I wouldnt bother putting holes in those containers. I would transplant.. But,If you ever need to put holes in a plastic container, just get a big nail or even a phillips head screwdriver will work, and heat the tip as much as possible with a lighter or some other flame source till it gets really hot and it will poke through the container really easily. Do not pause between removing the nail/driver or w/e from the heat source and putting the holes as it will cool down rapidly .. Go right from the heat to the container.
Transplanting your plants..
The reason you has probs is because you tried to transplant with wet soil in the old container that is holding the rootmass.. I ALWAYS transplant when the soil is VERY DRY.. This is really important IMHO as it helps keep the rootmass intact when you try to move it / pull it our etc..
If the container is smooth sided where you can pull the rootmass straight out, I would let it dry out completely and jsut try to get it out then.. you can water it then press the soil down and compact it and let it dry.. Then loosen it by taking a knife and "cutting" around the sides like your cutting a grapefruit ( hard to eplain lol ) to detatch the rootball from the sides of the old container and it should come out w/out damaging it
I cant really see the container that well, but im assuming it is a soda bottle or something similiar with an odd shape? If so,heres what I would do..
If the container is odd shaped plastic ( where you cant slide the rootball out ) ...
Get a razor knife/exacto etc if at al possible, and cut the containers bottom off at the widest point.. If the soil is too loose, leave the bottom attached of need be by a small piece, but have it cut enough that you can fold the bottom upwards out of the way later..Then cut from top to bottom along the side, making a single vertical cut the whole length of the container.. This will allow you to "peal" the container away later.. Next, get your new container ready with soil.. displace the soil in the middle and stick the cut container ( with bottom cut off now ) in the middle to use as a template for the new hole.. When you get the new hole the right size, place the old ( cut ) container in the hole and remove A LITTLE soil away from ONE side ( line up the cut in the old container so its facing the side you pulled some soil away from ) and gently remove the cut container from around the root mass.. Make sure to keep the soil in the new pot around the old container/root mass as much as possible during the transfer. It is kiind of tricky, but its not very hard.This is the only real way to do it if you cant slide the rootball out of the old container safely..I found it mush easier to wait till the old containers soil is really dry before transplanting as it helps keep the root mass in tact much better than if it were wet.
Last edited by cancer_patient1; 06-18-2009 at 11:28 PM..
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