The Wine Accessory You Should Be Thrifting For Your Garden

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Passive watering techniques have been around for a long time. One of these involves the olla, a centuries-old device that enables hands-off watering. An olla (which means "pot" in Spanish) is a pear-shaped, unglazed terracotta pot that is buried up to the neck in garden soil. Unglazed terracotta is made from porous clay, so when the olla is filled with water, it will seep out, slowly moistening the soil in the process. Soil moisture tension keeps water levels perfect — the olla will only release water if the soil is dry. If it is wet, the water will stay put. Your plants will love this self-watering system because it delivers the water directly to the roots, averts mildew growth on wet leaves, prevents soggy soil, and uses up to 50% less water, since none is lost to evaporation or runoff.  

If you like the sound of this hands-off watering trick but don't want to shell out for a traditional olla, there's good news. Any unglazed terracotta pot will work, whether it was intended for this purpose or not. One alternative is a terracotta wine cooler. Although this wine accessory costs roughly the same as an olla (around $30 a piece), it's often found in thrift stores for a fraction of the cost. Wine coolers are often given as gifts, and tend to take up space in kitchen cupboards until ending up in a donation box. 

Terracotta wine coolers work great as a raised bed watering system or for in-ground beds. Your wine cooler will distribute water in roughly a 2-foot radius, so bury it in a central location and use more than one for large areas. Bury your wine cooler up to the neck in the soil, fill it completely with water, then cover the top with a lid. Some wine coolers come with a saucer that can be used as a lid, but thrifted wine coolers may be missing this piece. If so, you can purchase these Vensovo Terracotta Plant Saucers, which are sold in a variety of sizes and colors. Fill the lid with rocks or pebbles to hold it down and add some water for pollinators. 

Check your terracotta wine cooler the day after you set it up to make sure the water has not leaked out because of a hole. If you live in a dry climate, you may have to refill the cooler every two days, while in more humid areas, the vessel can go around five days between refills. Remove the lid to check water levels every few days and adjust as necessary. 

A terracotta wine cooler looks great on a table when dining al fresco, but it can also work wonders in your garden. Just don't forget to look for these multi-purpose wine accessories when perusing thrift stores and yard sales!