6 Best Bulb Augers For Planting Garlic That Old Farmers Swear By
Plant garlic faster and with perfect consistency. We review the 6 best bulb augers, chosen by veteran farmers for their durability and efficiency.
There’s a moment every fall when you look at the bucket of garlic cloves you need to plant and your back starts to ache just thinking about it. For years, that meant hours on my knees with a dibber, forcing one hole at a time into the cold ground. Switching to a bulb auger changed everything, turning a dreaded chore into a satisfyingly fast and effective task.
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Why a Bulb Auger Beats a Dibber for Garlic
A dibber, or any pointed stick, works by compressing soil to create a hole. In heavy or clay soil, this creates a compacted pocket that can hinder root development and even trap water, leading to rot. An auger, on the other hand, physically removes the soil from the hole, leaving behind a column of loosened earth. This gives the garlic clove an ideal environment to spread its roots and seek out nutrients.
The real difference becomes clear when you’re planting at scale. Poking 50 holes with a dibber is one thing; poking 500 is an entirely different kind of work. An auger attached to a cordless drill lets you create perfectly spaced, uniform-depth holes as fast as you can walk down the row. It transforms the job from a back-breaking ordeal into a quick, almost enjoyable process.
This isn’t just about speed; it’s about better growing conditions. The auger’s action aerates the soil in the immediate planting zone. That small pocket of friable soil is a huge advantage for a young clove, especially in beds that haven’t been tilled deeply. You get a better plant, a bigger bulb, and you can stand up straight when you’re done.
Power Planter 324: The All-Around Workhorse
If you’re going to own just one auger, this is the one. The Power Planter 324, with its 3-inch diameter and 24-inch length, hits the sweet spot for versatility and ergonomics. The 24-inch length is critical—it lets you drill holes while standing comfortably, completely eliminating the need to kneel or bend over. This single feature saves an incredible amount of strain on your back and knees.
Built from solid American steel with a non-slip hex drive, this tool is designed for work. It doesn’t just stir the soil; the flighting is angled to efficiently lift dirt up and out of the hole. It performs beautifully in loam, sandy soil, and even moderately compacted ground. For planting individual garlic cloves, the 3-inch hole gives the bulb plenty of space to develop without competition.
The only real consideration is the power it requires. A 24-inch auger needs a drill with some serious torque to be effective, especially if you hit a patch of clay or a small root. But paired with a decent 18V or 20V drill, it’s the most balanced and useful planting auger you can have on a small farm. It’s not just for garlic; you’ll find yourself using it for planting flower bulbs, bedding plants, and even mixing small batches of concrete or mortar.
LEMY Garden Auger: A Heavy-Duty Clay Buster
When you’re dealing with stubborn, compacted clay, a standard auger can struggle. The LEMY auger, and others like it, are built with a more aggressive design to tackle these tough conditions. The spiral flighting is often thicker and more pronounced, designed to bite into dense soil and pull it out with authority.
This isn’t a finesse tool. It’s a brute-force solution for problem soils where a lesser auger would just spin and polish the sides of the hole. If your ground is so hard you’d normally reach for a pickaxe before a shovel, this is the kind of auger you need. It chews through soil that would stop other models in their tracks.
That power comes with a tradeoff. An aggressive auger demands a powerful drill, and it will drain your batteries much faster. The kickback can also be significant if it catches on a rock or root, so a drill with a side handle is an absolute must for safety. Think of it as a specialty tool: not for every job, but indispensable when you need it.
Yard Butler Roto Auger: For Deep, Raised Beds
Planting in raised beds or well-tilled garden soil presents a different challenge. You don’t need brute force to break up compaction; you need reach and precision. The Yard Butler Roto Auger, often longer and thinner than heavy-duty models, is perfectly suited for this work. Its primary job is to create a clean, deep hole in loose soil without making a mess.
The extended length, sometimes 30 inches or more, is the key feature. It allows you to stand and plant in the middle of a 4-foot-wide raised bed without stepping in it and compacting your carefully prepared soil. The smaller diameter, typically 1.75 to 2.5 inches, is ideal for creating neat holes for garlic cloves without disturbing the surrounding soil structure.
Just don’t mistake it for a clay buster. This type of auger is built for loose soil. Taking it to a patch of rocky, hard-packed ground is a recipe for a bent shaft or a broken weld. It’s a specialized tool that excels in its intended environment, making raised bed planting incredibly fast and ergonomic.
Ames Steel Auger: A Simple, Reliable Choice
Sometimes, you just need a tool that works without any fuss. The Ames auger is that tool. It’s a straightforward, no-frills piece of welded steel that you can find at most good hardware or farm supply stores. There are no special coatings or patented designs, but it’s built from heavy-gauge steel and it does the job reliably.
This is the perfect choice for the hobby farmer planting a few hundred cloves in decent soil. It’s affordable, durable enough for years of seasonal use, and simple to operate. It represents a massive upgrade from a hand trowel or dibber without the cost of a premium, specialized auger.
The tradeoff is in the refinement. The welds might be a bit rougher, and the design might not clear soil quite as efficiently as a Power Planter. In really tough conditions, it might struggle more. But for 90% of garden soils, it provides an excellent balance of cost, durability, and performance.
Jisco Pro Bulb Planter: For Rocky Soil Work
Drilling into rocky soil is where most augers fail, and fail dangerously. When a standard auger hits a rock, it can either jam violently, kicking the drill back at your wrist, or the tip can be bent or broken. The Jisco Pro and similar rock-focused augers are designed specifically to mitigate this problem.
Their key feature is a much more robust tip, sometimes called a "gravel point," which is made of thicker steel or even has a carbide addition. This allows the auger to better withstand impacts with small-to-medium rocks, either pushing them aside or simply surviving the collision without damage. The flighting may also be shorter and welded more securely to prevent it from being torn off by a jam.
This is a safety and durability choice. If you know your soil is full of rocks, investing in an auger built for it is a wise decision. It will last longer and, more importantly, reduce the risk of a wrist injury from sudden kickback. It might not be the fastest or most efficient in clean soil, but in challenging ground, its resilience is what matters most.
DeWit Bulb Planter Auger: A Lifetime Investment
There are tools, and then there are tools you plan to pass on to the next generation. DeWit augers fall into the latter category. Hand-forged in Holland from high-quality boron steel, these are the pinnacle of garden tool craftsmanship. They aren’t just functional; they are exceptionally well-designed and built to last a lifetime.
The difference is in the details. The welds are flawless, the steel holds a sharp edge on the tip, and the tool feels perfectly balanced on the end of a drill. It bites into the soil with less effort and clears the hole more cleanly than mass-produced alternatives. Using a DeWit auger is a genuinely pleasant experience for anyone who appreciates fine tools.
Of course, this level of quality comes at a significant price. This is not a practical choice for someone planting a single row of garlic once a year. It’s an investment for the serious market gardener or dedicated hobby farmer who uses their tools daily and demands the absolute best in performance and longevity. If you believe in buying the best and only buying it once, this is your auger.
Pairing Your Auger with the Right Cordless Drill
An auger is useless without a good drill to power it. Using an underpowered drill is frustrating at best and can burn out the drill’s motor at worst. The single most important feature you need is high torque, which is the tool’s rotational power. High speed (RPM) is far less important for turning an auger in the soil.
For any auger over 12 inches long or 2 inches wide, you need a professional-grade drill. Look for these key features:
- Voltage: 18V or 20V minimum.
- Motor: A brushless motor will provide more power, better efficiency, and a longer tool life.
- Side Handle: This is a non-negotiable safety feature. When an auger bites into a root or rock, it can stop instantly, transferring all that rotational energy to the drill body. A side handle gives you the leverage to control this kickback and protect your wrist.
Don’t even try to use a small, compact drill meant for driving screws. You’ll be disappointed and may ruin your tool. For heavy clay or very large augers, some old-timers even skip the cordless drill and use a corded, low-speed, high-torque drill, often called a mud mixer. Whatever you choose, make sure you have at least one spare battery charged and ready to go; turning an auger is one of the most demanding tasks you can ask of a cordless drill.
Ultimately, choosing the right bulb auger is about matching the tool to your soil and your scale. It’s a simple investment that pays huge dividends in saved time, reduced physical strain, and healthier, larger garlic bulbs. Ditching the dibber for an auger is one of the smartest upgrades a small-scale grower can make.
