There’s plenty to look forward to with the warmer weather, especially spending more time outdoors in the garden and being able to cook freshly made dinners with vegetables you might have planted, including this delicious root vegetable and halloumi traybake that’s perfect for a mild evening. From sweet tomatoes to bright peppers and refreshing cucumbers, it’s a time of year where you get to make the most of your garden and plants sown during the cooler months.
But taking care of plants during the hotter weather can also be a lot of work to keep up with, especially if you have a large garden with plants that require a lot of watering. It might seem like a simple task, but there’s a lot to take into consideration when it comes to how you water your plants to make sure they’re staying hydrated. The Royal Horticultural Society recommends watering plants either at the start of the day before the sun comes up, ensuring plants can effectively use their supply of water, or in the evening.
Even if you have a schedule figured out when it comes to keeping your plants hydrated, the UK often faces hosepipe bans during the warmer months to ensure water isn’t being wasted in homes during heatwaves.
When this happens, gardens and plants risk becoming dry, but one gardener has shared a method that doesn’t require daily watering, meaning if you’re pressed for time or facing a hosepipe ban, your plants can stay hydrated.
In a video posted on TikTok, Syd Roope shared the centuries-old method she uses to keep plants fed with water using ollas, which are clay pots planted in the ground.
The origins of this ancient gardening method have been disputed, but the word derives from the Spanish word for clay pot, and it’s believed to have been introduced to Native American tribes who have continued to use it.
Made out of terracotta, the porous pots can be planted underground, with Syd explaining that they then “leach out water when the soil gets really dry” meaning you don’t have to water your plants everyday.
Particularly effective for plants with fibrous roots like tomatoes or courgettes, and perennials, you simply plant the pot under soil and fill it with water. Usually made with a small hole at the top of the pot, you can continue to fill it with water as needed.
Instead of having to water plants everyday, the olla works by slowly releasing water into the soil and the roots of plants, maintaining a consistent water supply, and can save garden watering by up to 70%.
