Olla Update!

When I planted my tomatoes several weeks ago, I also put in some ollas made out of clay pots.  While the plants were small, they seemed to hold water for a couple of days before going dry.  Of course the temperatures weren't as high then as they are now either.  Now that the tomatoes are well over 3 feet tall and the temperatures are higher, I am finding the ollas are drying out daily.  So this tells me two things.  One, that they must be working and two, that maybe they aren't large enough.  I still have to water the tomatoes as well, but I am trying to do it every other day and let the ollas water them on the off days.  Since most of them now either have tomatoes on them or flowers, I am assuming my watering is sufficient.  I was hoping to only use the ollas, but the tomatoes were wilting, so I have had to do some additional watering.

Anyone who gardens knows that it is a constant learning experience with lots of experimenting going on.   Especially with vegetables.  Lots of trial and error.  But each year you can put that knowledge to use and have a better garden than you did the year before.  So next year I will make ollas that are double the size of the ones I am currently using and see how that works.  I will then take the ones I am using now and put them in another location. Perhaps around some zucchini plants or in the spaces between the green beans. 

I am also wondering if I perhaps I didn't bury deep enough.  Traditionally made ollas have a neck and you bury them up to the neck.  Since I used clay pots, mine have no neck and so I had to make sure the top of the pot was accessible, which means some of the pot is sticking out above the soil line.  So now I am wondering if I could attach a small piece of PVC pipe into the hole on the top of each olla and fill it through the pipe. This would enable me to bury the whole pot well below the soil line and just leave the PVC pipe sticking up.  This would actually be helpful because I could make the pipe any length I want and eliminate bending and kneeling in order to reach the olla to fill it.  So stay tuned for my olla modifications next spring!

If you are using ollas in your garden this year, let us know about it.  We would love to hear how our customers as using them in their gardens and what their experiences are.  I think they are a great alternative to overhead watering and I am determined to use them in my vegetable gardens as much as possible.