I’m sure we all have one plant (or maybe more than one) that just will not grow and flourish in our area, and for me that plant is mint! Over the years I have killed many a poor mint plant, trying many different areas and microclimates in our front and back yard, but the result was always the same. I can remember the luxuriant and healthy mint bush that would thrive near the back tap of our next door neighbour when I lived at home, and the tap was always dripping! That of course is the secret of happy mint, a constant water supply and out here it tends to get pretty dry, especially in summer, and there is no way I would put up with a dripping tap!
But I have just bought a punnet of spearmint, and planted into the herb spiral, because I have a cunning plan!
So many times in the past I have found that ollas work in similar situations, so why not again? Due to my idea of planting into the herb spiral, it would have to be a small one but I didn’t think it would be a problem. I had a pair of unglazed terracotta pots that were 50mm across the base and 80mm across the top, already hanging around so I decided to use those.
My only concern was that the hole on the top (formally the bottom of one of the pots) was only about 8mm and getting the water in through a hole that size can take time. I do have a small funnel which exactly fits the filler hole but allowing air to get out as the water gets in is what takes the time. I decided that one possible fix was to drill a small hole beside the main filler hole that would allow the air to escape. I was unsure how to do it without completely wrecking the olla, but figured a small tungsten carbide tipped concrete drill might be worth a go!
After searching around I found a 3mm one which looked like it might work, I gave it a go on a piece of terracotta pot and it worked perfectly. So I lined it up on the top of the olla and, again, it worked perfectly. With the olla installed I tried filling it using my funnel and the water went straight in, only taking a couple of seconds to fill the olla until it came rushing out the breather hole, so I was pretty pleased!
So far, it is working well keeping the mint hydrated, now we wait and see how it copes with the hot weather!
