I’m the first to admit, I’m a massive bit of a nerd. I love my technology.
But sometimes, low-tech solutions deliver the most elegant, beautiful solution to a problem.
One of the biggest problems in my garden is water.
Summers are brutal here in Perth. Water is scarce, so we have water restrictions.
I can’t afford the $5000 or so for a bore, or equivalent for a greywater system right now. Retrofitting water tanks to this house would also be $$$, I collect as much of the rainfall as I can, but it’s gone all too soon.
Even the most sophisticated, drip reticulation system can only be switched on twice or thrice a week. And if we get a total sprinkler ban (it happens), then reticulation becomes completely redundant and we are only allowed to water by hand using a hose or watering can.
An ancient water-wise solution.
Luckily for me, farmers have been facing very low rainfall, average soils and warm climates for millennia. And a few years ago, I found Urban Homestead. The Durvaes family have been using ollas in their raised beds in their Pasadena, California garden for many years, with great success. Their plants thrive and their water use is minimal. It was the first time I had ever encountered ollas and I was immediately smitten. Ollas are an ancient form of irrigation, used for over 4000 years.
Traditionally, ollas are rounded terracotta vessels with a narrow neck. They are submerged into the soil, with just the neck protruding. Once filled with water, the olla seeps water into the surrounding soil, directly to the roots, right where it is needed. Obviously, no water is lost to runoff or evaporation.
Ollas are easy to move!
You can use ollas in large pots and the garden bed. I rotate my beds around, so the ollas can be moved easily enough too.
Plus, ollas are perfect if you are renting. You can dig them up and take them with you.
Great idea right?
Indeed yes!
But, Ollas are EXPENSIVE.
Getting traditional ollas shipped from the US equated to about $100 an olla!
Ouch!
For a while, I couldn’t find them in Australia. But a quick Google search for “ollas + Australia” will produce a few results for suppliers in Australia.
Again, ouch! While much cheaper than the US sites, Aussie-ollas are still pricy. I wouldn’t get much change from $200.00 to get a dozen ollas delivered to my door.
A DIY Economical Olla
Fortunately, a much simpler solution showed up in my Pinterest feed. It’s one of those things that when you look at it, you feel instantly silly for not thinking of it yourself sooner.
Homemade ollas using terracotta pots!
When I finally had the time to make them, I found the perfect pot size, on sale for just $1.00 each. Woohoo!
So for the much more budget-friendly price of $24.00 I made myself a dozen ollas. That’s $2.00 each!
Here’s how I made my ollas…
How to Make Awesome Two-Dollar Ollas
You will need
- Two equal sized unglazed terracotta pots.
- One tube of weatherproof silicone sealer*.
- Optional: old pieces of pipe or hose to fit the drainage hole of the pot.
*I made twelve large ollas and three smallish ones. One tube of silicone sealer was enough to do the lot, with some to spare. I also used a food-safe grade silicone, the kind used for water tanks and indoor plumbing.
Process
- I set up a production line on a tarpaulin.
2. I sealed the drainage hole in the bottom of the pots with silicone, both inside and out, to make doubly sure it won’t drain when filled with water. I cut pieces of milk bottle plastic to stick on the inside of the pot to act as a plug.
3. I planned to add a hose neck to refill the olla. But my old bit of garden house was too wide, I couldn’t manage to secure it properly to the top of the pot. Instead, I submerged the olla them with the top at soil level. A pot saucer acts a lid to prevent evaporation and debris from falling in the olla
4. When both halves were dry, I placed one on top of the other (see below). I piped the silicone around the rim of the bottom pot, placed the top one on top and smoothed the silicone around the seam using a plastic spatula. Some pots needed extra silicone around the rim to get a good, thick seal.
5. Leave for 24 hours for the silicone to cure and dry completely.
6. Once they have dried, I filled them with water for a test run to ensure there were no leaks. They held their water! My large ollas hold a generous 3-litre drink.
I made a dozen ollas for less than $30!
I’m thrilled with how they turned out. I’ll be making more this week in preparation for a hot summer ahead.
In part two of this post, I show you how to use ollas in your garden beds. Go check it out! you won’t believe the “before” and “after” results!
Have you visited the Subscriber Resource Library yet?
A summer heatwave can reduce even a well-established garden to dust in a matter of days. Be sure to sign up for A Farm of Your Home’s Subscriber Resource Library access and download my free Heatwave Checklist! I share how you can beat the heat and protect your plants, and what not to do when the heat is on!
Do you use ollas? Do you think you might give them a go? If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to leave me a comment below.
Love this. I’ll be looking forward to part two. I smashed up a few pots just yesterday and put them in another pot as drainage at the bottom (and a nice home for snails and slugs, of course). I couldn’t see any use for them. Now I’m glad I didn’t smash them all.
Thanks Catherine! We have a few really hot days forecast this week. I’m thinking that I had better get my Ollas in the ground sooner rather than later…
I’ve got part two scheduled for Monday 28th Sept. So you’ve got time to prepare!
Cheers
Melissa
Do they do a better job than the soft drink plastic bottles that many gardeners use. Thirty years ago, there was on the market an attachment one could put on the hose cock in the garden, that delivered 6 litres an hour to drip feeds put around ones plants. I left it behind when I moved house and have never managed to find another since. It was well made out of copper, none of this plastic rubbish that gets brittle in the W.A.sun. Does anyone know if they can still be found?
Hi Peter, Hmmmn, I must admit, I had a search myself. I couldn’t find any copper ones like you describe (perhaps an opportunity for you to make them?)
Our last home had a bore, so we used the copper coloured plastic drip reticulation. But you guessed it, our sandy soil ment we were forever clogging the little holes in the pipe. (ditto for the plastic drink bottles) Because the lines were covered in mulch, the first clue that a drip hole was clogged was a dead plant. I have used the black, textured rubber hose that has no such holes, it “weeps” water. It wasn’t great. I’ll be putting in my ollas this weekend. With three 30+ degree days this month, I reckon I’ll need them sooner rather than later…
Cheers
Melissa
When I heard about making olla pots as in this article, I was told to use a bottled water plastic cap and silicone that into the pot. Just another idea. I have not tried this yet as I just learned about this irrigation system last week.
So, how did they work?! Thanx for the post 🙂
They work really well! Helps if you have a couple of willing kiddie helpers to fill them up with the hose or the watering can. I’ll be making more of them soon for next summer. Although they take up real estate in the garden bed, it’s worth it for the slow-release water into my sandy soils.
I use a length of dowel placed into olla, stops evaporation and is an easy way to check water level inside Olla.
Great article.
Great idea Tess! I will certainly do that, thank you for sharing that stroke of genius!
are the cheap Bunnings terra cotta pots suitable. Yours look glazed. Did you ‘sand off’ the glaze first?
Yes, the cheap Bunnings terra cotta pots are best for making these ollas. I assure you the pots in the picture are not glazed, and no, I didn’t sand-off the glaze! I’m far too lazy for that kind of effort!
Cheers, Melissa
I made Ollas with cement and and coarse beach sand and worked a charm but only for a short time. They clogged up with some sort of mold growing all over them, inside and out. I dug them out scrub them and made them to work but again they clogged up soon after.
Oh dear! I haven’t heard of mould before! My concern is salts building up, but so far, that hasn’t affected mine. I know you’re not supposed to use fish emulsion fertilisers in them, apparently they leave an oily slick that affects the permeability of the terracotta. Thanks for sharing Ralph, I’ll be on the lookout for mould now too!
Thanks for your reply Melissa, will give it a go with clay pots next time.
One question, is there a reason for gluing 2 clay pots together?
Wouldn’t one large clay pot be enough? It could be covered with a plastic sheet strapped with a rubber band or a disk of plywood as lid.
Cheers
Hi Ralph, sure, you could try the just one covered as you describe too. I like that shape of the two glued together, more surface area underground. Also, we have clever crows that can be determined to get a drink, they will flip the terracotta saucer off the top of my ollas to get a drink! So now half a brick covers the hole. cheers, Melissa
Hi Melissa,
I’m so glad I found your blog. Moving to Perth’s sandy soils was something as a rookie gardener I was not prepared for. What sealant did you use? I’m struggling to find a budget-friendly food-grade sealant.
Hi Supraja, I had silicone sealant left over from a previous plumbing job, so it was low-toxicity, safe for use in water and pipes. Perhaps ask your local hardware store for something similar, and be sure to wait for the silicone to cure before use.
Good Luck!
Melissa
Just wondering how large the pot to watered area ratio is? Just trying to determine how many pots I might need for my raised garden!
Hi Sydney, I’m going to frustrate you here, but the real answer is….. it depends.
My soil is sandy and can’t hold it’s water very well so I place ollas directly next to each plant I wish to grow. For example, one olla per tomato or eggplant, especially if in full sun. But, if your soil is a little more loamy, or the spot a little shadier, you could get away with placing one between two plants.
My best advice is to experiment! Different plants, positions in your garden and soil types will have different water requirements. Good Luck!
Thank you for your site and this blog, I searched for Ollas and found you. Thanks from Perth.
The pleasure is mine Chris, glad you found what you needed!
Just found this and made them but added funnels to the top for ease of watering and allows for less of the olla to be visible, thanks so much for the great idea!
I’m thrilled you gave them a go, great idea with the funnel James! Thanks for your feedback 🙂
I made my first olla yesterday. I have to test for leaks today after silicone has dried. I have a large funnel I will use to refill the pots, stored in a small terra cotta pot in first garden…I have 6- 3’X3′ raised gardens, half with some dappled shade and 3 with hot late afternoon sun (AX sun which is brutal). I will put a dowel in each olla with a hole drilled in the end with string looped through that I can draw out to check water level Any other suggestions? I will be growing veggies, primarily from seed.
Wow Lynne, sounds like you are off to a great start! I love updates, thank you! Ugh, I hear you about the Arizona heat, same here. It’s just best to stay out of the Sun’s way, be animal or plant. I would just keep an eye on your ollas, sometimes pests like ants and pill bugs like to make their home closer to the water source. And you may find you need more or less ollas in your beds. Keep in touch and let me know how you go? Thanks Lynne, good luck! Cheers Melissa.
I had a go making some smaller ones for big pots where I will be growing peas up a tripod round the outside. I had not seen your site yet so just did something I saw on Instagram which was putting blu- tack ( apparently it is food safe) in the bottom of a pot, planting it narrow side down and popping a clay saucer on the top. Have been using them in two big pots on the last month and seem to work well- water level flies down slowly ( over about 4-5 days – autumn in Sydney). Will try the larger versions on your website for the raised beds- just need to check if our silicone is food safe! Thank you.
Sounds great Emma! I’m sure you will be happy with how they work. My only hassle with them is it can become awkward to fill them once the plants spread and over-grow the olla opening. I have had to attempt some challenging yoga-style poses to avoid crushing the plant while filling the olla! Let me know how you go?
Cheers
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
Your post is really great. Thanks for sharing.
I myself made some ollas last year but I couldn’t figure out how to join the two pots. So instead, I made my olla using only one pot. I added a layer of cement at the bottom to block hole and used a plastic saucer as the lid as I found the clay saucer to be quite expensive.
Next time I’ll follow your technique 🙂
Sounds good Joya, Let me know how you go!
Cheers
Melissa