My Planters Dont Have Drainage Holes ...

ellebee1986

Hey all,

I have been lucky enough to acquire some large planters from a fellow freecycler and was very excited to start planting some veg in them, but I realised there are no drainage holes in the bottom and I do not have a drill to make some. They are thick hard moulded plastic so no way of poking anything through. Before I dash off to rent a drill, being as we are all MSE , is there an alternative I could be doing?

have asked family and friends and oddly enough, no-one seems to have one ... bizarre.

dogstarheaven

i'm afraid you'd have to allow the excess water to drain through or else the roots will simply rot with the amount of waterlogging it'll have in the planter. just try and borrow from someone who you think might have one, like a friendly neighbour. you could say that you can do them a favour, such as cleaning their windows/car in return. they could do the drilling so then that way they know that it'll be used appropriately, and that they're getting straight back afterwards.

failing that, in my area of nott'm, there is a scheme called Skills Exchange whereby ppl in the local area can request for all kinds of skills required, such as DIY, car lifts, craft work, IT help etc., and the recipient is then debited with a minus pretend currency. this is calculated on the labour spent. no money is exchanged, and the transaction between the two parties are not obliged to return the favour. the giver receives credit, and the recipient is in debit to the organisation.

google something like Skills Exchange or Time Bank for your area and hopefully something similar might be in operation nearby... good luck!

catlovin_gal11

Hi Ellebee 1986. I have found that even with thick plastic, if you have a large nail, you can gently hammer this through to make holes. You may need to put some sellotape on the pot to give the nail some grip as you are hammering .I have sometimes used a sharpened secateurs to make holes too.

cubegame

I heat a screwdriver on our gas hob and shove it gently through. Works well.

aliasojo

Be careful about just banging something into it, the plastic may well split and you'll end up with more than just a hole.

Consider phoning your local secondary school and ask to speak to one of the techy teachers. (After school/lunch times would be best.) Explain the situation and ask if you brought the planters to them could they possibly just drill a few holes for you.

I know of a couple of techy teachers would happily help out like this but not sure all would. Maybe worth an ask?

Failing that, if you can't get a drill yourself, cubegames' suggestion of using heat is a good one.

tim_n

I take it you're not in the south of the country? Essex way?

poppysarah

Bet you have a corkscrew?

I have done this recently. If it's not brittle plastic it'll work but you'll need lots of holes.

Tesco do a cheap drill for a few quid. (13?)

tim_n

Optionally get some other normal pant plots and put them in the containers - the planter then becomes water storage. Fill the bottom with rocks, put the plants in the pots in and the rock area will act as a reserve.

Lotus-eater

Is there no one near where you live with a drill? I find that very hard to believe.

Maybe you should say roughly where you are, I'm sure there is someone close to you that will be able to help.

Heating up a metal something, will work, but don't breathe in the fumes.

ellebee1986

cubegame wrote: »

I heat a screwdriver on our gas hob and shove it gently through. Works well.

Worked an absolute treat thank you!

Have spaced holes 1 inch apart all the way around the base is this correct? Or do need some actually on the underneath of the planter as well?

Thanks for the advice everyone

aliasojo

Have you put holes on the outside? So you can see them?

Normally you would put holes underneath, not round the outside of the pot.