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Container Gardening

Irrigating Containers with Ollas or Other Capillary Sources

dale92539 Riverside Co SoCal

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Irrigating with Clay Containers has been an ancient practice, Producing efficient water use, and optimum moisture levels. Great for cuttings, and remote locations also. Some Links

http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/houseplants/making-a-forsythe-pot/doc/DG4419pdf.pdf

http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2012/02/27/self-watering-pots/

http://www.permaculture.co.uk/readers-solutions/clay-pot-irrigation-simple-adaptation-ancient-technique

http://deepgreenpermaculture.com/diy-instructions/self-watering-tray/

Based on the principle of water release as the plant needs it. The terra cotta releases water to medium as the tension increases. Similar to the tip of a Tensionmeter.

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Comments (5)

jy20thcent_5a
8 years ago
Interesting how the roots are said to wrap around the in-ground pot.

Vaguely reminds me of a working version of the claimed mechanism for the dubious clay or ceramic spike "automatic" waterers sold for houseplants (which supposedly slowly and steadily release water to the mix as it dries).

Thanks for another stimulating post.
dale92539 Riverside Co SoCal
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
The Auto Watering Spikes work on the same principle. They have a design that refills itself from a reservoir thru a tube. A vacuum is created in the device, then siphons water from the reservoir. It is marketed as the Self Watering Probe
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Philoz, I used Air-Pots last year. I used them only for rooting (which will change this year) but they come in sizes to 120 gallons. One of the nice things about them is they are shipped flat. Therefore, the assembly involves one to wrap the flat sheet and secure it with a "fixing" (in my case its something very similar to what holds the upholstery into your automobile sheet metal.) When it is time to repot/root-prune, you can remove the fixing, and unwrap the container from around your tree in place. This is necessary because of the design of the container, but it comes in handy for other reasons as well. The overall design of the container is suppose to prevent (or at least minimize) many root problems associated with container growth. I found it to be moderately successful. I posted on the use of the pots in this forum. I think I just titled it "Air-Pots". I seem to remember a distributor in Australia. good luck, ~james
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Both great suggestions! Thanks! That Netafim splitter definitely looks like it could do the trick. Do those 4-way splitters actually seem to split the flow evenly among the 4 tubes? And do they need to be oriented flat? My emitters would be on the end of 1/4" leads, not stuck directly into the top of the main line, so they'd be laying flat. The reservoir idea is pretty clever as well. I might play around with some PVC and a drill this evening to see how it works. Does anyone out there use coils/rings of soaker hose for container plants? I don't have much experience with the stuff, but have read mixed reviews... At 0.4 gph per linear foot, I could easily get away with 1-2 feet of soaker per pot. I just don't know how consistent that stuff is... Not sure each 1 foot section will give the same flow rate as the next... Thanks again for the suggestions!
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Thanks for the advice. I figured tubing was probably the way to go for the pots. I may try a row of the garden socks. I have used those for mulch berms at work and they have held up along city sidewalks in full sun for 2 years now. FWIW, we used drain pipe sock which is the exact same thing as what gardensoxx sells, and you can get 100 feet of it for $30 from lowes vs. 50 feet for $50 from gardensoxx, it just doesn't come with the fancy cardboard ez filler you don't really need. I've seen the self watering systems with the rain gutters, thats just a bit more engineering than I care to get into right now. Those systems are cool, but it seems to me that since they still require being hooked up to a waterline or hand watered to maintain the reservoir levels, they aren't much different than irrigation lines with timers. Factoring in the cost of gutters, lumber, fastners, float valves, and time putting all that together, I just can't swing it. I've got the free nursery containers so thats why I'm designing a sysetem around pot production...er...container production.
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I would not recommend a barrel of water on your deck. This is because your deck may not be able to carry the weight. A barrel of water is very heavy (liability). These barrels are usually support by the ground or racks on the ground. And as the previous writer said you don't get much pressure. There are low-pressure drip systems but they are pvc pipe drip lines not drip tape. I can explain those if you are interested. I don't think an automated system would do well because if unattended significant water damage could occur. You need to check your plants every time you water to check for plant health, diseases and insect damage anyway (Zen part of gardening). Didn't anyone tell you that is the fun part of gardening. aloha
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19juju54
8 years ago
I have used DIY ollas for my container tomatoes for 2 years and really like them.
jy20thcent_5a
8 years ago
Yep, the SWP is exactly the type I was thinking of, but the reviews for these inexpensive accessories are so consistently mixed that I've always suspected the materials or manufacture is not able to make reliable use of the concept.

19, what kind of medium did you find works well with the olla? I'd imagine a very free-draining mix might not easily communicate the moisture to the roots - at least before they grow up against the clay.
Tamiya #1 (AU, SG, MY & ZZZzzzz...)
8 years ago
I bought a pile of these ceramic probe with pipes some mths ago

Works in concept but varies greatly in execution.

Cap has to fit tight to form a airtight vacuum seal to be able to draw in water. But after opening/closing a few times they're no longer tight.

Gotta purge tube of all air else it won't feed. Time consuming & painful task to bleed the air sufficiently.

Your water supply container has to be level with your pot to avoid siphoning all the water out. If water runs dry you've gotta purge air from lines again.

Think the the ceramic tips with upturned soda bottle supply is easier to check & refill.

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