Gardening is one of the most fulfilling, cathartic ways to practice sustainability at home — but as many gardeners know, it can come with certain irksome downsides. Watering is one of those tasks that often ends up sucking up more time, energy, and money than you'd like.
Luckily, gardening in the modern age comes with a great perk: endless online tips and tricks to help you work as efficiently as possible. TikTok plant enthusiast Perky Plant Parent (@perkyplantparent) shared a genius, cost-effective watering hack on their platform: making an olla — an unglazed clay pot buried in the soil to water crops — in under an hour.
@perkyplantparent Here's a fun diy to help cut down on watering your garden! @Drip Depot 💧 #ollas #olla #oyas #dripirrigation #growya #wateryourgarden #wateringsysten #gardentips #gardeningtips #dripdepot #beginnergardener #gardenbeds #raisedgardenbeds #texasgardener #zone8b #gardendiy #diyoya #diyolla ♬ So Much Happiness - Lux-Inspira
The scoop
As detailed in the video, you only need a few supplies and about an hour of time to make your olla.
Grab a sturdy clay pot, and find something to plug the bottom with — the OP recommends a drinking-water-safe epoxy putty (which you can find at home improvement stores like Home Depot).
The epoxy putty will take about 20 minutes to activate. Once it's ready, fill the hole in the bottom of the pot with putty and wait about an hour before filling it with water. After a couple of hours, you should see the water seeping through the bottom of the pot.
"That's exactly what it's going to do in the ground to water your plants," the OP says. Add it to a shallow hole in the ground, and just add water every few days when it gets empty. They further say to be sure to place the pot's lid on top to keep bugs out.
How it's helping
This hack, as many other gardeners have learned, saves time and money, as advanced watering systems can be costly, especially for large gardens. Manually watering your plants can be a time-consuming task many would rather avoid. It can also lead to overwatering and water waste.
A homemade olla solves both problems at once, making it an attractive option for busy gardeners who prioritize cost-friendly and efficient options. Home gardens can generate $600 worth of food annually, making it an environmentally friendly and money-saving option. It also benefits the environment by cutting down on food waste and reducing the demand for globally shipped produce, which in turn limits the pollution created by its transport.
Gardening is one of the most effective at-home sustainable practices. It minimizes pollutants in the air, water, and soil, protects biodiversity, saves energy, and helps to counteract the effects of rising global temperatures.
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How much time do you spend taking care of your houseplants, garden, or yard each week? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Less than 30 minutes 🌵 Lastly, hacks like this that reduce the stresses of gardening allow you to better reap its many benefits, including better physical and mental health.
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What everyone's saying
Several fellow gardeners in the video's comment section expressed their excitement at the prospect of making a DIY olla.
"So cool!" said one.
"So excited to try this with recycled pots," shared another.
"Definitely going to do this for my 200 gallon grow bags," added one more.
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