How This Simple Cheap Watering Pot Can Help Save Your Plants During a Short Vacation

A simple low-tech olla watering setup made from two terracotta pots, buried in a raised bed to slowly seep water down where plant roots can use it while you are gone for a few days.

Start here

Here is all you need to get started. Use 2 of the same size unglazed terra cotta clay pots, plus 1 lid of some sort. I used a base.

You also need something to plug one of the holes in the bottom of the pot. I used some cork found at a local box store, but you could also use a flat rock, tile, or something else waterproof.

You will also need waterproof glue. Waterproof Gorilla Glue works the best.

Materials needed for a DIY olla watering system

Build the olla

Plugging the drain hole in the terracotta pot

Step 1a

Plug the drain hole in one of the pots.

Close view of the plugged drain hole inside the pot

Step 1b

Make sure the hole is sealed well so the water does not just run straight out of the bottom.

Adding adhesive to join the two terracotta pots

Step 2a

Apply waterproof glue around the rim so the two pots can be joined together.

Joined terracotta pots forming the olla body

Step 2b

Press the pots together and let the glue cure so you end up with one buried water reservoir.

Install the olla

Digging a hole in the raised bed for the olla

Install 1

Dig a hole about 3/4 depth of the ollas you built.

Placing the olla in the hole and burying it in compost

Install 2

Place in hole and bury with compost, leaving about 2 to 3 inches above the dirt.

Mulch placed around the buried olla in the raised bed

Install 3

Place straw or mulch around the buried ollas.

Filling the olla with water after installation

Install 4

Fill the ollas with water.

Install 5

Place lid on ollas.

Olla do's and don'ts

Do

Keep them covered: use lids to stop mosquito breeding, reduce evaporation, and keep debris out.
Pack soil carefully: make sure the soil is snug against the pot so there are no big air gaps.
Refill regularly: check and fill ollas at least once or twice a week, or when they get about halfway empty.
Use them in containers and raised beds: they are especially good there because they deliver slow steady moisture.
Mulch around them: mulch helps cut surface evaporation even more.
Try them with thirsty plants: tomatoes, squash, melons, and other deeper-rooted or sprawling plants can do really well with ollas.

Don't

Let them freeze full of water: drain or remove them in winter so the terracotta does not crack.
Overwater around them at the same time: let the soil pull moisture naturally instead of turning the whole bed soggy.
Use glazed pots: you want unglazed porous terracotta so the water can seep out slowly.
Leave them open: an uncovered olla can become a mosquito spot and collect debris.
Place them too far from roots: keep placement close enough to matter, often around 2 to 3 feet depending on the crop.
Fill them with dirty water: muddy debris-filled water can clog the clay pores over time.

Why this is worth trying

Ollas are simple, but they solve a real problem. Instead of watering the whole surface every day, they slowly move moisture down into the root zone where it is actually useful. That can help raised beds stay more evenly watered and may help in hot dry stretches too.

This is the kind of little build that can grow into a whole useful series later too, especially if we test them in different beds and different planting setups.