Kyrt Ryder wrote:There you go again talking like the zone is a determining factor Joseph
How should I express this? When I look at seeds they all refer to zones. Arid doesn't really do it. desert? not the Sahara lol. There just doesn't seem to be a universal method. Texas is varied. I don't think I am considered SW Texas.
Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work -Peter Drucker
Kyrt Ryder
Posts: 947
Location: Graham, Washington [Zone 7b, 47.041 Latitude] 41inches average annual rainfall, cool summer drought
I would try both and see what works best, but I'm guessing the wicking bed will work better. Purchased ollas are expensive, but you can make your own from clay pots glued together.
I think making an olla to be pretty fussy and time consuming compared to building a wicking bed,and buying them is cost prohibitive.
I build all of my beds anyway, but mostly use wicking in my 5 to 55 gallon sub irrigated planters. The beds are lasagnahugel mashups that hold lots of water.
They might work in Texas , only below ground.
And if you're going to irrigate, I advise cultivating the smallest amount of space, so look into small-space/high-yield techniques such as Squarefoot or Biointensive. I sort of refer to Biointensive techniques except I don't make compost heaps and I don't double-dig. I dug out all my beds once and put in buried wood, but now I don't dig them - a couple seemed a little compacted so I loosened them with a broadfork (the wood is far enough down it didn't seem to interfere).
Tyler Ludens wrote:And if you're going to irrigate, I advise cultivating the smallest amount of space, so look into small-space/high-yield techniques such as Squarefoot or Biointensive. I sort of refer to Biointensive techniques except I don't make compost heaps and I don't double-dig. I dug out all my beds once and put in buried wood, but now I don't dig them - a couple seemed a little compacted so I loosened them with a broadfork (the wood is far enough down it didn't seem to interfere).