Our water saving ollas were featured in the latest issue of NATURAL HOME (pg 65)
PLANT POTTERY THAT WORKS
If you live in an arid climate or an area that suffers from drought, try giving you garden a sip from a bottle. OLLAS are unglazed pottery jugs that can be “planted” alongside your veggies or flowers, then filled with water from a hose when the weather heats up. “The ollas is so old it’s new again – it originated about 2,000 years ago.” proprietor Jues Dervaes says. “It uses capillary action and wicks water throught he porous clay to the soil. We call it the original drip irrigation system.” The ollas are sold through Peddler’s Wagon, the Dervaes family’ home-based business.
I’ve touched on ollas in the past, ever since we put in our clay pot irrigation bed back in 2005. Since then we’ve used them throughout the garden and in pots (making great ’self watering-like’ containers) We found out that the plants grow faster, better and stronger near the ollas. OK, at first we thought it was just us and our biased observation but then we heard similar reports back from customers. These things really work.
Here are a few past entry highlights from LHITC
OLLAS IN CONTAINERS (pictures provided another LA urban homesteader)
PHOTO GALLERY OF CLAY POT INSTALLATION
They’re great for container gardening too. I bought three from Peddler’s Wagon last summer, and my herbs are doing great. Sometimes I forget about them for weeks — not in the summer, but in colder weather — no problem.
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