ollas vs wicking beds

Which would you recommend for zone 7b and why?

There you go again talking like the zone is a determining factor Joseph [I'm also zone 7b after all, but the difference is massive.]

The biggest thing is your soil. Ollas work great in clay soil, not so great in sandy soil.

Bear in mind you do have to protect the mouth/neck of the ollas, from evaporation in summer and freezing in winter.

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.

Best way to do it is probably your temperature extremes and rainfall.

But there's no standardized method.

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.

http://suburbanfarmonline.com/2010/08/09/make-your-own-ollas/

Abe Connally, who lives in the Chihuahuan desert, uses wicking beds: http://velacreations.com/howto/wicking-bed/

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 lasagna hugel 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).

http://www.growbiointensive.org/

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).

http://www.growbiointensive.org/

For those with problematic setups, try vertical gardening.
Smaller footprint and less water use if constructed correctly.