Careful, he may want to play in your old hosta bed next. :)

Did any of you sharp eyes out there notice the clothes line with closepins over hubby's head in the second pic.? Raker

Now that's what I'm talking about!!

What is that monster toy?

Deanna

Deanna, It's an auger, also called a 1 man post hole digger.
Great little invention.
Sassy

Looks like the auger my Dad uses to make holes in the ice for ice fishing. Wonder if I should borrow his and try it out?

Oh my gosh, IS THAT A REAL ICE FISHING AUGER??? If so, now I know that Hubbsy's won't stay idle all summer. I'm gonna copy your idea. Thanks for sharing that NIFTY idea!

aka margo,
Yes, by all means barrow it!
I personally can't use it myself, it's
too heavy for me, but my hubby loves to use it.
If ours had a reverse on it I think I could use
it, but ours doesn't and it's too hard for me to pull it back out of the hole.
No problem though, my hubby can use it just fine.
And the best part is that he likes to use it!

Those augers just pulverize the the soil, even the worse
soil. I have alot of clay and it even makes it fine.
Cuts through small roots too.
The thing is amazing.

I believe they can be rented from one of those rental
places.
Wouldn't be a bad idea if someone has a bunch
of holes to dig.
Like I said, he did 32 holes in 10-15 minutes!

Redrosee,
Post hole digger, ice fishing auger and now
hosta hole digger. LOL
I can't believe that I've never seen these sold at garden stores before.

I once had a neighbor that used a lazy yard man (today they call them landscapers) and he used a posthole digger to plant everything, trees, shrubs, perennials, whatever!
I used to cringe everytime I saw him dig a small hole in our solid red clay, knock the pot off of the plant, stuff it in the hole and rake the soil around it with his foot.
Amazingly, everything he planted, not only lived, but thrived!
I just can't plant anything without ammending the soil and to make sure there is proper drainage. But, different strokes for different folks, they say!
Rb

Razorback, I've been told by the experts in the nursery business that when planting trees & shrubs, just dig the hole and stick the plant in it.....none of that "$5.00 hole for a 50 cent plant". This new philosophy on planting came about because plants tended to just keep their roots in the amended soil and not spread out into the native soil. I don't think this applies to smaller plants & flowers.
Michele

Margo & Redrosee,
The hubby said that when he bought it there was an option
to get an ice bit too.
So, I guess there must be a difference between the dirt bit and ice bit.
Don't know though.
If you want I could take pics of the tip of our bits that we have and you can compare with the ice auger?

Sink or swim has always been my philosophy when digging a hole. I figured the plant is going to have to adjust to the tough Georgia clay in order to last, might as well get on with it!
The new bed looks great, can't wait to see a pic at the end of summer.
Annette

Yess,that's a very interesting way to plant a plant,but around here,you would fall down the hill,hole digger and all,and that's if you didn't hit a large rock,and twist your arms out of their sockets! My dirt is too tough for anything mechanical. I once tried to dig a hole for a concrete tube,and ended up digging up a 200 lb. rock where the tube was to go. That's the only place I could put the hole! The rock is now a part of my gardenscape! All of the rocks in my garden came from my woods! Phil

people are dying in order that we consumers can dig holes with that method.... pull out your shovels and you can amend your soil at the same time.

Phil, you need to move to our part of NC....sandy soil....and I do mean sandy! Very easy to dig, but needs lots of soil amendments. Loved the 200 lb. rock story!
Michele

Beckt,

You said, "people are dying in order that we consumers can dig holes with that method."
I'm really confused...what do you mean?
I don't think that I've ever heard of anyone getting hurt or killed by one...Well, Phil's hilly situation could certainly be interesting.

As for shovels.... 3 yrs ago I nearly killed my toy poodle...I didn't know that she was standing behind me when I let loose of my shovel handle and it dropped and hit her in the head. Scared me to death! Had to rush her to the vet. I felt terrible, not to mention that she probably had one heck of a headache. She's OK, thank God.
Those shovels are dangerous! lol

If you're referring to the gas and oil that it uses...sorry, but I've never been politically correct.

Again, I recomend it 100%

Well, Phil maybe you had better stick to your shovel. Speaking of steep hills...that's gotta be a trick
trying to dig a straight hole on a 45 degree slope. Oh, but I do love the hills. My kinfolk are from WV. (Almost Heaven)

Hey,tedbug! Here is a pic of the infamous 200lb. rock surrounded by 3 Shade Fanfares,a Vim and Vigor and a Zounds. The rock can barely be seen in the middle,but this rock used to be farther up the hill,beside where the stairs are now. I only estimated the weight of the rock,because I once weighed a much smaller rock at 75lbs. and this one was 3 or four times the size of that one! I had to underdig the rock to even move it downhill,and where it came to rest is where you see it! Phil
{{gwi:923483}}

That is interesting. I've seen augers used for ice fishing, but not gardening.

I too am curious about beckt's comment about people are dying?

Also, sassy, I think that gas and oil conservation is more about being morally correct than politically correct.

MA

I use my H's old electric drill and a bulb auger, we have two sizes, to add lilys bulbs and other plants to flower beds. That way you don't damage as many existing roots from other plants as much you would with a shovel. It works great. I sometimes end up with hundreds of feet of cord to put away after I'm done!

Connie