Spunky Sloth Ceramics- Olla with Bee Cup

Olla for irrigation, with Bee Cups.

The olla is buried in the ground, with the neck of the olla extending above the soil. The olla is filled with water, and plants such as tomatoes, melons, corn, beans, carrots, etc. are planted around the olla. Water seeps through the walls of an unglazed olla by using soil-moisture tension. 

When the soil around the olla is dry, the soil pulls the water through the wall of the olla and into the soil, (the tension is between wet and dry), thus providing water for the roots. When the soil is wet from rain or has not dried out yet, there is no tension and the water is not pulled through the wall of the olla.

Bee Cups- Fill with water, but not above the marble, so that the bee has a place to stand.  The bee cups double as a protective cover for the Olla, keeping bugs/grass/etc from getting stuck in the jar.

Handmade in Colorado Springs, CO by ceramic artist Liz Covell