Here is the first video in our series on how to make and install low cost, low tech but highly efficient irrigation. In this video ollas or unglazed terracotta pots. Here is the link to how to conduct a water audit - www.underthecho...
It has been a while, but i put out another one just recently on making a frog hotel. I am trying to get things going again :-) Thanks for your comment!
I'm happy to see you've been using silicone rather than polyurethane based glue (uncertain carcinogenic level and bad for soil) I've seen so many other people use! I would recommend using aquarium grade silicone to avoid anti fungal and other components that might be terrible for you, the soil, flora and fauna.
Thanks a lot for this well presented and easy to follow video. Best on the topic and great to have an Aussie perspective too. Purchased some good sized pots at the local Bunnings today for $1 each as seconds. Off to the shed with the glue, sandpaper and some plastic pieces to glue up the hole.
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@Ezra Joe Thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site through google and I'm trying it out now. Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.
I have never seen a post hole digger like that in America before. Now I am off to Amazon, and gods help aliexpress after that if necessary to find one. So much easier to use than the jab and scissors type I've used.
Thanks for this. Just one question. so you dont need to use milk caps on the inside ? just plug up the hole w the silicon ? Sorry. I cant find any videos which shows how the inside should look like.. sorry for th dumb question. (I am very un-handy !!!)
What post hole digger are you using in this video, I'm in America and we don't have that type here or at least I haven't seen them. Thanks for the video, good stuff.
Are you able to leave these in the ground over the winter? Where I am we have many freeze/thaw cycles. I would like to do this next summer here in New York State (upstate.)
Hi Wendy! Sorry, I have no idea! Here in Sydney the worst we will get is a couple of degrees of frost and at no time will the ground come close to freezing!
@@wendypursel3142 The freeze-thaw will eventually pulverize the terra cotta. Dig them out before winter and pour out any water inside. Put them someplace to dry out and store them someplace where they'll stay dry all winter. In areas that don't often get below freezing, they're fine as is unless one needs to do digging where the pots are buried. Don't fill them right before freezing temps are expected to be on the safe side.
I also would recommend using "Water crystals" also known as "Water beads". These are polymers that soak up and hold water and then slowly release the moisture into the nearby soil. these are tiny and are sprinkled onto the soil and worked into the growing space.
I really would like to know what tool you used to dig a hole for the ollas. Looks like some kind of manual auger. Does it work well if the soil has some roots in it ;) ? Many thanks in advance!
Could a long pot be created that remains under ground with a fill hole??? Run it the length of 3 feet at a time or if it can cure outside, make it longer. Bury it in the garden, fill with water....??!?!!!
It's difficult to say, it depends on soil type, how hot it is, whether you use mulch or not. Plus the plants tend to send their roots towards the water.
The unglazed terra cotta pots are porous. The water will slowly leach out through the material, hence the discoloration on the outside of the pots when they are filled with water: it's the water coming through the terra cotta.
Really, the biggest you can afford. Here the smaller pots, say up to a litre each are comparatively cheap but the bigger ones are quite expensive. The bigger the pots, also the longer you can go between refills :-)
