Overwatering plants can happen even to the best gardeners in dry weather.
To remedy this, an affordable, efficient, and easy hack to keep your plants hydrated all summer long has just been dropped by the_wheelie_green_witch (@the_wheelie_green_witch) on TikTok.
@the_wheelie_green_witch Is your garden dry? Or are you going away on holiday .. try using Ollas.. Ollas (pronounced “oy-yahs”) are traditional, unglazed clay pots used for subsurface irrigation. a low-tech, highly efficient way to water plants. They’ve been used for centuries. You can easily DIY these with just a terracotta pot, plug the hole with a cork and pop a lid on as I have here. How Ollas Work: • The olla is buried in the soil with just the neck exposed. • It is filled with water. • Because it’s made of porous clay, water slowly seeps through the walls. • Plants draw water directly from the surrounding moist soil as needed, reducing waste. Benefits of Using Ollas: ✅ Water Efficiency – Up to 70% less water used than traditional surface watering. ✅ Deep Root Growth – Encourages roots to grow downward, making plants hardier. ✅ Less Weeding – Since the soil surface stays dry, weed seeds are less likely to sprout. ✅ Low Maintenance – You only need to refill the olla every few days to a week. ✅ No Overwatering – Plants absorb just what they need. #greenwitch #gardeningtips #ollas #vegetablegardening #gardening101 ♬ English Country Garden – The UK Royal Orchestra
The method utilizes a gardening trick as old as time: ollas.
The scoop
As the gardener describes, ollas are “traditional, unglazed clay pots used for subsurface irrigation.”
To do this yourself, all you need is a terracotta pot buried in your garden with a cork to plug the hole. Then, just pop a lid on top of it. Once it’s in your garden, fill it with water, and it will slowly seep through the walls of the pot.
“Plants draw water directly from the surrounding moist soil as needed, reducing waste,” the gardener wrote in the caption of the video.
So your plants get as much water as they need, meaning you don’t overwater them and they won’t dry up when the sun hits its summer peaks.
How it’s helping
It’s easy to overwater your plants during the hot, dry months. This adds to your water bill and wastes water, with some estimates suggesting that homeowners can waste several dollars a week from overwatering — a potential cost that dramatically increases throughout the warmer months. By using ollas, gardeners can reduce their expenditures, keep their plants happy, and promote a healthy, self-sustaining ecosystem.
The gardener explained in the caption that ollas are extremely water-efficient as they use “up to 70% less water” than traditional surface watering.
Be sure to plant native plants in your garden along with your ollas, as they will be able to adjust to the heat in your climate best. This will ensure that your garden is saving you the most time and energy, so it can look beautiful all year long.
TCD Picks » Upway Spotlight
💡Upway makes it easy to find discounts of up to 60% on premium e-bike brands
What everyone’s saying
Gardeners had endless praise for the idea, as they were eager to give the hack a try.
“Thank you,” wrote one. “I’m watering like mad at the moment, I’ll give this a go.”
Another echoed what others expressed: “Never knew this! Love it.”
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don’t miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
