r/UrbanGardening

I live in Brooklyn and have had a rooftop garden the last two years, which was been okay but never great due to the fact that there's no spigot on the roof and it's a hefty chore to bring water up manually from my apartment (three floors below). (Not to mention I'm a renter so I can't run pipes / modify in any way.) Last year I tried an automatic irrigation system connected to a large bucket that most of the time was filled with rainwater, or otherwise I carried up water from my apt, but if it was a dry spell and/or I forgot to check, it would often run dry (and occasionally get blown off the roof by the wind).

This year I want to try ollas, because it sounds like there's less evaporation and obviously less risk of flying away. For those who have used them before, do you also continue watering / self-watering the garden to supplement the ollas, and do you have any advice on buying terra cotta pots that are best for this?

I'm also just looking for general advice on what people with rooftop gardens with no water access have done in the past. I realize a big part of the problem is that I need to be better about trekking up to the roof with water, but I'm looking to make my garden a little more foolproof in case I miss checking on it sometimes! Thanks!