Kent & Stowe Stainless Steel Long Handled Bulb Planter 100% FSC

Product Information

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. The thing is though, you will need to apply quite a bit of force to make this long-handled bulb planter cut through the soil, as for some unknown reason, the makers of this product decided not to make the end serrated, or even that sharp. I fixed this by grabbing my trust angle grinder and sharpening the bottom edge and after that, this tool worked marvellously. 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. If you’re planting a lot of larger bulbs, use a bulb planter hand tool that removes plugs of earth . This tool creates uniform holes, and fills them in again, in two simple steps. Look for a width of around 60 mm, and depth marking on the side – something that can be really useful when planting different types of bulb. At 1.8 kg, it’s relatively light, yet still has just enough weight behind it to mean that you shouldn’t need to use too much force. That said, if you’re using it on harder ground, extra pressure is definitely needed. However, unlike the Kent & Stowe bulb planter, the handle on this one feels as though it’ll hold up to being used in a slightly rougher way.

The ProPlugger 5-in-1 Planting Tool boasts a truly unique design – I’ve never actually seen a planting tool before that looks quite like this one. 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. 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.It’s heavy, but this also means that you don’t need to use any force when digging holes. Rather than having to manually push this tool into the ground, the step, twist, and pull motion is all that is required. 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. If you have clay soil, it is our advice, that you pay more, and get a stronger, more durable tool. Materials

If you’re heading out in search of the perfect long-handled bulb planter, here are a few things to consider before parting ways with your money. What soil are you going to be working on? If you'd like more than 10 bags of compost please call our Customer Service team who can arrange for a bespoke competitive quote on 01480 774555 (standard network charges apply) The ProPlugger couldn’t get much easier to use. All you need to do is place the tool over the area of soil you want to dig (after sliding on the appropriate depth ring), step down onto it, give it a twist, and pull it up.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! I couldn’t see any bulbs in the holes (I’m hoping they were further down) but I re-covered the holes anyway and have my fingers crossed for spring! Since these were pretty extenuating circumstances, I haven’t detracted any points from my scoring of the product, but it’s worth a mention for those of you who live in storm-prone areas.

This bulb planter is roughly 7 cm in diameter – it has a conical shape, so is slightly narrower at the base and then wider at the top. There are depth markings etched onto the side, ranging from 0 – 10 cm , and these are clearly visible. 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. 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. At 101cm long, the Kent & Stowe traditional bulb planter is a good length to prevent most people having to bend over too much when operating it, and you can actually plant quite a few bulbs in a short time once you get used to the twisting action. Anyone who has spent time planting bulbs in the ever-dropping Autumn temperatures will tell you how tiring it can be. That is, if you do it the old-fashioned way and dig up an entire garden bed. But what if I was to tell you there’s a much easier way to plant those bulbs?The Draper 3082 Bulb Planter may be lightweight, but it feels like a durable tool. It’s made from chrome-plated steel and is fitted with a green plastic handle with a button that can be squeezed to trigger the tool’s soil-release feature. I also appreciate how versatile this auger drill bit could be. It claims to also be helpful when it comes to planting bedding plants, mixing soil/cement, and digging holes for other purposes, and I can clearly see how this would be the case. I used the Draper 3082 Bulb Planter to plant a selection of spring bulbs, including Russian snowdrops, tulips, crocuses, and wild garlic. Its 6 cm diameter was perfect for all of them. I did also give this tool a go when planting onion sets, but the hole that it created was too large. The hole that it created wasn’t quite large enough for the plants that I had, but I got around this by digging a second hole right next to the first, which therefore doubled the size of the first hole. Surprisingly, I couldn’t find a single thing that I disliked about this dibber. It may be basic compared to some of the other bulb planting tools I tested, but, sometimes, that’s all you really need. Overall, I’d say it’s the best dibber tool available.