buried clay pot watering

Hi,

I have just found information on buried clay pot watering - seems like a very efficient use of water.

http://www.ecocomposite.org/restoration/claypot.htm

http://www.continentaldrift.net/index.php/?p=68

I was wondering if anyone here has used this method. I'd love to hear what your results were, what kind of pots you used (and where you found them) etc.

Anyone?

That's a lot of manure!

I have no personal experience with it but I was told about a variation. The man said his father used a bucket with a few tiny holes filled with manure. He supposedly had wonderful tomatoes planted around the bucket which essentially slowly released manure tea when filled with water. I imagine the manure was refreshed as the season wore on. Sounds like either way would be a good experiment.

I could see trying this with squash - like several in a circle around the pot. It would mean closer spacing than usual, I suppose.

Neat ideas! And still time to implement them for this year. Thanks guys!

I heard of the same thing useing 2 liter soda bottles with holes pinched in th bottom you fill the top once buried and it trickles out. No experience though but am going to try this year

Easier to find plastic bottles than a real clay pot, these days.

I have two concerns about plastics. One of the great things about the clay is that it will seep water out through the clay, that won't happen with plastic. (of course it will seep out through the holes, but the entire container is not porous)

Number 2, plastics contain nasty chemicals that I don't want leaking into my soil, especially since I garden organically.

I am so intrigued by this idea right now, I can't stand that I don't have clay pots buried in all my raised beds :)

How many pots, of what size, do you think I would need per square foot. Or putting it this way, if I have a 4X4 bed, how many buried pots to do the trick?


This message was edited Apr 27, 2008 9:22 AM

Wow.. what a great idea!

There is a huge pottery place not far from here.. I always wondered what someone would use the pots that have narrow openings... I sure hope I can get one with a lid.. isn't that cool???

Thank you for posting this essentialplanet!!

I read someplace that canteloupe grown in a desert environment with this sort of pot really pack their roots around the pot.

I wonder if the manure is terribly necessary.

ZZ, if you can't get one with a lid, you can just cover with a tile - they mention that in the article

I wonder how well the nutrients would seep out of the pot along with the water, if added to the pot? Or would the clay act as a filter?

I live in a desert environment and I'm going to try this method. I didn't read anything about the clay pots deteriorating over time. Did anybody else read anything regarding that?

I admit to knowing nothing whatever about this method. As to the pots deteriorating, witness the constant digging of archeologists---first thing they usually bring up is a clay pot.

OH!! Good point!

Google ollas for more information on this watering system. I saw a presentation at the Flagstaff home and garden show last month regarding using ollas. Quite fascinating. The ollas themselves were expensive but surely something similiar could be found that is not as expensive.

Ollas are very hard to find outside of the Southwest and California. There is an excellent demonstration of using these on Youtube by the folks at Path To Freedom.
You can make one too, by inverting one small clay pot on top of the other and pouring water in it. You just plug up the bottom hole. For this you must use some heavy duty adhesive which I'm not wild about. I'd much rather have a local source for a real Olla!

GGG

Wow! I am going to start doing this right away! Way Cool!

Thanks for the post essentialplannet. Those links were very interesting. I havent tried clay pot methods myself, but have heard of people burrying terracotta plant pots in the ground to ensure deep irrigation to where the roots are. I tried it a few years ago around some tomato plants, using 2L plastic soft drink bottles, with the lid off, planted upside down, and the base cut out. Id just fill them up with the hose whenever I watered the garden. The results were definately better that year than the last few where I didnt use the bottles. I didnt repeat the excercise because of the labour involved, and because of the plastics and toxins issue. A part of my garden is very sheltered by the roof of my house and recieves very little rain water, thats why I planted the bottles in that area only. My climate is usually wet enough though, excessively so in winter!

Lena

One article on olla irrigation said that it's almost impossible to find the unglazed clay ollas anymore. They suggested gallon plastic milk bottles with pinholes.

High Country Gardens sells Ollas. I have some friends searching thrift stores for me. Remember those terracota wine chillers. I thought maybe they would work.

Don't know how good these are
http://www.napastyle.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=3190&parentCategoryId=519&categoryId=655&subCategoryId=655&cm_mmc=Google%20Search-_-Non%20Brand-_-Wine%20Nannies-_-plant%20nanny

another company doing them

http://www.theplantfurniturecompany.com/pn_single.htm