Jim wrote:
HettieŽ wrote:
[....]
I could use an easier post hole digger; they don't make one that I could
work with,
[....]
http://www.altapower.com/Earthquake_E43_p/e43.htm
the Earthquake 1.75 HP Powerhead - E43 is truly a one man
power post hole driller. I bought my about six years ago
so I could plant trees and other landscape plants without
the pain of digging. I've got both the 4" and the 6" auger
bits. if I'm planting a tree from a 15" container I drill
a center hole and then drill tangent holes around the center
hole until I've got the diameter required for the tree or
other type of plant being planted. the auger turns the dirt
into a powder making it very easy to remove with a standard
post hole digger, almost to easy.
for transplanting tomato, squash, cucumber, pepper and other
garden plants I first layout my distance measurements then
drill each plant its own 32" deep hole. push the pulverized
powdery dirt back into the hole and set the plant. the
process creates a deep subsoiler effect allowing roots to
reach easily down into the earth for water. here's a secret
trick. put a pinch of each plant type's favorite fertilizer
about 10 to 12 inches down in the hole and by the time the
plant's roots hit the pocket of fertilizer the plant is large
enough to accept and enjoy the find.
and yea, I did put a fence post or two in with the
Earthquake - E43.
my usage recommendation is to drill slowly and allow the
powerhead to do the work. this way when you find a large
root or a large rock there is almost no kick back. do
run the motor wide open / full throttle but don't press
down with a lot of force.
I wonder if I could handle that and how dangerous it might be. Kickback
scares me because I almost cut my finger off with my chain saw, doctor
said it would never be the same again. It healed up fine. You said one
man. This is one woman. A stubborn older one who doesn't like to admit
she doesn't have the strength she once had which wasn't all that much
even then. How much do they cost? That sounds great. Just like my
tiller which takes all the strength I have to use, but I'm getting more
accustomed to it.
I am doing things now I never imagined I could do though. Things I
thought you needed a man for. It is just too hard now to find somebody
reasonable to work for you. My family will help me, but they are so
darn busy, I hate to bother them unless I just have to have the help.
If I wanted to kill myself or break my wrists, I suppose I could use a
regular one if I didn't try to do it all at once, maybe work with a tile
spade. I think I like yours better. Would I get enough use from it to
be worth the money? I'll have to consider that.
You can plant with the tiller, just till, shovel out, and till some
more, but you can't go near as deep as that. Plus I want to set some
cedar posts. Myself. Maybe with help with my son. I hired a
landscaper, planted some roses I thought I couldn't plant because it was
a batch of 12, and didn't think I could do that many in one day, wanted
several more things done, they never sent me an estimate, nice couple,
left me wondering why, maybe my property wouldn't make them look good
enough? I think I was polite to them, but I do have to bargain for a
good price and know on their end it has to be worth it. Landscapers are
expensive.
It's weird. I had my heart set on some iron lattice trellises, kept a
photo somebody posted. Couldn't find anything like that. I printed out
the photo, showed it to them, they said they'd cost a fortune to have
welded. Guess what? I found them at Plow & Hearth, and they were very
reasonable even with shipping, made in China, of course. Now they seem
to be out of them again.
Today I was in awe. I don't know what they were fixing, but I stopped
to watch a neighbor getting, suppose a sewer line, drilled with this
enormous augur, never saw one that big, wish I'd gone back with my
camera, but wasn't in the mood to tick anybody off. They were having
some trouble with it, the area between the street and sidewalk is
extremely narrow, and they kept hitting something.
Thank you for telling me about that Earthquake thing and the link. I'll
check it out tomorrow.