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Plant Watering Blog
Field notes, watering science, and the slow art of self-watering terracotta.
Bottom Watering: How Long to Soak and When to Stop
Soak a 4 to 6 inch pot for 15 to 30 minutes, up to 45 for larger pots, then lift it out as soon as the surface darkens and drain...
Bottom Watering vs Top Watering: Which Is Better?
Bottom watering gives even saturation while top watering flushes fertiliser salts, so the healthiest routine alternates between the two methods.
Ollas vs Drip Irrigation: Cost, Coverage, and Labour Compared
An honest head-to-head on ollas vs drip irrigation: upfront cost, coverage per unit, labour, lifespan, water efficiency, and automation. Drip wins at scale; ollas win for small beds and off-grid...
Ollas for Young Fruit Trees and Shrubs: Establishment Watering That Works
How to use buried clay pot irrigation to establish young fruit trees and shrubs. Place ollas just outside the rootball to draw roots outward, use 1-3 pots at the drip...
Ollas for Beans and Peas: Flowering, Pod Fill, and Trellis Layout
How to use ollas for beans and peas: 1-2 gallon vessels, plants 10-15 inches out, trellis layout, and steady water at flowering and pod fill to stop blossom drop.
Ollas for Lettuce and Salad Greens
How to use ollas for lettuce and salad greens: smaller vessels set shallower, plants at 6-10 inches, and steady moisture to stop bolting, bitterness, and tipburn.
Olla Wetting Radius: How Far Does Water Actually Travel?
Olla wetting radius is commonly about 1-1.5x the pot's diameter in loam, less lateral spread in sand, more in clay. How the wetted bulb forms, how to verify it by...
Do Ollas Work in Clay Soil? Spacing, Drawbacks, and How to Get It Right
Do ollas work in clay soil? Yes, and often very well - clay's strong capillarity spreads water wider, so you can space ollas further apart. Outflow is slower, so watch...
Root Intrusion in Ollas: Why Roots Grow Toward the Clay
Roots mat against olla walls because they follow moisture (hydrotropism). Learn why root intrusion in ollas is normal, when heavy matting slows seepage, and how to manage it safely.
Can Ollas Crack in Winter? How to Overwinter Olla Pots
Yes, ollas can crack in winter. Water expands about 9% when it freezes and porous terracotta spalls in freeze-thaw. Drain before first hard frost, store dry, and inspect in spring.
Do Ollas Attract Mosquitoes? Prevention and Facts
Do ollas attract mosquitoes? A capped olla is sealed, so adults cannot reach the water and cannot breed. Learn the real risk, the 7-10 day mosquito cycle, and how to...
Olla, Oya, or Pitcher Irrigation? Names and Spellings Explained
Olla is Spanish for pot, pronounced roughly OY-yah, which is why oya is a common spelling. Pitcher irrigation and buried clay pot irrigation are the research terms. All names explained.
Are Ollas Worth It? A Season-Long Cost and Water Breakdown
An honest olla cost model: price per pot, how many a 4x8 raised bed needs, multi-year lifespan, water saved vs surface watering, time saved, yield benefit, and where ollas are...
Pairing Ollas with Rainwater Harvesting: Soft Water, Less Scale, Free Refills
Rainwater is soft and low in dissolved minerals, so it scales an olla's porous wall far less than hard tap water. Barrel sizing, first-flush diverters, filtering, and gravity feed.
How to Automate Olla Refilling with a Float Valve or Gravity Feed
How to automate olla refilling with a raised gravity-fed reservoir, small-bore tubing, and a float valve in the olla neck. Head height, sealing, winter drain-down, and honest limits.
Glazed vs Unglazed Terracotta: Why Glaze Ruins an Olla
An olla works only because unglazed fired clay is microporous. Glaze is a glass layer that seals those pores, so a glazed pot cannot seep. How to test porosity at...
Ollas vs Self-Watering Planters: Which Job Suits Which
Ollas vs self-watering planters compared on cost, root-zone delivery, retrofitting, overwatering risk, and garden beds vs pots. A self-watering planter is a whole pot; an olla converts any pot or...
Ollas vs Soaker Hoses: Which Waters Deeper?
Ollas vs soaker hoses compared on depth, evenness, evaporation, clogging, cost and labour. Why a soaker wets a shallow surface strip, where an olla delivers at the root zone, and...
Ollas for Rooftop and Balcony Gardens
How to use buried clay olla pots on rooftops and balconies: wind and reflected heat raise water demand, no tap access, weight limits, and how to size an olla to...
Ollas in Xeriscaping and Drought-Tolerant Landscapes
How to use buried clay olla pots in xeriscaping to establish drought-tolerant natives in 1-2 seasons, pair with mulch and hydrozoning, then remove them. Sizing, spacing, and watering-restriction compliance.
Ollas for Community Gardens and Allotments: Watering a Plot You Only Visit Twice a Week
Olla irrigation for allotments and community garden plots visited once or twice a week. How many days of buffer to expect, bulk refilling with a hose or can, labelling, theft...
Ollas in Greenhouses and Polytunnels: Watering Under Cover Without the Humidity Spike
Olla irrigation for greenhouses and polytunnels. Subsurface watering keeps humidity down, which matters for botrytis and mildew, holds moisture in fast-drying tunnel soil, and cuts refill trips. Setup, refill logistics,...
Ollas for Melons and Winter Squash: Watering Sprawling, Thirsty Vines
Olla irrigation for melons, watermelon, pumpkins, and winter squash. Steady water through fruit sizing, a deliberate taper at ripening for sugar and no splitting, plus row spacing and mildew control.
Ollas for Root Vegetables: Carrots, Beets, and Radishes
How to use olla irrigation for root vegetables. Steady soil moisture stops carrot splitting, woody beets, and pithy radishes. Placement, burial depth, and spacing for densely sown root crops.