Solutions We Love: Power Planter

Power Planter’s All-American Auger

By Angelique Robb

Before I moved back to the states and started Pro Landscaper USA South, I had my own landscaping company in Scotland. I learned many valuable skills by running my own business, including hard, manual labor. While I found the work gratifying, I came to appreciate the tools and machinery to help me get the job done more efficiently.

I grew up in southern Louisiana and wasn’t used to the soil in Scotland. It was rocky and filled with sediment. It took a lot of muscle to dig holes in the ground. Now, I’m back in Louisiana, and I’m finding the soil here has its own set of challenges. Louisiana’s soil is very hard and compacted. The soil also has a lot of clay, which makes it dense and difficult to dig. I absolutely love plants, and if it weren’t for Louisiana’s soil as my main obstacle, I would be planting a lot more in my garden.

I recently received a tool from one of the magazine’s clients, Power Planter, to try out. Some women get excited for jewelry, but I get excited about power tools— especially ones that make planting easier!

When I used Power Planter in my own garden, I was amazed at the auger’s strength. I also liked the ability to slow down or speed up. This tool is a solution to many landscaping challenges, helping us to work smarter, not harder. The Power Planter protects my back while I easily get plants I love into the ground. It eliminates hours of bending over, heavy lifting and mindless repetition.

I sent Power Planter to one of our magazine contributors Brooke Inzerella, who owns a residential and commercial landscaping business here in Louisiana. Brooke agreed that the tool is a game-changer.

“Power Planter provides a system where three guys can put in 100 plants in 20 minutes, instead of a full day,” Brooke told me.

"You can adjust to different size plants and use them across all types of terrain. Because of the design, it doesn’t have the recoil that I’ve experienced with other drill-auger combinations."

Aaron Crenshaw, operations manager for landscape construction with Eden Scapes, also tried the auger and shared his feedback. “It’s lightweight, has a long battery life, and the brushless motor’s torque is quite amazing,” Aaron said. “I ran several different scenarios testing each auger bit. I found in my first test for torque, we used the 2-gallon auger bit in aggregate compacted soil. This product is a beast—we just had to make sure and have a strong brace and a good handle on it. On another test, I was able to install eight, 2-gallon plants in 10 minutes.”

Power Planter’s history also impressed me. The design is 30 years in the making, developed by an Illinois farmer hoping to ease and speed up his workflow. It worked so well that people across the region wanted one, and he launched an auger business in the late 1980s. In 2015, when the farmer was 85-years-old, his grandson decided to expand operations. He made Power Planter available online, and it began quickly selling nationwide. Still made in the USA, Power Planter has shipped all over the world, including to Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

Power Planter representatives say ease-of-use and efficiency is a top priority, but safety is also key. The tools have built-in safety clutches in case of emergencies and electric batteries to keep toxic fumes away from users. One Power Planter customer purchased the kit after an accident left him unable to use a traditional shovel. He said the physics of the auger is a perfect solution.

Power Planter offers multiple packages with different attachments and accessories, including a partnership with DeWalt. We think you’ll love it as much as we do. Happy spring planting! powerplanter.com