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After we talked about it for a bit, we decided it probably wasn't a good idea to run the water through the
soil as this would over water the plants and could also clog up the pump. I did some research and we
learned about the ancient irrigation method using "ollas", which are clay pots that hold water and slowly
leak into the soil.
I came up with the idea of a "reverse olla" where the potted plant, in a terra cotta pot, would sit inside
another pot containing the circulating water.
Finally, mom procured a nice rustic wooden door and a rectangular wooden window box planter. My son
compromised on his original vision of poles, to use the wooden door. The box planter serves a place to
put the pump and the water reservoir.
Supplies:
Old wood door (could be made from scratch with 6 pickets: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Severe-Weather-
Common-5-8..., and a 2 x 3 stud..).
Plaster of paris
Assorted plants
Tools
Teacher Notes
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It had some nails sticking out randomly, and it had a little stand which we moved so it could stand the tall
way.
You will also need some brackets to hold up the water channels. These are also bent from the 1/2
aluminum strips.
Use some sandpaper to smooth off the edges, you'll have a lot of burrs.
Step 4: Paint
We wanted the channels to look more like copper pipes, so we spray painted everything with copper
spray paint.
The insides of the larger water pots need to be painted with a waterproofing paint, otherwise the water
will seep through. We don't want that on the outside, only on the inside pots!
Prepare the plaster as instructed on the package. It should be 2 parts plaster to 1 part water. I didn't even
need the half cup of plaster I mixed up.
Attach a 3" tube on the inside of each larger pot going upwards and out the hole. Seal the tube in the hole
with plaster of paris. This will let the pot fill with water before it reaches the top of the tube and drains
out.
Each of the small pots will also need the hole in the bottom to be filled in.
Then you will need to water seal, we used Drylok. This will create a watertight seal because the terra
cotta pots will let water through. This is what we want to happen with the inner pot, but not the outer pot.
For all the little pots, you should water seal the plastered in hole on both sides, but not the rest of the pot.
For the larger pots, water seal the entire inside.
Situate the pots the way you like, and attach the water channels to flow from the bottom holes of the
higher pot into the tops of the lower pots. We had to trim a few of the water channels to get a good fit
The last pot will need to drain into the tube that goes into the water reservoir.
Connect the plastic tubing to route the pumped water back up to the top pot. Drill a hole in the back board
to pass the tube through.