Our excellent new auger
Hole digging the Cottesloe Coastcare way! For over 20 years we have worked on the best survival rates for seedlings. In our mostly steep, very exposed dune conditions we find that digging big bowl shaped holes gives the best results. We plant deep, water new seedlings (using wetting agents if needed), and later the bowl catches rain and allows for hand summer watering when required. And now we have a wonderful new digging tool, sponsored by ATCO and adapted for us.
Cottesloe Coast Care’s New Sand Hole Drilling Auger – April 2019
Cottesloe Coastcare has developed a unique device to dig the conically-shaped hole they have found most successful for planting in our sand dunes as part of the group’s ongoing efforts of restore our coastal environment.
The current design is the result of several prototypes modelled using the discrete element method to mathematically model the drilling process. Example output from one of these simulations is shown below:
The chosen auger design was then built by a local steel fabricator and is shown in the photo on the right.
In use the novel auger is attached to a Stihl BT 131 1.4kW single-operator earth auger, and takes a few seconds to dig each hole. This setup in use, and a series of resulting holes are shown in the photographs below:
After this year’s winter plantings, some small improvements to the design are being considered to alleviate minor issues encountered.
CCA is very grateful to Peter Ewing for the excellent design (petere@veta.com.au) and to Nigel Lullfitz for the fabrication. Peter is happy to be contacted for any inquiries.
Below are some photos of Mike Ewing, Hannah Gulliver and Mike Rigoll digging beautiful holes.
THANK YOU ALL!
