What you do is to get unglazed clay pots, bury them near the plants, and put water in them. The water leaks out very slowly, because the unglazed clay is permeable. This creates a water plume underground.
What you see here are ollas, each made from two unglazed clay pots. These pots cost $1.03 at K-Mart,on sale. Two are bonded together using caulk. I used caulk that is intended for kitchen counters, figuring it would be relatively nontoxic. One hole is filled in; the other is left open. The ollas are buried such that the hole peeks out.
The photo illustrates:
1) on the left: a buried olla with a matching clay cover. The cover is intended to be used as a tray to set the pot on, but here, it is used to cover the hole. You don't want to breed mosquitoes and propagate West Nile virus, after all.
2) middle, lower-left: one olla with the open hole on top.
3) middle, upper-right: one olla with the occluded hole showing.
4) one of the covers laying on the ground.
5) a buried olla, with the opening showing.
6) various tomato plants.
7) soaker hose.
Some people connect the ollas to a drip irrigation system. This is done by getting corks with holes in them, and threading tubing from the irrigation system emitters into the corks.
The ollas help to conserve water. Perhaps more importantly, they help keep the plants alive.
Comments
I will be waiting for a tomato and toasted cheese sandwich!
Posted by: Willa | April 14, 2008 12:25 PM