GARDENA Bulb Planter: Ideal garden accessory for planting flower bulbs, with automatic release and depth scale, planting assistant of high-quality steel with a Duroplast coating (3412-20)

Product Information

Most of the bulb planters that I reviewed were pretty versatile, but this one takes things to a whole new level. The tip is nicely pointed, which seems to come in handy for breaking hard ground. Plus, it also comes with a small hole punched into it – this enables you to hang the drill bit when storing it away, which is pretty convenient. In terms of size, the drill bit is 22 cm long and 4 cm wide , which gives it the potential to be used for a variety of different bulbs.

After testing several different bulb planters, we’ve chosen the ProPlugger 5-in-1 Bulb Planting Tool as our top choice. It’s a long-handled tool that’s great for larger bulbs. It comes with depth rings to help make 5 cm, 10 cm or 15 cm holes. There are also large foot treads that help push it into the soil and comfortable, padded handles. Overall, it made planting bulbs, and covering the holes, a much easier job. In terms of measurements, the dibber is 29 cm long in total , and the spike/head is 12 cm . While dibbers are available in many different sizes, this one seems ideal for bulb planting. When it comes to emptying the soil out of the tool, you have two options. Either turn the tool upside down and let the soil fall neatly out, or dig another hole. The soil that the tool collects from this hole will push the old soil out of the bulb planter and leave it neatly on the ground, ready for you to re-fill your first hole with. Gardening can either be a pleasure or a chore. Choosing the right tool for the job can make all the difference.Using a bulb planter is much easier than using a large spade or shovel that would create holes far too large or deep for the task in hand, and a fork and trowel set is the next best alternativeThe exception would be if you’ve been struggling to dig through hard ground – this tool makes that effortless. This WOLF-Garten bulb planter is extremely simple to use. All you need to do is place it down onto the soil, and then twist and push it in until you’ve reached your desired depth. Then, lift it out and you’ll see the soil plug held between the tool’s circular blades. Although simple to use, how easily it works will de pend on the type of soil. I struggled to use this bulb planter in heavy and stony soil – it required a fair amount of pressure to get to the appropriate depth, and there were some parts of my garden where I couldn’t get the tool in more than a couple of centimetres deep. DIBBER: This metal dibber has a sharp, pointy spike for puncturing the ground to make deep precise holes. It is made to last from strong metal, lacquered with Duroplast to prevent rusting. On the downside, unlike the other bulb planters I tested, which neatly collect the soil that they remove from each hole, this one pushes it to the side and compacts it in. You won’t be able to refill the hole with the same soil, meaning that you’ll need to have extra soil or compost with you when planting.

Robust treaded steel head with a mirrored finish for rust protection and reduction of soil adhesionIf, like me, you’ve wasted countless hours struggling to plant bulbs into hard ground, then this auger drill bit will be a huge game-changer – I’m surprised it took me this long to try one out! This was one of the most comfortable bulb planting tools that I tested. Its padded handles are appreciated when using the tool for extended periods of time, and the fact that you can stand up and work, rather than having to constantly bend over, is a big advantage. No matter the type of soil you use it in, it produces a neat, conical-shaped hole that’s perfect for small bulbs. I found it to be most beneficial when planting garlic, onions, and small flower bulbs such as crocuses. The hole that it created wasn’t quite deep or wide enough for the tulip bulbs that I was planting – I ended up using a different bulb planter for these. There are a couple of ways to get around this, with the first being to tone the power down. You could also try putting your drill into reverse . I did this by accident at first but found that it created a beautifully neat hole, so this is how I ended up using the tool when planting 250 crocus bulbs in the hard, stony soil underneath my lawn.

I used this bulb planter to plant a variety of spring bulbs, including anemones, tulips, daffodils, and crocuses. Its 6 cm diameter made it suitable for all of these bulbs, even though there was a significant size difference between the tulips and the crocuses. You can then sit a bulb in the hole that you’ve just made, before holding the bulb planter over the top of it. Squeezing the handle is easily done, and sees the soil plug fall neatly out of the tool and into the hole. Firm it down and then move on to the next! It’s worth noting that this was the most worm-friendly bulb planting tool that I tested, possibly because it created the smallest hole compared to the rest.Once you’ve planted your bulb, hold the tool over the hole and squeeze the handle. This causes the tool to open up and drop the plug of soil that it was holding. Digging holes in hard soil is never an enjoyable task, but this Garden Auger Drill Bit was created to take the hard graft out of a challenging job. It claims to be able to dig hundreds of holes in just minutes – fortunately, I had hundreds of spring bulbs to plant around my farm, so I was more than ready to put this promise to the test. It’s around 85 cm tall , meaning that you won’t need to bend to use it and it’s extremely sturdy thanks to the welded carbon steel construction. I also used it for a while when planting wild garlic, but ended up going with the dibber instead, simply because the soil in that area was too hard for this tool to work effectively. I would also avoid using this tool in wet soil – it ends up wedged into the head, and you’ll need to use your hands to push it out each time. You won’t need any instructions for this bulb planter (which is a good thing since there aren’t any!) – it really is very straight forward to use. Place it over your chosen area of soil and then step onto the foot treads. Twist the tool as it makes its way downwards, and it should neatly slice into the soil, collecting the plug into its conical head as it does so.