Rototiller for Power Up Gardening
I leaned on the handle of the rotary tiller and looked down at my vegetable garden. The finely prepared seed bed was ready in less than an hour, thanks to the rotary tiller. With spade and rake, it would have taken two evenings or a weekend of back tiring work to prepare. Then and there, I promised myself that I had spaded my last garden the hard way! How about you? Have you tried rotary tilling and cultivating in your garden yet? If not, then you may be interested in the points I will cover in this article.
Perhaps you are wondering if the $300 to over $750 price for a rotary tiller is worth the saving in time and effort. What price would you put on getting more enjoyment out of your landscape and gardening, yet getting rid of that spring gardening backache - for years to come?
And what is your time worth? Just imagine doing the amount of work by hand that your tiller will do far easier, faster, and better!
Even if you have a small yard and only small garden space, or feel that you can’t afford a power rotary tiller, there are manufacturers that have units designed especially for you!
These smaller units will till and prepare the seed bed, cultivate between rows that are only 10″ to 12″ apart, and eliminate practically all the hand weeding and hoeing usually needed in foundation plantings, around shrubs and trees.
So you see, rotary tillers have more uses than merely tilling your garden or flower bed. And with accessories, these power units will mow, edge, spray, and even clear away the snow next winter!
There are three basic things that a rotary tiller will do for your garden. First, it will help you get the most yield out of your garden by preparing the ideal seed bed. Second, you can keep your garden more attractive and in better condition with far less effort than you are now probably giving to it. Third, if you have the space, you can increase the size of your garden with less work when you have a rotary tiller.
The rotary tiller will also make compost of the grass, weeds and other waste materials by grinding them up into finely chopped bits that will help aerate and fertilize the soil. Actually, the rotary tiller can till and cultivate four times as much ground in a given time, as 10 strong men can using a spade and rake!
For preparing the garden seed bed, the small rototiller is hard to beat, and it has its advantages in cultivating between rows. The most popular rotary tillers are especially designed for the smaller property. If you have a full acre or more, you’ll want to consider a walking tractor with a more horsepower. But for the purposes of this article, let’s concentrate on the smaller gardens and the use of the rotary tiller alone.
Here are the requirements for an ideal soil ready for planting:
- Contain all the essential soil elements in the correct amounts and acceptable form, for plant food.
- Permit the soil to breathe.
- Be broken down into particles of the correct size in order to retain the optimum amount of moisture.
- Provide good drainage, with no hard pan to stop the flow of water, or to retard the growth of plant roots.
- Be deep enough to provide sufficient area for the roots to grow, feed and expand.
- Be located where sunlight and heat from the sun will favor the crop growth.
- Be thoroughly mixed in such a manner that soil minerals, moisture and microbe activity can combine to release a maximum amount of plant nutrition.
A rotary tiller cuts and then crumbles the soil with an easy lifting motion, leaving the seed bed in fine condition for seeding with little or no extra work required.
Like all power equipment, the rotary tiller is designed and built to do most of the work for you. Once you learn to operate the tiller, you simply guide and control it. Ask your dealer for a free demonstration. In fact, I’ll suggest that you not buy a tiller without getting a demonstration first. The proof in the value of the equipment to you must be proved in your garden or on the dealer’s test plot… not on the sales room floor! Only with a demonstration will you see first hand what the tiller can do for you!
In selecting your rotary tiller from manufacturers like Toro, Honda, Wheel Horse, Troy-Bilt and Craftsman… here are several points to consider.
Be sure the unit is light enough for you to handle easily, yet it should also be large enough to do the job quickly, since ease and speed are two of the main reasons you are considering buying a rotary tiller.
The weight and width of the tiller are also points you’ll want to consider. Judge weight in relation to your storage or transportation requirements. Can the tiller be stored conveniently so that it is easy to move in and out without difficulty? Is your garden plot some distance away so that the tiller must be transported? If so, you may prefer one of the lighter weight models for easier 1 handling.
Personally, I found two features very desirable on a rotary tiller. I prefer wheels for easy transportation from one plot to another (although the rotary tiller will run quite easily on the rotating tines). The other feature is a reverse gear, since my plots adjoin fences and other obstacles, making easy reversing a desirable point. Those of you who have undergone the back tiring effort of pulling back your tillers from hazards and obstacles, know what reversing means to rotary tillers.
Recently, I received information about one of the smaller rotary tillers. The emphasis was on the cultivating advantages of this unit, since with a 10 inch tilling width, the unit is best suited only for tilling the small garden. For cultivating, this equipment can be used even on larger gardens. For example, one user reported that he cultivated a garden of 10,000 square feet in just one hour. Although it will till any garden, this unit is rather slow because of its narrow tilling width.
However, accessories are available for this unit, making it virtually a year-around lawn and garden tool.
Although there is a difference in tines, there is a basic similarity in their appearance. Most brands have the tine designed with a curve to prevent plant materials from matting or twisting around the tines. Some older models had a hook type tine, and in use, weeds or tall grasses were inclined to wind themselves around the tines.
Be sure that replacement parts and service are readily available, preferably from the dealer who sells you the rotary tiller! Although the equipment is built to give you years of trouble-free service, occasionally some repair or service is needed, and when you use your tiller, you want it to be operating properly without a long delay waiting for parts or service. It’s a wise idea to buy your equipment from the dealer who has a good parts inventory and a good service department.
In choosing your rotary tiller, consider a model for which accessories are available so that you can use the power unit to do other lawn care or gardening jobs. Since you will use the tiller and cultivator only a few hours a year, it is more economical in the long run to choose a unit for which accessories are available, such as lawn mower, roller, sprayer, lawn edger, snow thrower, etc. These attachments will add versatility to your basic power unit.
The next question is: How easily can the attachments be changed? Several makes offer a very simple method of changing that literally takes only seconds with no tools required, but others do take a few minutes to make the change, and a small tool or two may be needed.
Don’t hesitate to ask your dealer to demonstrate this change over feature to you. Remember, the proof is in the demonstration. Make sure you get the most desirable unit at the price you want to pay. Virtually all manufacturers offer a choice of several models and price ranges, so before you decide, look several of them over.
The good equipment dealer sells with a free demonstration, so ask for it. Only with a demonstration can you really see what the rotary tiller can do for you, and it will help you determine the size, brand and model most ideally suited to your needs and price range.
Every piece of power equipment will save you endless hours of work and considerable effort, and will do your gardening faster, easier and better. So power up the rotary tiller is an excellent piece of equipment to own for better gardening, for years to come!
by F Bartonek
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