You need to dig a lot of holes for an ecological garden. This little-known tool makes it easier.

Dear Avant Gardener, Can you recommend a tool or method to dig holes that won’t hurt my knees? I injured my knees installing shrubs in the spring. Pushing the shovel with my boot into hard earth did it. It’s now time for fall planting and I dread re-injuring myself. Are my planting days over? — Garden Grrl

You are a stronger woman than I am! This year’s drought made the soil so hard I could barely break ground. So my husband Pete dug the holes for a wildlife hedge — and ended up with a very sore knee. We then paid a nursery to install a tree. The installed tree cost double the price of the tree alone. And the installers used mulch — dyed mulch. I fume each time I water the tree and see coffee-colored liquid.

More work up front, less later

Transforming a traditional lawn into an ecological garden can require digging a lot of holes. Pete and I expect to plant hundreds of plugs and dozens of shrubs and small trees on our third acre lot over the next two years. We enjoy getting our hands dirty. We apply the latest science (no till, no amendments, little or no mulch), with which local landscape companies are not familiar. And we are confident an ecological garden will be less work and far more satisfying in the long run.

Fortunately, Roy Diblik’s excellent The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden introduced me to the idea of using a drill. For shrubs and trees, I needed more. Googling “rent an auger” led me to gas-powered augers. I’m trying to avoid polluting, so I tried “battery-powered earth auger.” Bingo. I found a Ryobi auger with an 8-inch bit introduced just last year with 700-plus fantastic reviews. The tool costs $369 (or $429 if you don’t already have a 40V Ryobi battery). That’s about the cost of renting a gas-powered auger for a week — or having one 8-foot tree installed. Here’s the description from Home Depot:

This Auger has 30% more torque than the average gas unit . . . [I]t is lighter weight with reduced vibration for increased comfort as you work and the Anti-kickback system provides added safety when working around rocks and roots. This auger features forward and reverse functions, along with 3-speeds so you can choose the best speed for the job . . . The quick connect capability allows for easy bit change to other accessory auger bits available for sale . . . The tool is backed by a 5-year tool warranty.

I was sold. I wish I could tell you my research was thorough. It was not. No other battery-powered earth augers showed up in my initial search. Fortunately, I adore my auger. Although it’s big and heavy for a 120-pound woman of a certain age, I can handle it. It digs an 8-inch hole quickly and easily. To make a larger holes, I make two or more adjacent holes. To make small holes for plugs, I bought a 4-inch bit.

Keep shoveling? Rent an auger? So last year! Have fun planting with your personal auger.

— The Avant Gardener

Why, How, Wow!

Why?

Our ecosystem needs more native plants, and plants evolved to grow in a community. Mimicking these communities in your garden requires digging more holes and installing more plants closer together (without rototilling, amendments or mulch) compared to traditional horticulture. The added cost and work up front will be repaid in lower maintenance costs and healthier and longer-lived plants. You can save money by buying plugs and young shrubs and trees, which quickly catch up to larger transplants.

How

Using an auger will enable you to DIY your plantings much faster and without damaging your knees. (Make sure to wear gloves, boots, long pants, and eye protection.)

Wow!

Planted closely without mulch, perennials grow tightly together as nature intended — with little room for weeds. Those below are in their third season after planting. At this point, they require minimal maintenance: Mowing and hoeing in spring, then observational weeding once a month during the growing season.

Related Resources

• Want to evaluate other augers? See Family Handyman’s “The Best Post Hole Diggers” and Popular Mechanics’ “The 8 Best Post Hold Diggers for Landscaping Projects.”

• See what other tools we recommend: Tools We Use.