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 ...

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.

Tags:

Welcome To Saturday

Open Thread

Vote

Comments

Submitted by jbob on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 5:14am

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

Nature Medicine is a monthly journal publishing original peer-reviewed research in all areas of medicine on the basis of its originality, timeliness, interdisciplinary interest and impact on improving human health. Nature Medicine also publishes commissioned content, including News, Reviews and Perspectives, aimed at contextualizing the latest advances in translational and clinical research to reach a wide audience of M.D. and Ph.D. readers. All editorial decisions are made by a team of full-time professional editors.

Again Here is a link to a supplier of good quality PPE

Submitted by Lookout on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 9:02am

Hola ollas

@jbob

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.”

Submitted by janis b on Sun, 10/25/2020 - 12:31am

Thank you Lookout,

@Lookout

a thousand times!

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 9:30am

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 --

Submitted by janis b on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 11:44pm

Thanks for the recommendation el

@enhydra lutris

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.

Submitted by JtC on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 10:53am

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.

Submitted by jbob on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 11:32am

Another one down on the list of musicians I worked for...

@JtC Damn, So many of the musicians from back then are passing away. I only did one gig with 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.

Submitted by randtntx on Sun, 10/25/2020 - 6:45am

RIP Jerry Jeff

@jbob

Submitted by janis b on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 11:46pm

Sorry Johnny,

@JtC

and others for the loss. And thank you for introducing him to me. His voice is so grounded and velvety.

Submitted by randtntx on Sun, 10/25/2020 - 6:53am

Another famous JJW rendition

@janis b

Submitted by mimi on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 11:28am

...

If I took a rollin' wheel
And rolled it ten times round
Would it travel far from here
Or would it just go round
Round and Round

As a young boy I helped the old man
Workin' in the fields
And everyday, we hauled the hay
To the rollin' of the wheels
'Til one day the tractor laid
The old man down to the ground
The tractor pitched him into a ditch and
Left a dusty sound
Of the wheel that kept spinnin' round
The wheel that kept spinnin' round

CHORUS:
Rollin' wheel, rollin' on
Takin' us all on our way
Rollin' wheel, rollin' on
Takin back all that they gave
Takin' us all on our way
Takin' back all that they save

I've never knew my father well
The war called him too soon
Said he was an officer
Saw some pictures in my room
The letter said he was reported dead
Near the front lines he'd been found
A mine blew his jeep into a twisted heep
And I still hear the sound
Of the wheel that kept spinnin' round.

Rollin' wheel, rollin' on
Takin' us all on our way
Rollin' wheels, rollin' on
Takin' us all to the grave
Takin' back all that they save
Takin' us all on our way

My brother chased a dream of wheels
His whole life geared for the race
As soon as he could, he drove off for good
His whole life was short, quick, and straight
He only lived to spin those wheels
And make that move over ground
'Til the steering failed and he crashed the rail
And he laid there still for the sounds
Of the wheel that kept spinning round.

Rollin' wheel, they're rollin' on
Takin' us all on our way
The rollin' wheels, rollin' on
Takin' back all that they gave
Takin' us all on our way
Takin' back all that they say

As for me, my life's too short
The wheel has carried my far
Around this world 100 times
By bus, truck, train, bike , or car (???)
And just like the rest I roll on to my death
On a country road far from town
I stare by the wheel just as sure as I feel
That there won't be but one sound
That's the wheel that keeps spinning round

Yeah the wheel that keeps spinning round

Rollin wheels, rollin' on
Takin us all on our way
The rollin' wheels, rollin' on
Takin' back all that they say
Takin us all on our way
Takin' us all on our way

The rollin' wheels, yeah rollin' on
Takin' back all that they gave
Takin' us all on our way

—

https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by earthling1 on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 1:37pm

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.

Submitted by Granma on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 2:47pm

You have been busy

@earthling1 And with 70 trees to plant, you'll stay busy for a while. I hope the watering and fertilizer innovations work well.

Submitted by janis b on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 11:48pm

Great work, earthling

@earthling1

It only cost me $3-4 an Olla to make.

Submitted by magiamma on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 7:05pm

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

This work was based on case study analysis of best practice innovative farmers completed in conjunction with Soils for Life. Restoring water cycles to naturally cool climates and reverse global warming is a complete scientific description of how hydrological processes can be restored. This paper was presented in a series of 20 university and industry fora in 2015, beginning at the Restoring Water Cycles to Reverse Global Warming Conference at Tufts, then continuing on to MIT, Columbus, Dayton and Oberlin universities before ending at Harvard. For practical understanding of an urban context pilot region, read an introduction to a project, a summary of work to date and a draft business plan prepared for the Canberra leg of Climathon 2015.
On the basis of this work, HSA was invited to collaborate with Regeneration International as part of the Farmer's Constituency Advocacy Bloc at the UNFCCC COP21 in Paris. HSA became one of the 50 founding partners to the 4p1000 - a global initiative to increase soil carbon by 0.4% so as to combat food and water insecurity, and climate change.

—

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook

Submitted by janis b on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 11:56pm

Thank you magiamma,

@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.

Submitted by randtntx on Sun, 10/25/2020 - 6:40am

This videos look really interesting

@magiamma I can't wait to watch them. Thanks magi.

Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 8:11pm

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.

Submitted by janis b on Sat, 10/24/2020 - 11:59pm

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.

Submitted by travelerxxx on Sun, 10/25/2020 - 2:29am

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?

Submitted by janis b on Sun, 10/25/2020 - 2:57am

Good question traveler

@travelerxxx

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.

Submitted by randtntx on Sun, 10/25/2020 - 6:35am

Our drip irrigation system

@janis b always gets clogged up and the rabbits and possibly the coyotes chew on portions of the emitter lines. It's a royal pain especially when we come home after being out of town for a while.

Submitted by travelerxxx on Sun, 10/25/2020 - 7:18pm

Varmints, etc.

@randtntx

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.

Submitted by randtntx on Sun, 10/25/2020 - 6:29am

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.