Clay Pot Waterers

Kate at Hills and Plains Seedsavers group/blog

has finally talked me into doing this.

Making a clay pot waterer:

I've been collecting terracotta pots from garage sales and squirreling away any that come my way from Garden Club members. I've been planning this for a while, this post from Kate made up my mind .

I wasn't sure how to block the holes up in them but Kate's notes suggested coins. I found some 'olympic supporters' coins/medallions that the kids collected from newspapers when we were living in 'pre-olympic games' Sydney some years ago. I doubt they are of any real value now. But as seals for these pots they will be valuable to me.

Doc bought me some sealant a while ago so I got that out. I plugged up those holes and thought about what to plant and where.
I'm not ready to plant anything in the veg beds yet as I'm still planning the re-vamp there.

I made up a small batch of planting mix with moist coir, compost and some potting mix. This went around the edges of the pots to help draw out and retain the water that percolates through the terracotta pot.

I chose a shady spot close to the potting area and another near the end of the potting bench (in more sun).
The larger pots were put there with Kale and Silverbeet around the edges...the one in the sun I've put NZ Spinach and Bronze Fennel.
Filled them the pots with water and covered them with a piece of slate to stop evaporation. They are covered with chook wire to keep Mrs Houdini out (we really need to do something about that chook!)

In 2 of the Tank Beds in the Dog Pen Garden I've put the smaller pots, 2 into one and 3 in the other. Around these I've planted seeds to see if they will grow. I've planted Spinach, Pak Choi, Wong Bok, Coriander, Fenugreek and Queen Anne's Lace just to see how things germinate in this watering system.

I'm also keen to see how planting before the Full Moon goes, according to Deb from Nirvana Organic Farm today (Tuesday) is a good day to plant out seeds. See Deb's Garden, Kitchen & Veranda blog entry here.