AMES The Companies, Inc 2917600 Planting Auger

i have used this particular auger to plant in excess of 1,000 bulbs,its fast and easy and the only way to plant large amounts of bulbs! 100% works great and saves a ton of time , drill down plunk a bulb in kick the dirt back in tamp down...done . or drill multiple holes at once toss in the bulbs, cover and done ! even better still 1 person drills and the other plants ! a minor issue the squared end that go into the drill snapped off after awhile,which given the amount of force and torque put on it i was not surprized , just reground a new square and good to go ! one thing to be aware of when using this or any auger , if you get into a tree root or catch a rock it will stop it dead in its tracks and twist the living daylights out of your wrists and arms !! be prepared for this if you know you will encounter roots or rocks because it can and will hurt you , if you are just planting in garden beds its as easy as pie. one thing i did in areas with roots/rocks was to lock the battery end of the drill between my knee"s while also holding it with a death grip saved my wrists...

This is a very good item. If you have a strong enough drill it will drill the entire length of the bit. I have one I ordered years ago and I have drilled in very hard clay with rocks and concrete mixed in it. I have not been easy on it and it is still in good condition. I only ordered another one because I was afraid they would quit making this and go a cheaper route. Ames has good quality now and I hope they will continue.

Makes bulb planting a breeze and can dig any holes for planting.

We used this to make holes around our trees for fertilizer. I'm old and was overwhelmed by the thought of digging the holes with a spade and crawling along the ground. This made the job a breeze. I will use it again in the fall to plant bulbs, and in the spring for annuals. It doesn't appear to be very well made or super durable, so we were cautious around roots and rocks. If you just let the drill do the job without much pressure, you will be able to pull back should you encounter an obstacle that might damage the tool. It should be a breeze in the planting beds.

My husband laughed at me for buying this. However, I LOVE IT! It does the initial hard work of getting the soils broken in our very hard Texas dirt. Has saved me time and back breaking labor. It doesn't look very impressive but with a good sturdy drill it will take you down about 10" and you can pull back out and make the hole wider as well. In Texas you often hit rock a few inches down and when you do - well not even this thing will help - but still It has helped me plant a whole new yard.

I didn't purchase this auger for planting bulbs—I bought it as an aerator and mixer for garbage can compost. For my purpose, it works well enough but is just a few inches short of ideal. As a bulb planter in prepared garden beds, the auger works but doesn't save me significant time or effort or stooping and kneeling over using a garden trowel. For naturalizing areas, with heavy clay rich soil with stones and roots, It can stall a moderately powerful corded drill while twisting one's arm and rounding off the squared shank of the bit. Having planted many, many bulbs, I've found the best tool for me is a dibble bar, the type used for tree planting. I sink the dibble blade, wiggle it around to widen the hole, drop the bulb and kick it in. Then I use my foot to close the earth. Bulbs are not really that sensitive to being planted tip side up—leaves will grow up and roots will grow down and the bulb will right itself in the soil. There's much less stooping and bending: I used a dibble bar to plant 500 daffodils in one afternoon this fall. As a compost aerator, this auger is fine. The auger is a bit too weak and too short to use to plant bulbs in the soils I encounter.

OK. we live on the beach in Amelia Island. So soil is mostly sand. Here on the island we are very heavily wooded with Live oaks and native tropicals. We must fertilize the Palm trees twice a year to keep them green and healthy. We use "Jobes" for Palms, spikes. We use this Auger to "drill" the holes deep and then just drop the spikes in the drilled hole. Product work great, cut all roots in it way. Used it on a cordless drill.

Wow what a difference. I planted bulbs last week in the middle of winter season in chicago and this little guy dig thru the cold frozen dirt. I used a strong cord drill which also helped but this didnt break or bend. Highly recommend this product. The length is just right so you dont have to bend as much. I dug about 50 holes.