>> the top two just cracked.

Yup! Most drill bits skitter or crack plastic. That 90-degree spade bit works great, through.

My very dear SO saw me dithering about buying a cheap soldering iron for melting holes, and got me a really nice 200-Watt wood-burning soldering tool with adjustable temperature. One nice thing about melting holes is that the plastic "beads up" around the hole and reinforces it.

Oh my, that sounds like an excellent use for my rather useless old Weller soldering gun!

I used my soldering iron on some plastic containers for winter sowing. Worked great EXCEPT the horrible burning plastic smell!

Yeah, doing it outside is preferable.

Sorry, I was away and you've moved on to melting the holes now.
Here is a trick learned from an electrician who installed many ceiling fans for neat-freak customers.

Take an old basketball, cut it in half to make a huge cup, drill one hole in the center to match the diameter of your bit shaft, slip it over the thinner end of the drill bit before inserting the bit into the drill (cupped away from you). Done correctly, it looks like you are demented and think you are holding a ray gun.

Have some trusted person hold the already filled plastic pot over your head (Yes, dear... ) and drill away. The majority of the dirt/soil with be captured in the cup. If you don't happen to have an old basketball, this also works with large yogurt containers, etc.

Now that is a really good idea!

i think when i get around to building a potting bench i will make a sign to hang on it reminding me to poke the holes first . would save me a lot of trouble in the end . the drill bits that were mentioned earlier are great . i have every size there is . i call them paddle bits . my late husband and i started doing woodworking and had our own shop . when he passed away i stopped working in it but i still use all of the tools from time to time . mostly for garden projects or home improvement . Forstner Bits work great to if you don't have or can't get the paddle bits . i had thought about the woodburning tool but i don't want melted plastic on mine since i use them . i have 2 but they serve different purposes for me . if i am doing wood burning i don't want to wait for one to cool to change tips so i use both that way one can cool while the other is in use . maybe i can find a cheap one just for those pesky non existent holes . greene i am going to use your fabulous idea for a ton of things . thanks for sharing it . we bought a house in october and we are remodeling . so i am certain the basketball / yogurt container trick will come in handy . i think it will work great to keep from dropping screws . if your up on a ladder and trying to put screws in with a drill and drop one, it is a pain to have to climb down to search for the screw you dropped .

When I ordered toner REFILL they send a soldering gun to melt a hole on the toner cartridge to fill it. I won't be doing that again so now I have a use for the soldering gun!

>> Forstner Bits

Are those good for plastic? For plastic, I like the one shaped like a 90-degree dagger, that is only made in 1/4" size. The 90 degree edges are sharpened so that they whi8ttle the plastic away, instead of scrape.

I haven't tried the spade bits on plastic (three prongs).

yeah they do work good for plastic . just don't drill to fast . i try to keep a slow steady pace and i don't apply much pressure . if you press to hard the pot will crack .

>> don't apply much pressure

Ahhh! The 1/4" holes seem too small. But I guess some air can get in even through VERY small holes!

I am probably the only person in the world that is happy the holes are gone.

Our summers have become hot and dry. I would have to drag the hose around every day to water those huge pots if they had holes. If it rains we were getting short showers which barely watered the pots. I still had to drag the hose out at least once a week. The bottoms of the pots have styrofoam or leaves and the plant roots do not go down that far because the pots are so big so the soil would stay moist and the plants do not drown.

In my big pots I am growing mostly plants that want as much water as possible. Cannas, you can even grow in a pond, Brugmansia they seem to cannot get enough water. So the no holes are a good idea for me.

>> Our summers have become hot and dry. I would have to drag the hose around every day
>> to water those huge pots if they had holes

Not everyone likes gadgets, but I love them. You could avoid dragging hoses by running some 1/2" irrigation hose out to near your pots. Then you could a spigot right near them for hand-watering, or stick some drip emitters into those pots and water them on a timer or just by opening a valve manually.

A side benefit is that, once you've run the mainline around your house, you can add as many hose spigots as you want, anywhere along that line. for around $3 to $5 each. The 1/2" mainline can be had for $14 per 100 feet.

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