Drastically reduce water waste in your garden with Oya, a terracotta vessel that gets planted in the ground and filled with water.
The rule of thumb is to plant thirsty plants to the center of the Oya and the lighter-drinking, more drought-tolerant plants to the outside. Longer, more creeping root systems are better at traveling through the soil to reach water in the Oya, while smaller rooted plants need to be closer to reach and get what they need.
Bury Oya and then fill it with water, but also surface water your garden for 1 to 2 weeks. This allows plant roots to get established and start their journey toward the Oya water source.
Depending on conditions, seeds or young transplants planted near Oya may require more surface watering to start roots. Once roots are established, fill Oya once every 5-10 days.
As always, keep an eye out for signs of dehydration (wilting, browning) and add supplemental watering to plants as needed. Note: Root vegetables like carrots, beets, radishes, and parsnips should not be grown with Oya.
