I intend to plant some trees using a post hole digger and wanted to know if anyone ever used such a tool to plant trees before and any reviews that might help.
I'm currently looking at one listed on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370782779886?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Thank You in advance.

A lot depends on the soils, or lack there of, LOL  North of Austin can be really rocky and that makes the use of an auger iffy.  We tried using one on the North side of 1431 and it was a real trial.  Every time you hit a rock it will kick up and the possibility of wedging a rock in the blade is a real possibility.

I use a regular (non-mechanical) post hole digger, like you use for fence posts. Works great in my clay, sometimes very hard soil. I agree with other post, be careful using a powerful machine like that. 

Don't do it! Dig a wide saucer shaped hole.

I put the weed barrier first. LOL

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f45/saswk/IMG_1303_zps9hwvj4kn.jpg

I'd rent one at Home Depot. They work well with the help of a friend. If you want to saucer the edges you still can. I live in an area with alot of clay, I dig a large 30 gallon plus hole even though others might not recommend it and use enriched soil to fill it. After digging and cleaning out the hole, I cover the bottom with a 4+" layer of gravel I then stand a 4" drain pipe on top of the gravel, tall enough to extend 12" above ground level, I then put a few inches of gravel in it as well. I then I anchor it temporarily while filling the hole with soil and the tree. This way I can choose to water and fertilize the tree at the root zone keeping surface weeds at a minimum. We have gophers as well so I make a wire basket for the tree before setting it in place.  It's worked well so far. I've read that if you make a big hole, that the roots won't grow beyond the hole but since it's hard clay I don't see how it hurts.  If there are others with an alternate view, I'd appreciate hearing it. Thanks.     

Planted a whole bunch of trees on the other side of my land, using a manual post hole digger, but no weed barrier. The weeds were higher than my trees and had to wait until last week to find them again. Most survived two summers so far with no irrigation.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f45/saswk/IMG_1270_zpsgsstemin.jpg

I just rented and used a 30" auger on a dingo. (Ditch witch) to plant 18 6' tall 15 gal Leyland Cypress. I had them all planted in 2 hrs. With delivery I think it was $360.00. It was hard clay with no rocks. However, even in rocky soil this thing is a beast.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dIFqY_vdXRU

I love Leland Cypress! Congratulations.

I use an auger on my Bobcat but I don't plant in the drilled hole.  The reason for this is the sides of the hole will glaze and the roots will have a hard time breaking through the glazing.  This is the reason commercial farming operations don't drill holes.  What I do is drill the hole as deep as I can go and then I use my stump bucket on the Bobcat to break the sides of the hole in and then I mound the ground up with the bucket.  I then plant on the top of the 2 foot tall mound digging the hole for the tree by hand.  The soil is usually very soft at this point and is very easy to dig.  What I don't want is compacted soil that will slow the growth of the tree.  In the commercial almond and walnut orchards I have setup and farmed, I would layout the ground and then use a backhoe dig a deep hole (5+ feet deep and 5 feet around) for each tree and then back fill leaving a mound.  We would then have a crew come in, stretch cable and dig all the holes for each tree by hand.

Just my 2 cents but if you want to drill, make sure you break up the sides of the hole.

Very interesting! Went back today and dug a few holes by hand. Planted a total of seven trees and covered with mulch. It might take a while, but it's safer that way. Thanks everyone.

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Hi,
I'm planning to use a post-hole-digger to bury trimmings from my trees. Those hole will be some on site compost piles to feed the worms and to make bigger stems disappear faster from sight.

Depending on your land, making such holes is a good or a bad idea.
It depends on the water flow and the water table.
If you make such a hole, and your land is hard clay, you may have all water come/flow to the hole ( water flows to the lower point it finds) .
Imagine if you have a high water table ... Water will raise there first.
So I would dig more holes (twice) than the number of trees that I would plant. So that water could escape elsewhere than just at the feet of the trees.

Well, now, I just need to buy a post-hole-digger - I'll go for the manual operated one - although then I need the strength to get it to drill in the dirt... But that's another problem.
For the trashcans, I dug holes of 2'*2'*2' - 60cm*60cm*60cm . At surface level, it was not a problem, but deeper I had to use a hammer, a burin and a crowbar ... That was some nice meal to deal with ...
Believe me or not, but while digging one hole, it was getting late, so I threw a bucket of water in the hole to soften the dirt for the next day ... Well, the next day, I had to use a bucket to empty the hole ... the water was still there ... The clay jar effect, they call it .

Hi JD,

When digging holes, I found that using a shovel similar to this one
https://www.amazon.com/Closed-Back-Round-Point-Spades/dp/B00002N8PP/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1478102829&sr=8-8&keywords=razorback+spade
Was much easier than using a post hole digger. The hand post hole digger became useful when I hit a root.
As for the type of land that you might have, if you add a nice layer of compost and mulch you could grow anything.
My land floods seasonally, but it did not stop me from turning this into an advantage. I'm encouraged by the fact that I have mature pecan trees among other trees.
Also almost all my Jujube trees and over half of my fig trees are still alive after two summers. So I planted more trees this week and recently replaced the dead ones.

Each time I plant a tree I add 2 Cft of natural hardwood mulch at the base of tree to preserve humidity, during the drought .

A post hole digger will work fine on one or 2 trees.  If you have a bunch to plant, go get yourself a one man auger.  It comes with a wide bit.  I us it  planting 40 Pawpaw trees.  Pawpaws have a very long tap root.  I could never use a post hole digger to plant 40 trees.  I would wear by back out in an hour!  

A tiller will work better if you get a good one like Craftsman.

Phase II almost complete using a shovel, lost five pounds and just need a couple of days Off:)

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