Jim Gem OST Dibble Bar

I bought this to plant 50+ native tree seedlings on my property. My soil is very heavy clay and rocky. It would have been impossible for me to plant them without this tool. I praised it so much to my sister that she bought one too, to dig out ancient yew roots in her backyard. (I am in my late 60's and my sister is in her early 70's, btw) It feels heavy and very strong, and useful for many gardening tasks. This is a valuable tool to have in your gardening arsenal.

This design is heavy, but well balanced and near indestructible.I have used several designs and for my soil conditions this is my preferred hand tool.

This dibble is stout. I used a shovel to plant a couple hundred trees. I'd get near the bottom of the hole I started and find a rock. I could start a new hole or try to find out if it's a small rock. Most were good size and it took a lot of digging to get out. I bought this to plant some shrubs from the state nursery. If I hit a rock, I know right away to just move over and try again. It's much quicker!If the roots are too big, they can be pruned. I chose to make two or possibly three slots with the dibble though. Closing it up is just as easy. Overall, it's a big time saver. Time will tell if it's as effective but studies done seem to indicate there's no difference between growth when digging a hole or using a shovel. If only there were an easy, effective way to protect them for critters until they get established!

Have had this goal of returning my little five acres of heaven in northern Wisconsin to its original white pine forest landscape prior to the clear cutting of the 1900's.Used the dibble bar this year instead of the usual long handled spade in prior years. Ground is clay covered by about an inch of decaying mulch deposited since the last ice age. The bar is a much better tool to cut through the clay and roots of nearby trees than a spade will ever be. Can jump on the bar's "step" and pry the ground without worry of breaking the handle as on a spade.Bought the dibble bar because each year that I have purchased bare root trees from the Iron County forestry office, the trees come with planting instructions showing the proper method of planting is to use a planting bar, instructions taken from the Forestry Prod. website. Use of a spade is discouraged because of a resulting void which could dry the lower roots. I am a slow learner.True test of the bar will be the survival rate of the trees next spring, but an update is not possible.

Sturdy and does exactly what it’s supposed to. This is what the pros use. I use it for transplanting seedlings around my 5acre yard. A million times better than a shovel!

I live on a farm and am in the process of a reforestation plan that I began in spring of last year.After using a standard garden spade which made the process frustrating for planting bare root seedling trees, I decided to go with a dibble bar for this spring's plantings. I can say that I'm very happy with the performance of the dibble in comparison with the spade. The wedge makes the perfect cut in the ground and has no problem going deep. When you rock it to make a larger cut, the bar is welded well enough to stay attached and the shaft is heavy enough not to bend when you do so.I planted just over 100 seedlings in just under 5 hours and wasn't in a rush either.

The weld on this dibble bar is absolutely abysmal and should not have even left the factory. It’s all globby and doesn’t even seem to be making good contact with the blade. I have to plant bare root white pine seedlings tomorrow, I was relying on receiving this dibble bar (which I realize now was a mistake), and now I don’t even know if this tool is going to hold up or not. It could last forever, but it certainly looks like it’ll break very soon. I don’t remember a Jim Gem dibble bar ever looking this bad before now. Disappointed in Forestry Suppliers, which has always been a reputable name in my book. I hope it’s a one-off lemon.

Planted 800 trees with my son last weekend with 2 of these. Solid welding and construction.