Watering pot for raised beds

The principle has been known for thousands of years. A pot made of low-fired, therefore porous clay is buried in the bed and filled to the brim with water. As soon as the clay surface has soaked up, the stored moisture is released back to the outside as needed. So you can ensure the water supply of your plants even on dry-hot summer days - even without filling the watering cans or connecting the garden hose several times.

Our clay watering pot we have primarily intended for use in raised or frame beds, hence its tall, rather narrow shape, which takes up little space overall. Equally well you can use the pot in the open garden bed. Installation is simple: in small raised beds, choose a spot as close to the center of the bed as possible. In large raised beds or in the open garden bed, on the contrary, a place near the plants that you water very often is ideal (in the vegetable patch, for example, are tomato, cucumber or zucchini plants).

Bury the irrigation pot so that its narrow end, including the opening and lid, protrudes from the ground only one, two centimeters. Don't forget to put the lid on after filling with water to keep the contents clean. Good to know: To get the watering effect going, it may also be necessary to thoroughly water the surrounding soil in the (raised) bed first. As the soil begins to dry, water then runs out of the clay pot - and always just as much as is needed at that moment to restore balance. Once this is achieved, the flow of water also stops, and so on.

Your plants benefit from this age-old idea of using a clay pot (Spanish "olla") for irrigation, as they receive their water supply mainly in the area of the roots. Their growth is additionally stimulated - and the more stable and healthy the root of a plant develops, the less susceptible its foliage, flowers and fruits are. And the deeper the root system branches downward, the more drought-resistant the above-ground parts of the plant become. In addition, this watering method usually attracts fewer slugs because the soil surface in the bed remains largely dry. Since the foliage of the plants also does not come into contact with water, the leaves are hardly susceptible to fungal diseases in the course of the season.

In general, watering from below results in measurably less evaporation and seepage losses than with classic watering. Thus, you can even save water. Our tip: Cover the (raised) bed surface additionally with a layer of mulch, for example from lawn clippings or shredded material, to keep the moisture in the soil even longer.