Bulb Planting Is Easier With The Hound Dog Planter
Pros:
Makes the job go much faster
Cons:
Must prep the land first
The Bottom Line:
If you have a lot of bulbs to plant, the hound dog planter may be just what you need!
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I have used the Hound Dog Planter for 2 seasons and expect to use it for many more.
HOW DOES THE HOUND DOG PLANTER WORK
The Hound Dog Planter is an aid for planting bulbs. It basically does the digging, and then refilling, for you. It is far from a necessary tool but if you are like me and plant a lot of bulbs yearly, it is a nice tool to have around. It cost around $25 so you will need to
Determine if it is worth spending that for the amount of time you will be using it. Of course, you could always rent it out to neighbors and friends at $5 a pop and have your money back in a jiffy!
It helps to have prepped the soil first, especially if it is really compacted: solid or just hard to get through. It goes super fast on prepped areas so it makes sense to take that step first.
To use the Hound Dog Planter you simply place it over the area you want to plant and step on the little bar. This will push it down to the correct length of 6 inches. The bar not only holds your foot, it lets you know, how far to push it down: until the bar is level with the ground.
You then pull the Hound Dog Planter up, which will leave the soil contained in the coring tube. You then place the bulb into the hole, and then release the dirt on top of (and around) the bulb by squeezing the handle lever. Then you can move onto the next bulb.
One thing to note is that the guide is on both sides, making it just as easy for us lefties to read as the right handed gardeners.
TEAM WORK WITH THE HOUND DOG PLANTER
The Hound Dog Planter really works better with two people. If you are doing it alone, you have to stand up to bring the dirt out, drop the bulb in (adjusting it by hand if needed), and then put the soil back. I started out doing it myself but had to keep leaning down and adjusting the bulbs which soon, became a pain in the back.
When I got another person to help me, the job went much faster and there was no up and down, up and down involved. With two, you can have the first one make the hole, the second one place in the bulb and then the first person drops back in the dirt. The second person can adjust the soil if needed while the first person moved onto another hole. It is much faster with two.
Also, if you are going to use bulb food the two person method would really speed that up. The first person could make the hole, the second person could drop in the food and bulb, and then the first person could fill the hole back up. That way, person one stays standing while person two can stay sitting or kneeling.
The Hound Dog Planter weighs less than 5 pounds and comes with a lifetime guarantee - if it breaks, they replace it!
~~**~~**~~2BUZY’S FINAL THOUGHTS~~**~~**~~
I like the Hound Dog Planter because it is easy to use and makes planting bulbs much easier. While it has "saw" like teeth to get through, it still struggles a bit in compacted, or un-worked soil. This means that we still have to prep the soil before using. I am giving it 4 stars.
