Welcome to Saturday - Ollas
Submitted by janis b on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 4:00am
I first encountered the concept of using unglazed clay vessels for sub-surface irrigation in Bill Mollison’s “The Global Gardener” film series. Mollison comments that the technique might be, to paraphrase, “the most efficient irrigation system in the world.” More recently I noted with interest that the fine folks at Path to Freedom were employing these clay pots for some of their raised beds, which led me to wonder about how I might experiment with them as a potential sub-surface irrigation system. Here’s what I found ...
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I first encountered the concept of Ollas thanks to Lookout's reference to them over a year ago. Thank you Lookout.
Although I would love to have the more beautiful/original-shaped Olla (as pictured above), I will be making an inexpensive, but acceptable version with a friend. We will basically follow this model of Olla making ...
[video:https://youtu.be/0MDQsydIGlg]
This is a very open thread, so please express yourselves and enjoy each others company. See you later tomorrow.
Comments
Study released yesterday showing mask use helps
I had to post this to counter the BULLSHIT posted by a certain user yesterday on this site.
Here we find peer-reviewed published information on the efficacy of mask wearing from actual scientists. (not wankers)
Universal Mask-Wearing Would Save Nearly 130,000 Lives by Spring 2021, Study Finds
Link to the study published in the journal nature medicine
Again Here is a link to a supplier of good quality PPE
Hola ollas
Water is life... Best of luck with your project Janis!
I'm lucky to have a rainwater cistern and a good well.
As to masks, jbob, It lowers the inoculum and reduces spread.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7393808/
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KANNNty9V3o]
I'm not going to argue about it with folks who refuse to accept obvious data. Another big factor people don't think about is being outside esp. in sunlight. Both the UV and ventilation prevents spread.
Y'all stay well!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Thank you Lookout,
a thousand times!
Good morning Janis. Thanks for the OT.
I made and started using ollas years ago and they were a real boon, especially here in low water ville. I made what I consider to be an improved version of the ollas in the video, but using smaller pots more appropriate to my raised beds. I used 4 inch diameter pots (we had a bunch around anyway) glued end to end with the hole in the bottom of the lower one sealed with a glued on disk cut from expired credit cards. (I keep these around for glue spreaders and such.) Then I cut some 6 inch long pieces of 3/4 inch diameter PVC pipe scrap and glued them to the top, with the bore centered over the hole in the top pot that you use to fill them.
1) no concern with accidentally getting dirt in the filler hole.
2) You can bury them completely, reducing evaporation through the otherwise exposed upper surface and getting the water even lower into the soil and root zone.
3) I can easily cover or cap the fill tube to keep bugs out using cheap wine bottle stoppers
I highly recommend it.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Thanks for the recommendation el
I anticipate the same sense of satisfaction you express using these wonderful Ollas.
I will consider your addition of the PVC pipe after experiencing how it works without it. I mulch the garden area with pea straw which can also cover the top part of the Olla that is raised above soil level. The structure of the pea straw will help retain the moisture while letting water through.
Part one was accomplished today. Next part is applying mortar around the silicone seal. It will be ready in time for these increasingly warm and dry days.
Be well fed and cared for.
Aw shit...
Jerry Jeff Walker dead at 78. The Wheel spins round and round.
The music of my life is dying before my eyes.
RIP Jerry Jeff.
Another one down on the list of musicians I worked for...
Jerry Jeff Walker. It was at the Belmont Park Race track in the late 1970's. They had some shows after the races back then. I worked for a sound company called Phoenix Audio out of Newburgh NY. We had state of the art sound systems for back then and did a bunch of gigs in NYC and surrounding areas. Jerry Jeff Walker was taken with our what he called "one legged" monitor speakers. He got a big kick out of those. They were physically time aligned the driver for both bass and treble were in the same plane. They were rectangular boxes with an adjustable metal leg for tilt. You could flip them over and get the two woofers together in the center with the high end horns on the outside ends of a pair in front of a singer. That worked great! This was long before the days of "in ear" monitors.
Damn, So many of the musicians from back then are passing away. I only did one gig withRIP Jerry Jeff
Sorry Johnny,
and others for the loss. And thank you for introducing him to me. His voice is so grounded and velvety.
Another famous JJW rendition
...
Thanks for the OT, Janis
And a H/T to Lookout for that same info on Ollas last year.
I have incorporated three of them for my new fruit tree saplings. They are store bought and I glued them together just as Lookout described and they work wonderfully.
Will look at your video for making them myself as they are fairly spendy at Lowes and Home Depot.
Also will try burying them deeper with the pvc as you described.
When I planted the saplings I inserted a 30 in. piece of pvc with holes drilled on the bottom 1 ft. to administer fertilizer direct to the roots.
Will see how it works out next spring.
Meanwhile, I have 70 Grand Fir and pine trees to plant along the creek that runs through here (Otter Creek). It is a salmon and steelhead spawning watershed that I want to help along. The salmon have returned as has the beaver. Hope to soon see a return of the river otter.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
You have been busy
Great work, earthling
It only cost me $3-4 an Olla to make.
evening all
Thanks for hosting janis
Regenerative ag
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBngaoG_-6A]
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMFNqaBXBwo]
And more research going on
https://www.healthysoils.com.au/Research-1
Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation
Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook
Thank you magiamma,
for all your work encouraging what's renewable through regenerating.
"What if the answer actually lies in water?" I look forward to listening further later. Thanks for the videos.
This videos look really interesting
Hola, Janis! Thanks for the interesting
video. Figured it'd be beyond my pay grade, but, heh--even I could understand the concept. Not gardening, anymore, but, might try this irrigation method for a row of our shrub borders (next spring). One thing for sure--around here, we get plenty of rain in the winter months. It's just the summers that have gotten pretty dry.
On my way over to the Photography OT. Been so busy checking out Part D Plans (Medicare), haven't had a chance to nab a screenshot to post. But, thank you for hosting, as usual. Just a glimpse of the photos, tells me that I've got quite a treat in store. Have never seen a "Green Jay." Absolutely gorgeous!
Have a nice weekend.
Mollie
"The leaders of this new movement are replacing traditional liberal beliefs about tolerance, free inquiry, and even racial harmony with ideas so toxic and unattractive that they eschew debate, moving straight to shaming, threats, and intimidation."
~~Matt Taibbi, The American Press Is Destroying Itself, June 12, 2020
"I know, I know. All passion; no street smarts."
~~Captain West, 1992 Rob Reiner/Aaron Sorkin Movie, A Few Good Men
“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went.”
~~Will Rogers, Actor & Social Commentator (1879-1935)*
*Thank you travelerxxx for graciously correcting Rogers' dates of birth and death.
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Hi Mollie
I think it would be an effective and elegant way to grow your border.
Your climate is similar to mine in this way ...
"One thing for sure--around here, we get plenty of rain in the winter months. It's just the summers that have gotten pretty dry."
Be well you all.
Refilling ollas - how often?
I have to admit that I'd thought my drip irrigation systems were the bee's knees, but these Ollas are pretty amazing. I missed Lookout's original coverage of them, so I'm glad you picked up the ball, Janis.
For some, I think drip irrigation still makes sense. One advantage I had with my drip system was that I could be gone for a week (which I was, every other week) and my ex-wife (not nearly the gardener I was) simply had to go out and turn on the water spigot for a prescribed time every day or so. Everything got watered.
Now, maybe the Ollas leach water much more slowly than I have imagined? Obviously, it depends on the size of the vessel and the porosity of the pot itself – not to mention the prevailing climate and soil. Not sure I've heard the timing addressed. And how do you know when it's time to refill them? Dipstick?
Good question traveler
I’ll let you know in 2-3 weeks what my experience is regarding re-filling. My neighbour uses drip irrigation, but complains of it getting clogged-up. It appears so far in my experimentation that some commercial terracotta clay pots have some kind of surface covering that inhibits water from dissipating, so make sure you use ones that don’t. Dipstick is a good measure, I think.
Our drip irrigation system
Varmints, etc.
Hmmm... While I never had to mess with coyotes, I've had rabbits plenty. Perhaps I never had issues with the gnawing-types as I buried my lines in the garden. Not deep, but they weren't exposed except at the emitters. As for clogging, I seldom had it happen. Rainbird was my brand.
Good Sunday morning.
I'm just a day late and a dollar short. Busy day for me yesterday but thank you for this topic Janis. I'm headed up to the top of the essay just now to watch the video and then to read what looks like are very informative comments.