It would be pretty hard to find unglazed terra cotta pots small enough to use within containers here where I live. I had never heard of your technique, though, Joybell, and will explore it further. I haven't done any summer plantings in pots (veggies or ornamentals) for the past 2 years simply because I often don't have time to water every day or know that in summer the pots can't withstand me being gone for a long weekend (or, heaven forbid, a week.)

Thanks to your post I went searching and found olla irrigation .

It occurs to me I could use such a method in my raised beds. Although I can plant in the ground in a few places, like you, I have so many trees, plus heavy clay soil full of large chunks of feldspar such that it would be very difficult to bury an olla or other pot that held sufficient water next to plants directly in the ground.