How to Drill Your Own Drain Holes in Garden Pots

Do you get sick of buying garden pots without drain holes? Lately it seems that all the garden pots I love and wish to buy have no drain holes which really upsets me! So now I have finally bought the tools to drill my own drain holes so that I can make use of every pot!

For some reason I thought drilling holes in garden pots would be difficult or maybe not even possible. But after finding so many pots that I wanted to use but couldn’t, I decided that I was going to drill my own drain holes.

Now I cannot believe I didn’t do it sooner because it is so simple and easy. Best of all, I can now buy any pot I want! Drain hole or not!

Tools needed to Drill Your Own Drain Hole:

1. Power Drill
2. Drill bit for tile and stone

Information on the Tools

A good drill is important so that you can have the power needed to properly drill through your pots. I have a Dewalt drill and it is an all around great quality drill. I currently am using a Bosch Tile and Stone ½” drill bit and it can drill through natural stone, granite, ceramic, and glass.

Depending on the size of your pot you may want smaller than a ½” drain hole, so that is based on your preference. Although a ½” seems to be perfect for most sized pots. Too small of a drain hole can easily get blocked by pieces of bark or stone within you potting soil mixes.

If you’re worried about too much soil draining out of your pot with a ½” hole, I place either a larger stone over the hole, a piece of coconut coir plant liner, screen, or weed mesh, so that the water will still drain out but with no soil.

Picking out a garden pot is the fun part. Now you can pick any pot that catches your eye, because drain hole or not, you can drill it yourself!

The pots that I last bought shown below are all from Hobby Lobby. But you can find great pots from almost anywhere.

Checking out your local nursery is a great spot or even checking out garden pots on Amazon.

How to Drill a Drain Hole in a Garden Pot

First, set your pot upside down so that you are drilling from the outside in. Be sure that your pot is set somewhere that it is secure and won’t move as you begin drilling. Center your drill bit so that your hole will be in the center.

Then, slowly begin drilling while applying just a bit of pressure to the top of the drill so that it does not jump around. Once you start to see a hole forming in your pot then increase the speed of your drill.

Note that it takes a little bit of time to drill through depending on the hardness of your pot. The average time it takes me to drill through is about 1-2 minutes. It’s not quite as quick and easy as drilling through wood.

If you feel like your hole is not progressing at all, try switching your drill to the hammer setting if it has it.

That will require you to hold your drill more securely but it will be easier to drill through your pot. I ended up using the hammer setting while drilling all the drain holes of my latest pots and it was much easier.

Lastly, once you drill all the way through the pot, gently pull the drill bit back out.

Have Fun Drilling Your Own Drain Holes

I find so much satisfaction in learning new skills and doing things on my own. Learning new skills is always wonderful but especially when you can put them to use. So I hope you are now encouraged to drill your own drain holes. It is so easy and well worth the time and investment in tools.