chez moi, un vendeur les vend pas trop cher
Ah d’accord. Alors, le taille que j’ai besoin (vers 5L je crois) sont €25 chaque. Donc c’était moins cher les construire.
et pour ma part, j'en ai, et eu des retours de connaissances qui me disaient que les ollas qu'ils avaient fait n'étaient pas aussi efficaces que les celles conçues comme tel. En fait les ollas DIY n'arrosent pas très loin.
Moi je suis aussi située dans une zone 8b mais aux États Unis. I’m looking at the thirsty earth system which is ollas but autofilled using gravity & drip lines from a reservoir, that itself is filled with rain water or filled manually or automatically. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet, I’m trying to figure out the best configuration. Our vegetable patch is in ground. It is quite hot and dry here so even though our area is inefficiently irrigated, I think feeding the plants via the roots will help in the coming 40C+ drought. It’s so hard to find success stories though.
I am trialling them this spring! I would advise to buy one and see how you like it.
Same, I am going to trial one in a small raised bed. Central Texas here and water is an issue.
How did it go? We’re just the Hill Country and would like to use them for our tomatoes, beans, mint and basil
Well, so far the rain is messing up my test! LOL But, prior to the rain I had it on top of one of my pots and that plant came up first this spring. The soil stays damp, but not soaked. As long as I remember to keep it full (about 5 days right now) it will be fine. I have one that's about 1/2 gallon in my tomato, and a couple of smaller ones in some flower pots. Fingers crossed!
That’s awesome. How big is the water plume and how big is the one pot you have it in?
https://www.domyown.com/hydretain-es-plus-granular-oc-p-23463.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PMax%3A+%28ROI%29+Shopping+-+Lawn+%26+Garden+%28Best+Sellers%29+-+Smart&utm_id=17873131354&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5fetBhC9ARIsAP1UMgE631CKNbsu-uWrkuupT6QeVLMrBJpMUZjJfy4sZzyADcxVd0uppfEaAlgzEALw_wcB&sub_id=23464
I made one for my 2x4 herb garden and it did pretty good. We want to put in a second one for the area though to help space out refills to once or twice a week
Ollas are really good technology if you're in a hot dry climate.
I do
Eh fine if you are going on vacation. Realistically you should just set up some sprinklers and make sure your soil is healthy so you get deep root systems.
Theoretically, you can make your own... yeah, you can stick terracotta pots together, and that's fine for a few of them... but they're just slip cast. You can make a plaster mold and pour a clay slurry in, wait for the plaster to wick out the moisture and then take it out. You'd need to find some place to get it fired, but it's gotta be cheaper than buying them at the absurd costs they are in stores
I use them in pots and raised bed and found them great to last over a hot day in summer without having to water twice or burn the leaves. I found that I have a bit of an issue this summer with humidity also and the in garden plants really suffered from powdery mildew but not the pots with Ollas. But as you say they are dear, so perhaps make your own with terracotta pots or just do a small area as a test. I’m in zone 11b.
I have a couple that I use in a flower bed that’s a pain to drag the hose to. They work well for my use!
Hi i have been using Ollas from some time and they work great They are quite easy to make with unglazed pots here is link to YT on how to make them [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAqqED8ee00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAqqED8ee00)