When it comes to preparing your garden and digging holes for planting, having the right tool for the job can make a huge difference in how easy or difficult the task is. As experienced gardeners know, the tool you choose depends on several factors – the type of soil you have, the size of the holes and plants, how many holes you need to dig, and your own height and strength. In this article, we will go over the pros and cons of various digging tools to help you determine which is the best for your planting needs.
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Hand Trowel
A hand trowel is a small, handheld shovel or spade that is useful for digging small holes for planting individual seeds or very small seedlings. Hand trowels typically have a pointed metal blade 3-5 inches long attached to a short wooden, plastic, or metal handle. They are extremely portable and great for detail work in the garden.
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of using a hand trowel:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| – Lightweight and highly portable | – Not suitable for digging large holes or heavy soil |
| – Good for precision planting | – Bending over to use can strain your back |
| – Ideal for small seeds or seedlings | – Hand quickly tires when digging multiple holes |
| – Very affordable option | – Blade is short and limits how deep you can dig |
Hand trowels are best used for intermittent, light digging jobs. They excel at digging thin, narrow holes and allow placement of seeds or small transplants with great accuracy. However, they are not a practical choice for large, deep holes or dense, heavy soils. Hand trowels require repetitive hand and wrist motion that can lead to fatigue over prolonged use. They are most suitable for small gardens with just a few holes to dig at a time.
Garden Spade
A garden spade is a medium-sized spading tool with a broad, flat metal blade approximately 6-10 inches wide and a long handle of wood or fiberglass. Garden spades are manual tools designed for digging and moving garden soil. They are larger than a hand trowel but smaller than a full-sized shovel.
Here are the pros and cons of using a garden spade:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| – Can dig holes and trenches for small-medium plants | – Not as efficient as a shovel for large holes/heavy soil |
| – Blade width provides more efficient scooping | – Requires bending over which can strain back |
| – Long handle provides leverage to break up packed soil | – Narrow blade not ideal for moving large amounts of soil |
| – Affordable manual tool option | – Hand digging multiple holes can be tiring |
The garden spade is a versatile, lightweight tool that provides a nice middle ground between a trowel and shovel. It can dig holes with more depth and volume than a trowel allows. The long handle also gives you more leverage and keeps you in a straighter standing position than a trowel. Garden spades are great for routine garden digging jobs like planting flowers, small shrubs, and vegetables. However, a spade may require more effort and time if preparing a large garden bed or breaking up very dense, compacted soils.
Garden Shovel
A garden shovel has a broad, scoop-shaped metal blade approximately 8-12 inches wide attached to a long wooden handle. Garden shovels are designed for digging, lifting, and moving soil. They are essential tools for preparing garden beds, digging holes for large plants, and soil improvement projects like double digging.
Here are the main advantages and disadvantages of using a garden shovel:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| – Large blade scoops and lifts soil quickly | – Very heavy and awkward for precision planting tasks |
| – Ideal for breaking up compacted soils | – Requires space to shovel dirt which can disturb adjacent plants |
| – Can dig very deep holes for large plants | – Handling can be difficult in very hard, dense clay soils |
| – Long handle provides leverage and minimizes bending | – Less suitable for working in closely planted garden beds |
Garden shovels are the heavy lifters of manual digging tools. They provide the most efficient means of digging large planting holes and trenches quickly. The added blade width and depth makes short work of even very compacted soils. However, garden shovels also require more space to use which can limit their usefulness in established garden areas. Their weight and size makes them clumsy for tasks like digging narrow rows or holes near other precious plants. Choose garden shovels for prepping new garden beds or installing trees, bushes, and large plants.
Auger Drill Bit
Gas-powered auger drill bits attach to gas or battery-powered drills to bore large, cylindrical holes in soil. They are made of a corkscrew style drill bit extending 6-24 inches long. Using an auger drill saves labor over manual digging and allows drilling deep holes through all soil types with ease.
The advantages and disadvantages of using an auger drill bit include:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| – Fast, easy way to dig perfect cylindrical holes | – Requires owning and operating specialty machinery |
| – Allows digging very deep holes through any soil type | – Not as portable as manual tools |
| – Minimal physical labor involved | – Can be overkill for small jobs |
| – Cleaner holes with less disturbance around planting site | – Higher cost of purchasing auger drill and power drill |
Power augers provide a huge advantage when preparing deep holes for large plantings like trees and shrubs. They drill a clean hole without having to dig up the surrounding area. Holes of any reasonable size and depth can be achieved with the right size auger bit. The drawbacks are augers lack portability, require power sources, and may be an unnecessary expense for occasional use. They are best reserved for very frequent or heavy-duty drilling applications.
Post Hole Digger
Post hole diggers are a specialized manual tool made of two opposing shovel bladesconnected with long handles to leverage. The shovel blades are placed together then pushed into the ground in a clamping motion to cut and capture a cylinder of soil. Post hole diggers are ideal for digging narrow, deep holes.
Below are the main pros and cons of post hole diggers:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| – Allow digging narrow holes up to 3 ft. deep | – Tiring on hands from squeezing handles together |
| – Lightweight and very portable | – Not suitable for wide holes larger than blade width |
| – Standing position minimizes back strain | – Slow to dig holes wider than 6-10 inches |
| – Affordable manual tool | – Handles can be awkward until technique is mastered |
Post hole diggers are an excellent option when you need to make repetitive, narrow holes for tasks like installing deck posts or fence poles. The leverage provided by the long handles allows digging deeper than could be achieved efficiently with a standard shovel. However, the unique scissors-like handles do take practice to master. Post hole diggers work best in softer soils and are not ideal for very hard, rocky, or clay-heavy soils.
Power Post Hole Digger
Powered post hole diggers take the manual design and attach it to a gas or hydraulic power source to automate the digging. The opposing shovel blades clamp together under power to grind and bore into soil. Powered models allow easy digging of over 100 post holes per hour.
Below are the main pros and cons of gas or hydraulic post hole diggers:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| – Dig holes much faster than manual post hole diggers | – Expensive equipment cost |
| – Portable to use at various sites | – Requires fuel/maintenance |
| – Effortlessly dig holes up to 3 ft. deep | – Heavy weight more difficult to maneuver |
| – Automatic operation minimizes fatigue | – Not suited for wider holes |
Powered versions provide a huge boost in productivity and ease when installing fence posts or other applications needing many narrow holes. An afternoon’s work of repetitive hole drilling can be accomplished with minimal exertion using one of these tools. The trade-off is the high equipment cost and caring for the gas or hydraulic power source. Powered post hole diggers are best suited to professional projects needing 50 or more holes.
Earth/Ground Auger
Earth augers, also known as ground augers, are giant cylindrical drill bits measuring 1-3 feet in diameter. They are mounted to tractors or excavators and bore large holes by rotating against the soil. Holes up to 5 feet wide and 15 feet deep can be drilled using large earth augers.
Below are the main advantages and disadvantages of using an earth auger:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| – Dig absolutely enormous holes rapidly | – Requires heavy equipment like a tractor or excavator |
| – Great for drilling deep holes through rock | – Not portable for small applications |
| – Minimal manual labor involved | – Overkill for routine planting holes |
| – Clean vertical hole walls | – Very expensive equipment cost |
Earth augers provide an unparalleled ability to dig huge holes with clean, neat edges through the hardest soils. Projects like planting massive trees, constructing pond/pits, installing deep footers, or placing large pilings benefit greatly from an earth auger. The trade-off is earth augers require heavy operating equipment and have astronomical costs making them only practical for major excavation jobs.
Choosing the Best Tool
When selecting the ideal tool for digging planting holes, consider these key factors:
- Number and size of holes needed – Choose manual tools like a trowel or garden spade for occasional small holes for seeds, up to garden shovel for large accasional holes. Powered augers are only practical for dozens of holes or more.
- Soil conditions – Dense, heavy, clay-filled soil will be very difficult with just a trowel or garden spade. Use a shovel or auger for these conditions.
- Hole size/depth – Small tools like trowels can’t dig very deep. Use a shovel or power auger for holes exceeding 12 inches depth.
- Available space – Make sure shovels and power augers have room to operate. Tight spaces favor narrow tools like trowels.
- User height/strength – Taller users should avoid short tools like trowels that require bending over. Larger tools provide more leverage if strength is limited.
- Budget – Manual tools like trowels and shovels provide the most affordable options. Power equipment costs much more but saves labor.
In summary, hand trowels are ideal for digging a few small holes for seeds or seedlings. They provide precision placement with minimal disturbance to surrounding plants. Gardening spades are the next step up for modest jobs like annual flowers or vegetables. Their longer blade and handles allows greater digging depth with less back strain. Standard garden shovels are workhorses for preparing entire beds or planting large transplants. Their scoop shape quickly moves soil. Augers really shine for mass planting applications of over 25-50 holes where quick drilling is needed. Manual post hole diggers bore narrow vertical holes for fences and posts. And earth augers on heavy machinery are reserved for truly massive excavation projects.
Knowing your specific planting needs and soil conditions will guide you to selecting the ideal digging tool and ensure your gardening and landscaping projects are efficient and successful.