Customer Reviews

Garden Auger Bulb Planter 2.75" x 24" Heavy Duty

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had been trying to buy an auger locally for the past couple of seasons and couldn't find one. Either they 'weren't in yet' or they 'just sold out of them'. Found this auger on Amazon and it looked sturdy enough. It was delivered fast in a size appropriate box. It has three flat spots for your drill bit to clamp on and not spin. It is a robust design at the bit end of the tool too. I drilled about 70+ holes this weekend to plant small annuals. I'm looking forward to using it again in the fall to plant bulbs.

As far as price is concerned... I have a tool chest full of expensive yet appreciated tools. I would say that relative to the other tools I have this one is worth the money. Well designed, well build, and it is tough enough to withstand rocks, cut though roots, and me abusing it to drill oversized holes.

As far as a drill... I used an old heavy duty Craftsman electric drill. The auger tested that drill to its limits and drained its speed to a halt with most every hole. The drill got hot enough that I had to put on a glove to hold on to it. The point is you'll need a drill that is as robust as this auger.

As far as using it... it works great. In my flower bed there are parts that have great soil and the auger cut through it like butter. There are other parts that have clay right under the top soil and the auger performed great, but took some muscle to hold on to the drill and work the tool. That's were the robustness of the tool comes in handy. Any auger can drill a hole effortlessly in perfect loamy and rock free soil. This auger stood up to clay, roots, and rocks.

The best part is that it cut the time to plant by more than half.

I bought the auger to install termite bait stations in my thick gumbo soil. The company makes a "normal" duty version that is about $10 cheaper, but the heavy duty version has a cutting wedge that is well worth the extra expense. It cuts through small roots with ease. I used a cordless 3/8" 18V drill and wouldn't recommend using the auger with anything less powerful. The auger screw is 1/16" thick coated metal and does not flex. It's a rugged product that is built to last. Delivery was in 3 days!

It's a true joy when a piece of equipment exceeds ones expectations. I planted 100 bulbs in my faux meadow in a morning. Then my wife drilled holes and planted another 50 in a bed in the afternoon. In one area the soil is quite gravelly with lots of rocks. This thing pulled the rocks, some as big as potatoes, right up. In the other area the soil was once woodland with lots of roots - no problem. The only consideration is to make sure the auger is positioned in the drill chuck properly - the flat parts aligning to make sure it doesn't slip - and that the chuck is tight. I can see where if it slipped too many times it might ruin the auger. But once it's tight, digging doesn't seem to bother it at all. It's more likely I'll burn out my electric drill than ruin this sturdy piece of garden equipment. I'll never have to get down on my knees with a garden trowel to dig a hole again. Yippee.

We used this auger to plant dwarf trees in an area of our yard that is super dry, hard soil with lots and lots of rocks underground. Normally, when planting in this area, we expend enormous amounts of energy with a shovel and manual labor. With this auger and a Ryobi 18 volt drill, we planted seven dwarf trees in less than 30 minutes. The only problem was that, after planting four trees, the drill battery died and we had to change it out with a freshly charged one. The second battery also began running out of juice as we were planting the final tree. But still - 30 minutes and it was done. Wow! Wish we had discovered this tool a long time ago!! It's going to be a piece of cake planting flower bulbs and vegetable starters in the spring.

GREATEST EVER
This thing is the best, takes the work out of planting Bulbs, Seedlings ETC.
Drill the hole, refill with potting soil OR your mixture and plant

This is a good tool to have at planting time. I would buy it again.

Ok, we have planted many tulip bulbs with this auger. Very nice. I am happy we went with the Heavy Duty one and not any of the others available. My DH dug the holes and I popped in the bulbs. Simple! We plant tulips in this spot every year so our ground was loose. I have not tried it yet on grass or clay soils. Anyway, It worked just fine with our skill plug-in drill. Thanks!

When a "Yard Butler 2" I purchased from Amazon proved inadequate to the 'medium difficulty' task of drilling hundreds of holes in my lawn for vertical mulching, I ordered this auger. The difference in quality was apparent, especially the double-thickness tool steel at the tip and the leading edge of the auger spiral. I was able to drill deeply enough (a foot or more) into drought-dried Virginia cay with this auger with the only limiting factors being the capacity of your drill (need a sturdy 1/2" model for this!) and the strength of your wrists (the auger can drill can torque suddenly and strongly if you hit a rock or root-- but if your grip is firm enough, the auger can often cut the root or dislodge the rock-- it is THAT sturdy). If/when you wear the sharp edges off the bit and auger, you can touch them up with a grinder.

In short, this is a great tool-- I would have rated it 5 stars if it were 6-12" longer.

The auger works pretty well, but it does not get through clay that well. The auger spiral doesn't extend far enough to help get throught the harder soil, so if you can jam the bit in at least 3 inches, the auger function doesn't work. Also this auger really isn't much different than the one from Lowes that is only $15.

An excellent idea that didn't pan out. No matter how hard I tried, and I read Amazon reviews and hints on how to attach the auger, I couln't tighten the bit chuck hard enough to get the auger to work properly. Any packed/hard soil caused it to slip and spin in the drill.