Posts
My bulb planter. (Notice the long shadow, despite it being mid-day! Oh, the northern sun.)
This one has markings on the side to measure the depth of your hole. I find it the most useful for the larger bulbs, like tulips and daffodils. It is good for planting in between other plants, because you don't have to dig a large hole, yet can get the bulb in deep enough. Obviously, it can't manage rocky soils very well, but my beds are quite sandy, which is good for planting and good for the bulbs too. For minor bulbs like crocuses, muscari, or chionodoxa, I find it easier just to dig a shallow, broad hole and place the bulbs in a cluster or to make "cracks" in the dirt by wiggling my spade in the dirt and then sticking the bulbs into the crack.
I have commented to resident-lawnmower-man on bulb augers in gardening catalogs. (Lee Valley has a nice one.) "It would really be handy to have one of those bulb augers attached to a cordless drill" I say. Resident-lawnmower-man replies "I am NOT buying a cordless drill just so you can plant bulbs!" I've even been offered the use of another gardener's bulb auger, which means I would only need the drill. Alas, RLM is still not receptive to this idea. Honestly, he has a non-cordless drill, but has hardly ever used it! How many manual bulb planters do I have to break before we can move onto to better technology? Let me know what you are using to plant bulbs!
Speaking of augers, I have noticed that it is not uncommon to win an auger as a prize in local raffles/draws/contests. If you win the BIG prize, you might get a snowmobile. What is the auger for? Ice fishing, of course!
