Potting machines and methods

A potting machine comprising:

• a pot track having at least one linear segment along which soil-filled pots are sequentially conveyed;
• a soil drilling system having a drill bit positioned relative to said at least one linear segment to drill a recess within soil contained within the pots;
• and
• a drive system for continuously moving the pot track along said at least one linear segment thereof and the soil drilling system in synchronized registry with a pot conveyed by the pot track along said at least one linear segment thereof, wherein
• said drive system imparts simultaneous horizontal and vertical motion components to the drill bit of the soil drilling system relative to the at least one linear segment of the pot track to thereby cause the drill bit to track linearly in registry with the pot conveyed by the pot track along said at least one linear segment thereof and be moved vertically into and out of contact with soil contained within the pot to thereby drill a recess therein.

A potting machine comprising:

• a endless pot track system which establishes a pot conveyance path;
• a soil feed system for filling pots with soil conveyed along the pot conveyance path;
• a soil drilling system having a drill bit positioned above a linear segment of the pot conveyance path downstream of the soil feed system so as to drill a planting recess in a soil-filled pot;
• and
• drive means for (a) moving a soil-filled pot continuously along the linear segment of a pot track, and (b) moving a drill bit continuously in synchronized registry with the soil-filled pot as the pot moves continuously along the linear segment of the pot track;
• wherein
• said drive means imparts simultaneous horizontal and vertical motion components to the drill bit relative to the linear segment of the pot track to thereby cause the drill bit to track linearly in registry with the pot conveyed by the pot track along the linear segment thereof and to be moved vertically into and out of contact with soil contained within the pot to thereby drill the planting recess therein.

A method of forming a planting recess in soil contained within a pot, comprising the steps of:

• (a) moving a soil-filled pot continuously along a linear segment of a pot track;
• and
• (b) moving a drill bit continuously in synchronized registry with the soil-filled pot as the pot moves continuously along the linear segment of the pot track;
• wherein
• step (b) comprises (b1) imparting simultaneous horizontal and vertical motion components to the drill bit relative to the linear segment of the pot track to thereby cause the drill bit to track linearly in registry with the pot conveyed by the pot track along the linear segment thereof and to be moved vertically into and out of contact with soil contained within the pot to thereby drill the planting recess therein.