Ollas are unglazed clay pots that are planted in your garden up to their necks. Because they're not glazed, when you fill them with water, they slowly irrigate the surrounding area. When you sow plants next to it, the olla basically just sends water right to the roots. It's supposed to be this really efficient and beneficial way to water plants. Of course, I'm all for being efficient - and for keeping plants alive! - so these ollas definitely appeal to me!
I've been reading today about how ollas work, and it doesn't seem like a single olla really waters that much around it. Like if you have an olla that's 6" across, the water will reach about 6 inches in either direction. It might be wonderful and efficient to water that area, but...that's not a very big area. You'd need a lot of these ollas for a full garden. And from what I've seen, ollas aren't exactly cheap. A small one is about $26. They go up from there. I'm wondering if I could find someone with a potter's wheel who might make some of these. Or if they have some at a local nursery or farmer's market. If they're so wonderful and efficient and amazing, they should be available all over, right?For now, I just envy those who have a garden's worth of ollas on hand. Sigh! Maybe someday it will be me.
0 comments: