Kyle's Permie Bootcamp (BRK)

Greg Martin wrote:

Kyle Noe wrote:I want to make some cheap ollas with terracotta pots so I can keep the berm hydrated.

Klye, I was thinking about this too and was curious about what approach you were thinking of.  Ollas are lovely, but if you need a lot of them costs sure shoot up fast.
I've seen folks using silicone to seal two pots together like this:

or just using a lid (could be glazed) and some putty or a cork like this one:


I was thinking about using clay to seal the bottom as you would to seal a pond.  You could either use the clay as the bottom and seat the pot into it upside down and water through the hole (pro: don't need a lid, con: that's a small hole for watering and if it shifts it may loose the seal) or just put the pot upright and put clay in the hole and probably also across the bottom to sure it up....probably put clay in the hole, then a rock plug then more clay across the bottom to sure up the seal (pro: lift the lid and it's quick to fill, con: need a lid...use a large flat rock maybe?)

Greg this is precisely what I was thinking, use clay to plug the bottom pot, clay seal a second on top and water through the top hole.

Going to need to find good clay for this and do a few test ollas. Even if they work they'll probably need more care and maintenance than a solid jug.

Thanks for reminding me, have to put terracotta pots on the shopping list.

You might be able to put a thick layer of leaves on the bottom of the pot and cover that with any clay you can find.  It might hold water long enough that way...

BRK Post 25

Today's big job was firewood harvest. Dez, Matt, Daniel and I took it on as our task but Eddie decided to tag along too even though he has no obligation to do any boot work. Thanks Eddie, you were a big help.

Cause all Eddie and I did was haul logs uphill where Dan, Dez, and Matt could cut them. I think Matt has a time lapse video of us working coming on his BRK thread. You'll be able to see Eddie and I sliding and stumbling and catching our breath.

It took about 2 hours to fill the trailer and a half hour to bring it down the mountain. We finished off the time cutting the logs to fit the wood racks. there's still a ton left to cut but they are here and that's the easy part.

Then for lunch I stuffed my face with PB and peach jam sandwiches and chips and salsa, and there isn't anything you can do to stop me (Mom).

I spent two hours sharpening two knives. My grafting knife and Matt''s pocket knife. It took and hour and forty five minutes to flatten both sides of my knife and fifteen minutes to do Matt's.

And I'm not really happy with mine, the edge geometry is too thin and I went to cut with it and the edge bent like a noodle. Going to have to put a bevel on one side and see how that works. Not going to post a pic of my sad knife after the cut, it's too depressing.

Anyway going to go rest for the rest of the night, Probably read in the Tipi. Adios.

I always liked having alot of people of the lab.Everyone always has fresh ideas.Those Ollas work great.I've tried them.Have you considered making your own out of local clay?you realy gotta sift the clay though.Pitfiring it works best.Sort of like an underground rocketstove.You've probley scene it.Anyways just a thought diggin the progress.

Ben Skiba wrote:I always liked having alot of people of the lab.Everyone always has fresh ideas.Those Ollas work great.I've tried them.Have you considered making your own out of local clay?you realy gotta sift the clay though.Pitfiring it works best.Sort of like an underground rocketstove.You've probley scene it.Anyways just a thought diggin the progress.

I haven't considered using raw clay, I haven't worked with clay since high school art class. Definitely something I'd like to try, but not this year.