What is the best tool for bulb planting?

Do you use a bulb planter, or an auger? We keep breaking the planters (I use the Hounddog which I like a lot, but it breaks in our clay rocky soil. See http://www.amazon.com/Hound-Dog-Products-Planter-HDP4-4/dp/B0000BYE3N/ref=pd_bbs_sr_8?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1229794536&sr=8-8.

I'm thinking of switching to an auger. But I'm wondering if that will just destroy my drill, given how tough the soil is.

There is the Bulb Bopper: http://www.bulbbopper.com/

Some are expensive: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015Z5Q3K?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=nextag-tools-tier1-delta-20&linkCode=asn.

But I have also read that these only work in soft soil -- which doesn't describe mine.

Any suggestions? There may already be a thread on this subject, but I didn't find it. . . . .

Thanks!

I use a heavy duty auger that attaches to a heavy duty drill - shaft is really short. I bought it about eight years ago from Plow & Hearth (about $35-$40), but I just looked and don't see it in their on-line catalog anymore. It works wonders - I can average about a 100 holes in 30 minutes, and then another 30 minutes to plant the bulbs :). I have a daffodil trail down in the woods on what once was an old logging trail. I planted anywhere from 500 to 2000 bulbs a year from 2000 - 2006, but have slacked off these past two fall seasons. My goal is to continue planting daffodils there for years to come... Trail sure is pretty in the spring.

This is the only effective way I've found so far. Using a trowel or a hand bulb digger was impossible. I had twice tried other augers, but they weren't heavy duty and the shafts were longer in length than the one I use now. Those other augers kept bending in the heavy soil - I guess they were too flimsy and I think the long shaft was an issue too. If I see anything that looks like the one I use now, I'll send you a link... terri

Thanks, Terri!!!! Is this like what you have? http://www.gardengatestore.com/auger.html

I'm thinking about the 2.75" one on this site: http://www.gardenauger.com/gardenprices.html Do you think the shaft is too long?

This message was edited Dec 20, 2008 4:09 PM

I think one of the ones you found are like mine, but it is hard to tell how thick it is. Here is a picture of both the drill and the auger that I use...

I wonder if that tool would work w/ hard clay.

The soil here is basically clay, but in the woods where I plant it has had the benfit of years of decaying leaves that compost into the first few inches. I also have a lot of tree roots and rocks in the soil. This tool handles all the conditions pretty well. Just have to hold on tight because when it hits something, it has a tendency to spin and your arms can get wrenched if you don't have a good grip on it!

It looks great, and I really appreciate the picture. On the internet, I can only find tools that are much longer (2') (too much torque?) or shorter (I linked to those above). Yours looks perfect. I iwish yours had a brand name!

The best tool I have ever found for bulb planting in clay (or regular soil) is the NRG Radius Pro #205. It is marketed as a "weeder" but is ideal for planting bulbs in clay. You stand to use it as you would a shovel or spade and step on the foot section but it has a thin blade (for lack of a better word) that goes deep, then you just lean the handle forward a teense and put the bulb(s) in. Fantastic!

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=56798&cat=2,44813,56834&ap=1

They also have a great line of hand tools that includes a weeder, I plan to test that one for bulb planting near trees as I have switched from clay to sandy soil this year. It has a similar blade but also has serrated edges for cutting through compacted soil & roots.



This message was edited Jan 1, 2009 10:16 AM

DH and I used an auger this year and it worked like a charm. I could never have planted so many bulbs without it. In years past I ended up at the doctor's office with tennis elbow from using a bulb planter. No more!

Plantnutga: I can't figure out which tool you are referring to on the site you give. I looked for "Radius Pro" and nothing came up; I also looked for 205. Can you help?

Hemophobic -- do you happen to know what brand and style of auger you used?

I've never had to use anything but my trowel as my garden soil is very good...I use Dyno dirt so I built up a garden.

I'm jealous!

Cindy: I'm not jealous, I'm downright envious!

Happy: I don't know the brand name and DH isn't sure either. It's a heavy-duty, fits 1/2" chuck and we bought it at Jesse Israel and Sons Nursery in Asheville this fall. They have a web site. We used it with a regular cordless drill with 1/2 chuck. It will jerk you around if you're not careful or if you hit a root or hard clay, so be warned. I'll see if I can find a brand name on it and let you know.

Hemophobic: I'd be very interested in how long it is. And how big its circumference.

It's about 24" long, I'm guessing, but long enough that you don't have to bend way over to the ground to use it. Maybe 18" is more like it. I'll check that out, too, and let you know.

http://www.amazon.com/Radius-Garden-Natural-Weeder-205/dp/B000QUYVRW

Vossner: Many thanks! I should have though to check Amazon.

Plantnutga: Does the Radius Pro work for big bulbs like daffodils? That would be fabulous!

Hemophobic: Aspenthomas likes the shorter auger because longer ones bent in heavy soil, and I thought that was persuasive (but I can't find a good short auger to buy). Do you have a problem with yours bending?

The stand-up tool I am referring to is "F" in the lineup on the link.
HYPERLINK@www.leevalley.com

I used it last year to plant Lycoris in a lawn, it was terrific. Kind of like the specialty tool listed on the Brent & Becky's website but more versatile.

this is info on the hand-held.
http://www.amazon.com/Radius-Garden-Natural-Weeder-102/dp/B000Q6KPOO/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1230852526&sr=8-2

I am still looking for the best website to purchase the hand-held weeder, the best one I found so far is http://www.muckbootsonline.com/Radius_Ergonomic_Garden_Tools_p/rgtls.htm

because they do free shipping after $50.

note: my favorite regular trowel is made by OXO but this one looks the best for "just bulbs"

We plant with an auger on an electric drill, over 7000 bulbs for each of the last two years and 3000 the first year we discovered how easy this works. We don't have much clay, but some. Rocks and roots are the big problem. But we have only broken the cheap one we started with after hiting a big rock after planting the first 3000. We had only one bag left to plant when it broke. I recommend nothing smaller than 2 3/4" and, better yet ,one that is 3" in diameter. Some big narcissus noses need a double drilling to make the hole wide enough as well as for lily bulbs. It needs to be long enough to dig down 8" for narcissus. Here is a big one(second one on the list) that is worth looking at if you are planting many. I'll bet if you go to a good garden shop or hardware store, not a box store, you will find one on sale now. We paid about 20 dollars for one we bought last year as a spare on sale from 30.00. Sorry I don't know the name. Just look at the metal to see if it is sturdy and is a one piece shaft, not a two piece. We found it up in Vt last year in Feb. The one we saw at Home depot was crap at about 20 dollars too. Best of luck, Patti

http://www.allrolshop.com/tools-3753981-1/

Plantnutga: Now I'm really excited -- I bought the Radius Garden Natural Radius Grip Weeder #102 this summer but haven't used it -- it never occurred to me to try it for bulbs, so now I will!

Patti: That Tanaka auger looks great -- I'm definitely going to get it!

patti, I remember when you first mentioned planting 3000, then 7000. I said to myself: "insanity". Then when i planted my meager 650 I realized it really needed to be 6,500 lol. Anyway, I guess with me it will be 1000/year, unless there's an irresistible sale that justifies more.

how long did it take you with the auger to plant 3000, I know more than 1 day, but in terms of man hours? Hubby and I did not plant individually, we did them in what I call free form rows. If not, we'd still be planting. It took hubby and I four (4) man hours to plant 650, row style.

I would definitely do auger or the tool plantnutga suggests for 50 bulbs or less.

For my meager tulip planting this year, I planted them in groups, so I dug a hole and arranged the bulbs in the hole. If I had my druthers, I'd till up the entire edge of the driveway and plant en masse, but DH probably would have a stroke if I mentioned it. Anyhow, I planted gobs of tulips together.

The auger was used to plant outlying areas of bulbs received after the big planting of fall. That auger will be used much more this year for sure.

Yard Butler makes some augers, but they are criticized on Amazon for having a round bit which spins in the drill when it meets resistance.

So the 3 brands of augers that seem the best are:

1) the Garden Auger http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Auger-Bulb-Planter-2-75/dp/B000WFKCPQ/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1230913830&sr=8-12 see also the 2.75 x 24" option at http://www.gardenauger.com/gardenprices.html (these have a "shaped 3/8" shaft"). About $25.

2) AM Leonard's, http://www.amleo.com/index/item.cgi?cmd=view&Words=3bp, 3"x 24" with a 3/8" drive shaft. About $25.

3) the Tanaka http://www.amazon.com/Tanaka-Planting-3-Inch-24-Inch-745203/dp/B0015Z5Q3K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1230913672&sr=1-1. This costs about $50, twice what the prior two cost -- I can't see what it brings to the party that would warrant that. I can't find whether it has a 3/8" shaft or not. I am concerned also that this also is intended only to work with Tanaka drills.

Has anyone used this baby? http://www.gardeners.com/Dutch+Bulb+Planter/GardeningTools_PlantingTools,36-498,default,cp.html?SC=XNET8019 It looks as if you plunge it into the soil and then once in the soil, push the blades apart leaving a hole -- so you don't actually remove a plug of soil from the ground. I gather this is how a post hole digger works, though I've never used one. I don't know if compacting the soil is a good idea.

And for those of you with $400 burning a hole in your pocket, I present: http://www.amazon.com/Tanaka-Commercial-Planting-Compliant-TED-262DH/dp/B0015Z3ML8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1230914473&sr=8-4

I'm puzzled about hand (non-powered) bulb planters. Most of them, like this one from AM Leonard http://www.amleo.com/index/item.cgi?cmd=view&Words=bp3, only provide for a 6" hole. But everyone knows that Narcissus and many other bulbs are supposed to be planted 8" deep (a rule that is largely honored in the breach in my yard, I've got to admit). But why are bulb planters designed to come up short?

This year we planted 6385 over three and half days the first week in Dec. We did not start early in the day and finished around 4:00, so it didn't take very long. But we were tired. We then planted the next bunch as they arrived in those great sales from eflower(Bleek) and VanE. The final total is 7235. We do plant all the tiny kids with dibbles.

I enter all my bulbs in my DG journal with the location they are to be planted in and relevant plant information which I cut and paste from the vendor's description. I print out those journal pages by beds to use when planting. As the bulbs arrive, I mark the bulb bags as to which bed they suppose to be planted in and then I distribute them into marked grocery sacks by bed name. So when I am ready to plant I just take a grocery sack out to the matching bed and distribute them. I also have metal labels printed out that I match up with the bulbs. The labels have the name of the bulb plus the bed bed name on them. This year we ended up with 2 labels, so I am not sure if I failed to flag the bulb when we planted them or if we were shorted 75 (25 allium sensation and 50 triteleia).We will know next spring. If they appear the final total will be 7310. So the organization takes me more time than the planting.

We have developed an auger style to planting that seems to work for us. I tell him where and how many total holes we will need for a particular bulb, say 25, He begins drilling a hole and I drop in the bulb while he is drilling the next hole. He drill the next hole at a space which is more of a distance than wanted in the end. I then fill that hole and so on, until say half are the holes are drilled and filled, then we go back and drill in between those holes to get the 25 planted. If you try to drill too close together the first time, the adjacent hole get filled with dirt before you have a chance to put in the bulb. It is also safer that way. My hands are not close to the drill if it hits a rock or root. He drills and I drop. I am not terrible concerned if a bulb gets planted on its side. Never seems to matter. I am more careful with the lilies. I plant deep for tulips and narcissus. Lilies will pull themselves down to the correct level. Kind of cool. We do hit a few previously planted bulbs and they come flying out. I am running out of space.

We find that when are planting with the auger then we can go back before filling in the holes and dibble in the drifts of muscarii, crocus, reticulated iris, scilla, etc to give the bigger bulbs some colorful "socks" around them. We also use the auger in areas that we have deep planted bulbs to drill down only 4" on top of them for mass planting some bulbs. Some muscarii are big. We then rake and fill and stomp.

I don't use bone meal as my dogs would dig up everything. We plant mostly in beds so the bulbs get fertilized with the rest of the summer plants and shrubs. The Narcissus that we have planted to naturalize will have to do that on their own. My DH says the auger is just a mini rototiller or soil aerator. No matter it works. Good augering all.

Here is the one I want. http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=10495&cat=2,2200,33263&ap=1Patti

patti, I have a similar system for plants in general. I make notes in my journal as to what they are, where they will go and labels. When they arrive I know exactly what to do. It works so well!

I am making a note of getting scilla to plant w/ future daffs. your beds w/ socks will be awesome. BTW, I have a few daffs tucked here and there in the regular flower beds. My gazillion ones are in a wooded area of the property and I planted to naturalize. I already have visions of having my morning coffee staring at the blooming daffs in the distance. ahhhh.

You and hubby make a great team.

Bbrookrd: I'm feeling totally overwhelmed by your awesome organization! Here I was thinking I was pretty well organized and planned out, but your scheme leaves me in the dust. Wow! Great thinking and foresight on your part. Maybe something I can aspire to one day.

bb and vosner: I loved your posts. That is such a good idea to make a note of where the bulbs go. I never remember once mine come. For example, this year I bought some bulbs that were supposed to handle summer watering better than most -- but I didn't remember to plant them in the perennial garden area, and was stuck with the bulbs that were fussy about summer watering when I got to that spot. Oh well.

What do you do if you have bulbs that didn't perennialize well? Do you just overplant, or do you pull out the bulbs you were not happy with?

Vossner -- do your bulbs do ok in the woods? I would have thought there would be too much shade. We have a wooded area I'd love to plant bulbs in . . . .. .

All of you -- I'm sure you have posted photos of your bulbs. Can you share the links? I'd love to see!

This message was edited Jan 2, 2009 4:19 PM

happy, this is the first year I try daffs for naturalizing. will let you know next spring. I was careful to select daff varities that do well in my area. Years ago when I first got into daffs, I wasted money on pink cupped ones, which bloomed scantily and never returned. I learned the hard, expensive way to carefully look for cultivars that will do well in my area. So this time around the odds should be in my favor.

Tulips are annuals in my area, so I don't plant them. I love bulbs. I truly forget about them and then voila, a beautiful flower appears.

Vossner: I refuse to plant anything that doesn't have a hope of returning. I probably plant 1000 or 2000 bulbs a year -- it pales in comparison to what you do. But I am hoping in a few years to have a really nice display. I have a shady lot, so I also need to find bulbs that don't mind shade.

errr... I think you have me confused w/ patti. She is the dedicated one that bulbs in the 1000s. I planted a total just under 1000 for the first time late 2008. Pat in the back will be welcome but not before March 2009, lol.

Now hear this: I want to see photos of all those bulbs when they start blooming!

believe me, nobody will be prouder to post bragapics than me!

Excellent! I look forward to spring.

happy_macomb, good question about over planting. I do that with some tulips. Many sadly don't return thus they become just expensive compost. But I have a few tulips that I love and can't do without like eye catcher, Antoinette, Aladdin, flaming spring green, spring green, rococo, omnyacc, Estella Rijnveld, Fabio, and Deirdre that I over plant with some more of them each year.

I have been adding many species tulips and Darwin's that do come back. But I can't resist trying a few different tulips in hope of finding others that I totally love each year. But my main focus are perennial bulbs.

Here is my garden last spring with 10 days missing as we were away in late April. Our son's birthday is in April so we went to New Orleans to celebrate it with him and go to Jazz Fest. We are going again this year to see him and go again to JF. I will miss some blooms. Enjoy. I need to finish labelling all the photo's and do some serious editing. Sorry it is so big. Patti

http://picasaweb.google.com/bbrookrd/GARDEN2008MARCH23MAY30#

Oh Patti -- that is stupendous -- just sumptuous. Breath-taking. I wish I had the space for all those bulbs -- not to mention the time to plant them and the money to buy them!!!

(Vossner -- sorry -- I didn't mean to confuse you and Patti, but I thought you were also planting in the 1000's.)

Oh she will be! Thanks for enjoying the garden. We have so few friends that visit in the spring, it is rarely seen. Everyone want to come in the summer for the beach, not our garden. But we love it. I couldn't resist and ordered that auger for DH from Lee Valley. They had a few other things that we needed and free freight until Jan 4th. Patti

Ooooh -- I missed the free freight. Thanks for the heads up!

Patti: Lovely, lovely photos of your spring bulbs, but please do get them labeled sometime so we can know what species you have. Is one of the tulips a Shirley, by any chance?