Automatic Garden Watering – Tested Solutions

Type	Best For	Where To Find
Olla / Oya	Low Tech & Reliable	Click Here for current price on Amazon
Drip irrigation	Programable	Click Here to See on Amazon
Above Ground Reservoir system	Containers after planting	Click Here to Choose Shape on Amazon
Wicking Systems	Cheap & reliable	Click to get from Amazon

Ollas & Oyas :

This low tech, ancient solution that still is effective today! The porous earthen pots are completely buried in your soil, up to the brim, with a cover to prevent evaporation. Fill with water. The water will seep out through the pores in your Oya.

There are 2 standard designs:

1. Outdoor and raised beds – the more rounded bulbous design where soil space is not limited, and this design holds the most water.
2. Large Pots & Containers – a more elongated and narrower design to use where soil space is at a premium, balancing water capacity and the footprint in the soil.

Easy to set up in the spring:

1. Submerge and soak the Olla in water.
2. Burry the saturated Olla with only 2 or 3 finger widths of the neck and cover showing above ground.
3. Fill with water AND thoroughly water deeply the soil from above around the olla the first time. Check every day to see how quickly the water seeps into the surrounding soil. This will usually be about 1X a week.

Young seeds starts and transplants will need to be supplementally watered from above as the get acclimated and their roots get growing into the soil. Your Olla is to provide deep watering through the season, protecting from droughts, and efficient, targeted water to established plants.

Pro tip: Do not add fertilizer into your Olla/Oya, this will only promote both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and algae, which will clog the pores that release the water ( and will smell horrid as well).

Drip Irrigation:

Drip irrigation is a popular, water conservation method of irrigation after planting.

Claber Oasis, Automated Drip Irrigation System. This company knows what the are doing. Reliable. Reliable. Reliable. Period. Click here to see the best price on Amazon.

Bottle Systems:

These water below ground, but hold the water reseviour above ground.

-Simple adjustable to use with plastic bottle, very highly rated!! Click Here To See On Amazon.com Adjustable flow rate with plastic bottle

Longer-term, terra cotta spike system with a separate reservoir,
, Blumat System, gravity-fed. Very highly rated and reliable!

Terra cotta stakes systems :

Plant Nanny – recycle a wine bottle!

Decorative Glass Globe Systems:

These work great for some, and others have trouble. Here are some tips to help you have success with these!

• Insert these at a 30-degree angle, watch the air bubbles as they rise to the top when inserting, if they seem really fast or slow, take out and put in again at a steeper or more shallow angle.
• If your plant is root bound already, a different type of watering will work better for you. These work by soil saturation level at the tip of the bulb determining the flow rate. If root bound, the soil will not be firm against the tip, letting the water flow out unregulated.
• be sure you have small bulbs for small or light pots, and larger bulbs for larger or heavy pots. You want the pot to stay upright and not be tipped over by the weight of the bulb.

Click Here To See On Amazon, set of Blazin Buffalo all-glass watering globes.

Wyndham House hand-blown globes

Mini hand-blown watering globes.

Click Here, and Here, and Here to see if any left in stock!

For your smaller pots, these are adorable, leave in the pot mushroom refillable terra cotta stakes.

Wicking:

Wicking is used to move water from a separate reservoir to the soil, without the need for electricity or other power.

Click Here To See On Amazon.com

If you are looking for self-watering pots instead, click here to go my article with my favorite ones that work and look good too!