With autumn nearly upon us, it’s time to get those bulbs in the ground such as, alliums. tulips and daffodils, but bulb planters can also be used for veg planting too, including potatoes, leeks, onions, shallots and garlic.
SNEEBOER TIMBER BULB PLANTER
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With a 12.5cm (5in) deep, 6cm (2½in) diameter, hand-forged, stainless steel cone, this bulb planter can be used for autumn plants of daffodils and tulips, but also doubles as a potato planter too. It has an ash handle and measures 90cm (3ft) long.
KG VERDICT
Not the cheapest planter in town but a class act. The smooth and comfortably contoured T-handle allows for two-handed pressure, further supported by the side bar for placement of the foot when driving the cone into the soil or lawn. The tool can be turned either way to suit right-footed or left-footed users. The cone slides into grass and soil almost effortlessly and the collected soil can be dislodged easily. Pretty versatile too as it can be used for potato planting. If you have a lot of planting to do, this one will be worth the extra expenditure.
HARROD HORTICULTURAL
www.harrodhorticultural.com
TEL: 0333 400 6400
PRODUCT CODE: GGT-368
PRICE GUIDE: £99.95
TOP PICK
BULB PLANTER WITH FIXED HANDLE
This Bulb Planter will create uniform planting holes for flower bulbs of up to 6cm (2½) in diameter. The cone has a serrated edge to cut through the soil when twisting the cone and lifted soil is then released by pressing the handle. The side measure helps to gauge the planting depth up to 10cm (4in).
KG VERDICT
The metric side measure has two stations, 5cm and 10cm, so quite useful for measuring depth. Particularly used is the in-built soil release mechanism in the handle so the collected soil can be dislodged with ease achieved by the simple pressing of the thumb. With the serrated head, it works into loose soil with little effort but requires more pressure when planting on grass. Another good tool from the Wolf-Garten range.
WOLF-GARTEN
wolfgarten-tools.co.uk
TEL: GO ONLINE FOR STOCKISTS NEAR YOU
PRODUCT CODE: FHN
PRICE: £12.99
TOP PICK
HAND HELD BULB PLANTER
This stainless steel bulb planter – endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society – has a 6cm (2½in) diameter cone with serrated edge to make cutting through the soil easier. The side measure runs from 2cm (1in) to 10cm (4in) to enable plating to a precise depth. The handle is made of FSC® certified hardwood.
KG VERDICT
The long serrations at the base of the cone makes this a particular effective planted for cutting through soil, though requires a little more working when cutting into grass. The handle is particularly smooth and comfortable to hold and the side measure (both imperial and metric) is prefect for gauging the precise depth of hole. A very effective planter.
BURGON & BALL
www.burgonandball.com
TEL: 0114 233 8262
PRODUCT CODE: n/a
PRICE GUIDE: £19.99
