Gardening Pitfalls: 5 Big Problems With Modern Water Pressure and How Ollas Solve Them

Water pressure is something most of us rely on for daily activities such as showering, cleaning the dishes, washing our hands, doing the laundry, and the list goes on. But is that the best way to water your garden? We don't think so. Here's the 5 big problems with watering your garden with water pressure:

Modern water pressure tempts us to use WAY too much water. Gardeners WASTE 98.3% of the water they put on their plants. Only 1.7% of sprinkled water gets taken up by the roots of our plants.

Drip is a lot better, but it still wastes  The rest goes into the air or down into the ground. So much of America is in drought. Our gardens should be part of the SOLUTION, not the PROBLEM.

 Using modern water pressure forces us to lose most of our irrigation water through evaporation and seepage into the ground. However, we CAN use a tiny fraction of the water if we provide our plants only what they need to flourish without modern water pressure.

Modern water pressure is entirely controlled by city politicians. As many of us have learned, water can be limited, rationed, and turned off by city bureaucrats (usually because of a water crisis.)

 The only way to take back control of your garden water is to stop relying on daily water pressure, at least not as a primary source. Even though it may seem like you have to use water you pay for from the city, there are alternatives, and our Automatic Olla irrigation system is one of them. 

Modern water pressure depends on complex, vulnerable pumping systems. As a result, power failure almost always eventually causes municipal water pressure to fail.

 In most locations, water is pumped from underground to high cisterns that gravity feed to your hose and sprinkler system. Without pumps, water pressure fails, killing your beloved plants.

 High water pressure is very prone to leaking. So by putting our water systems under 30-50 psi, things will fail more often than if under 1 psi, like our gravity-fed irrigation system. 

By using high-pressure systems, we’re forced to consume and replace them far more often. Which hurts the environment and wastes valuable equipment. We should only use high-pressure systems for activities we NEED them for.

Modern water pressure is expensive and precious. Unfortunately, in many areas of the U.S., cities are fighting for diminishing water resources, so the cost has gone way up. 

We need water pressure for showering, washing our dishes, and washing our clothes. We shouldn't use precious water pumping systems to water our gardens. It's simply a wasteful practice when other options are present. 

Our fully autonomous olla watering system is gravity-fed and does not rely on modern water pressure. For example, the average sprinkler system uses 47000 gallons per long season in a 600-square-foot garden, while our low-pressure gravity-fed system uses 800 gallons. If you use a rainwater catchment system, you will not need to rely on the city to water your plants.

 Your plants are happier when they aren't over-watered or under-watered; our ollas slowly seep water into your roots, reducing evaporation and losses. Using your roof, you can get all the water you need for your garden, usually extra. You will never have to pay for water again, let alone rely on water pressure to grow your food.  

In conclusion, there are better ways to give your plants the water they need than modern water pressure. Better ways to collect and distribute precious water that is taken for granted by many.