Overwatering concerns are a thing of the past with this innovative and timeless hack, helping plant owners give their plants the ideal amount of water every time.
The scoop
TikToker Rachael Eppley (@hey.im.rach) shared an easy, applicable hack for her followers, showing how she keeps her plants happy and healthy without worrying about their water levels.
@hey.im.rach YOU DON’T NEED A GREEN THUMB TO HAVE HAPPY PLANTS (I forgot to say you need to plug the drainage hole) • These terracotta pots water the plant perfectly. You will never have to ask “how do I know if my plant has enough water” OR “how to tell if i’m overwatering my plant” again! One thing to be mindful of is root rot so it’s a good idea to let the pot drain fully and wait a few days before adding more water to your pot. Or if the plant hasn’t used all of the water after a week, remove the pot, wash it and give the plant a few days without it 🩷 • Regardless of how fats tour plant uses the water, wash the oots weekly • • • • #gardening #waterconservation #howtowaterplants #wateringplants #smallgarden #terracotta #gardentok #momlife #plantmom #holisticmom ♬ original sound – Rachael Eppley
She showed off a miniature terracotta pot with its drainage hole plugged, mentioning how its porous texture is the key to her solution.
She then placed her mini pot within the soil of her bigger plant pot so that the top was level with the dirt. She explained that “the plant is going to take as much water as it needs from this pot, and if the plant is good, it will just leave that water in there, and you won’t need to water your plant for a couple of days.”
How it’s helping
This hack saves plant parents time and money.
They no longer have to water their plants on a schedule and can instead check the small terracotta pot on occasion to see if the plant needs more water to absorb on its own time.
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Additionally, less water is wasted as a result of overwatering, and every drop less decreases the water bill.
Per the Thirsty Earth, “To save water while growing healthy crops, farmers throughout the millennia have used terra cotta pots (known as ‘ollas’) for gardening … unglazed pots that slowly seep water through the terra cotta … were used 4,000 years ago in China and 2,000 years ago in Rome. Olla watering systems have since been found in every drylands region across the globe.”
So, though the hack shown by Rachael isn’t a new one, her display recontextualized the usage of terracotta irrigation for the average home gardener. It can also be used in outdoor gardens.
Beyond the monetary value this hack carries, growing one’s own garden has plenty of benefits on its own.
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For example, if you decide to grow food, produce grown from scratch is proven to taste better and be healthier for those cultivating it. Studies have shown that those who garden eat more fiber, increase their physical activity levels, and decrease their stress and anxiety, per the University of Colorado.
The environmental impact also comes into play when home-grown food decreases demand for mass production and avoids the unhealthy pesticides that are used in many farmlands.
What everyone’s saying
Commenters on Rachael’s TikTok seemed thrilled with the more hands-off approach to plant watering, with some talking about how convenient the hack would be for when they were gone from their homes for days at a time.
One commenter pointed out the connection to tried-and-true gardening techniques throughout history, saying, “It’s called an olla … indigenous people have been doing this forever.”
Introduction to a timeless method through a new medium like TikTok gives people access to knowledge they may not have had before, corroborated by another commenter mentioning that “this is a great idea.”
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