permaculture

["L.Santoyo Designs" <santoyo@earthflow.com>]

Peter Morehead,

In our Design Courses we talk about the unglazed pot as mimicking a 
natural spring or seep...  We have used several variations of the 
"unglazed pot" in heavy (clay) soils and in sandy soils.  The 
commonality that led to success was not necessarily the pot design 
but the addition of wood chips and other course organic matter.

The great thing about the clay pots is they work with very low 
pressure delivery.  -you can put a drip line with or without an 
emitter. (someone else on this list was asking about low pressure 
systems and drip?)

We have glued two terra cotta pots together -with the wide tops one 
upside down on the other -seal the bottom opening -use the other 
opening to fill -then plug with a wine cork to prevent evaporation 
(and to prevent lizards and other little creatures from being 
trapped).

We have also buried (single) larger pots and then used the next size 
up terra cotta saucer as the cover.  (we still put a little stick or 
rolled chicken wire to offer a bridge out for over curious lizards 
that somehow got under the saucer)

We use two or three around each tree and use several in diamond 
pattern for larger garden spaces.

The frequency and number of pots used, of course, depends on your soil.

Good luck,


Larry

Larry Santoyo, Director
EarthFlow Design Works
805.459.0452
http://www.earthflow.com/consulting.html


> Hello all,
>
> Does anyone have experience using buried terra-cotta pots filled with water
> as a watering system? Does this really work, work well, and for many years?
>
> Here's my design: I'm planning to catch rainwater on a 16th story roof and
> divert it to a 14th floor rooftop garden. I'm considering diverting some of
> the water to a series of 8 large buried terra-cotta pots [unglazed]. The
> tops of the pots will be screened to keep out mosquitos. The water will
> [hopefully] slowly seep through the pot wall to moisten adjacent soil. The
> idea is to keep plants happy with a consistent level of moisture and cut
> down on maintenance time. So far, i've only seen this idea in drawings and
> don't know if it's been tried with success.
>
> Any advice is welcome - is this design worth the trouble?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Peter Morehead

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