I've decided to buy a tiller/cultivator. Any suggestions?

[Trailrider1951]

I'm putting in a large garden this year. I'm in central Texas and it was 70deg. last weekend! I fenced off a sunny area in the back yard approximately 20' x 35', and I need to break up the weeds/grass sod. I'd like to pay around $200, and I want one that is relatively light in weight. Can anyone recommend a brand that has a reputation for reliability and durability? Thanks in advance.

[bvar22]

1. We are "in the market" too.

So I'll be watching this thread.

There are two kinds: Front Tine Tiller (Blades in Front), and Rear Tine (Blades behind the Wheels).
The Rear Tine Tiller is generally preferable for the tougher work, like 1st time busting up of sod.
5 HP (Horsepower) would be the absolute minimum.
A new Rear Tined 5 HP Tiller will cost you minimum $650.

We rented a 5HP Front Tined Tiller for 1st time breaking up sod, and it was WORK.


1st time breaking up of sod is really too tough a job for a 5HP Front Tine Tiller.
The only way we could make it work was by running a strap behind our back and using our weight to hold back the tiller in one spot until it had a chance to work its way through the sod...then take one step and lean back again.
After finishing the first run, we re-tilled in a perpendicular direction, and then finally, a third "finishing" run. On the third run, the tiller worked like you see on TV, easy peasy. The first two runs required a lot of muscle, and we worked the little tiller harder than I like to work machinery (wide open all the time).



It took about 2 days to do approximately the same size plot you are planning, but only cost $35.00.
After that, we scooped up the topsoil and put it in raised boxes, so we haven't had to re-till.

Based on our experience, if we buy, it will be a Rear Tine Tiller stronger than 5HP.
But I would rent again if necessary. We just don't use a tiller enough to justify the cost of a new one.

You might look at renting a tiller for a first time run, and use that experience to decide How Much tiller you want to buy.

16 months later (2nd season)


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x7979

[XemaSab]

2. Cheap tillers are not cost effective

I bought a cheap tiller and it was just as much work to use it as digging up the sod in the first place.

[hippywife]

3. The only way you'll find a heavy duty one

for that price is to look on craigslist, probably. Maybe.

That being said, our garden is the same size as you are wanting to clear. We borrowed a friend's tiller the first two years coz ya know what? Tilling it doesn't get rid of the grass, and just might make it worse. The first couple of years we row gardened and the grass was terrible and it was too hot to hand weed for much of the summer and we refuse to use herbicides or pesticides.

Last year hubband put down weed barrier fabric, a cheap brand and not laid very well, the grass came back but around the boxes (we square foot gardened)but only a little in the boxes where I had put down paper grocery sacks inside the box, on top of the weed barrier and then topped with the square foot gardening suggest fill for the boxes. Letting the chickens in the garden took care of the grass problem between the boxes but they also ate lots of our plants (don't believe anyone who says chickens will leave large well-established plants alone. They lie.)

This year, I want to incorporate lasagna gardening into the square foot gardening in some aspects. I have a box I'm experimenting with now that I'm throwing large bags of salad bar scraps into for the chickens to eat. What they don't eat, will compost into the soil in the box. This year, new boxes will get lots of cardboard and newspaper laid down atop the grass rather than tilling the ground. The chickens will be allowed to eat the grass between boxes but there will be barriers keeping them out of the vegetables. That's the plan at this moment, anyway. :D

[sazemisery]

4. I have owned a Sears Craftsman 5hp front-tine tiller for 35 years

Although the rear tine tillers are easier to handle, they are more expensive. I know they don't make stuff like they used to and maybe my tiller is an exception. It has broken up ground from backyard flower beds and gardens to the 1/4 acre vegetable garden we had back in the early '80's.

[Trailrider1951]

5. Thanks, everyone, for your input.

As much as I would like to have the rear-tined tiller, it is just not affordable at $700. Plus, they weigh a ton. I'm a 57 year old female, and I want something I can handle. Thanks to the drought here, the soil is dry and fairly easy to break up. Also, because it has been so dry, the grass is thin. I tried breaking the sod last weekend with a spade, and while it wasn't too difficult, I'm not used to that much physical activity, and quit after my back started hurting and my hands started to get blisters. The tiller would make the job much easier. I found this Bolens tiller at Lowes:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=97572-65481-BL410&lpage=none

and they also sell this Troy-built electric one for a similar price:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=139051-65481-TB154&lpage=none

Any input on the choice?

[sazemisery]

6. If your tilling will be close to a plug in..

I would choose the TroyBuilt.

[Kolesar]

7. I grubbed the sod off with a light maddock and then deep forked the bed with a garden fork

We have had great results with deep-forking the 500 sq ft of beds we did three years ago. Here is how I did two new beds of about 200 sq ft last October. The grubbing took two days, about three hours each day, IIRC.

1. Used a garden spade or one of those "edger tools" to cut the sod into 6" x 12" pieces.

2. Grubbed off the sod with a light maddock. You really need to move the sod away so it does not sprout. If you till it in, you will be weeding it again. I built a giant compost piles with sod and whatever brown organic material I could find.

3. Deep forked it with a garden fork, aka "potato fork" with forged tines. The idea is to cultivate "deeper". Some gardeners will spade or double-dig. I prefer to keep the layers of soil as they were.

4. Built up the area with compost and fortified it with nutrient fertilizer.

You could get a tiller to do what I did with the garden fork. You only need to do this once, when you first prepare raised beds. I would see if you could pay a landscaping company or a farmer to come over and till it up in quick time.

[XemaSab]

10. Or a member of the local high school football team

:think:

[Kolesar]

13. We had one of those--but he moved away to college...eom

[ThomWV]

8. Rent one - don't buy

Seriously. I like tillers but the truth is you only need on 1 day out of the year, maybe two, and for that little use the very expensive machines just sit and rust away as the carburators gum up with all sorts of trash that will limit the machine's life. Better to just rent one for the day take it back and forget it when the garden's in.

Took me forever to learn my lesson, but I'm over buying power equipemnt that rarely gets used.

However, having said that if you do buy one I'd look for one with a honda engine. I'll never buy another machine that uses a Briggs and Stratton engine. Make sure its rear tined of course, make sure it has reverse.

[dgibby]

9. Raised beds!

I'm a 63yr old female, and I tried using a front tined tiller that I rented. This was last year, and I'm still trying to recover!:rofl: A friend of mine suggested that I cover the ground with several layers of wet newspaper, add amended top soil, and plant in that instead of tilling. Eureka! Perfect! I took it a step further. Built some 4X4 raised beds, added leaves, grass clippings, soil, etc. Basically, I'm now planting in my compost piles, "lasagna
style". It works really well, and is much easier on the back and knees. Good luck.:hi: Oh, I'm planting potatoes in trash cans. Saves space.

[ThomWV]

11. Absolutely!

Its a shame you didn't rent a rear-tined machine. They are much easier to handel; sort of like the difference between riding a pony and a bucking bronc (or whatever those rodeo horses are called).

Tillers are very good when you are trying to establish a garden, they will save you a year, maybe two. Where they are at their best is if used on the bare soil first just to break it up, and then to build your beds and then build and 'plant in compost' above the tilled soil. Actually if you till, compost on top, and then come back the next year and till the compost and the original soil together - mix 'em up - then you are really up and running the second (or third) year. After that you never need a tiller again. Oh, of course you never walk on your beds. Ours are long and I keep lengths of 2x8 laying across the beds here and there to act as bridges so we aren't tempted to step in them. Under the boards the worms pile up. I love life!

Hail to the Chief.

[FedUpWithIt All]

12. Here too. We have seed starting for a similar sized garden.

Let us know what you decide on.

:hi:

[Trailrider1951]

14. OK, everyone, here's my report:

I bought the little Troybuilt electric tiller. At $200, the price was right. I wasn't too impressed when I took it out of the box, as it was small and fairly light weight. I took it out to the garden and plugged it in, and THEN I was impressed, LOL. That little thing chewed through the sod like nobody's business. It tended to jump around when it encountered a rock, but it was not too bad. Since the grass was bermuda grass, I had to stop every now and then to clear the tines of the grass runners. I put those into a trash can and emptied them out back where the grass is thin. I made one pass lengthwise, and then scattered some composed leaves on the soil, and then made another pass at right angles (widthwise) to the first pass, tilling those leaves into the soil. All told, it took about 3 days to accomplish. Today, I'm taking the tiller over to my daughter's house so they can use it too. I am very happy with the purchase, and I would recommend it to anyone.

[FedUpWithIt All]

15. Thanks for the info...

:hi:

[ConcernedCanuk]

16. I'm curious - because I kept looking for a tiller, but I found a CULTIVATOR

.
.
.



Is this it?

120 volt / 6.5 amp electric motor
• Durable gear-driven transmission
• Forward-rotating tines - ideal for cultivating and weeding in gardens
• 8" patented steel cultivating tines dig, weed and shred for premium soil preparation
• Adjustable tilling width from 6" to 10 1/4"
• Adjustable tilling depth up to 8"


More info on this little guy can be found http://www.troybilt.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category2_10001_14102_54974_54970_54970_-1#">here

[madokie]

17. We have a small tiller that I'm really pleased with

it's a mantis sized tiller but its made by honda. It has a small 1.5 hp over head cam four cycle engine on it so you don't mix the oil with the gas but anyway I love it. I'm almost 61 with PAD and this little tiller I can handle with no problems. Its easy to transport cause all you have to do is start it and give it some throttle and walk along with it until you get to where you're going to till then hold it back a tad and let it do the work, just guide it where you want it to go. Makes the dirt just a little courser than what coffee grounds are, excellent little machine. I use this one any time I have to do any digging to loosen the soil up so all I have to do is shovel it out. I love it, I'm on my way out to use it this after noon. This year I'm going to make a series of 42 inch or so circles that I'm using edging just setting on the top of the ground and filled with dirt that started off as sawdust about 12, maybe 15 years ago. I am taking the tiller and tilling the soil up for about 3 inches or so deep then shoveling it out and then filling the circles with that good compost I have all I want of. I'm shooting for something like 8, 9 inch deep




http://ww1.honda.co.uk/power/garden/detail.html?code=FG110

[Dover]

18. The Mantis is supposed to be really good. It's light weight too.

MANTIS - http://mantis.com/home.asp

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jyduwJKrGY

Reviews: http://www.epinions.com/reviews/Mantis_Tiller

You can find them on Ebay, Amazon and I think Sears carries them too, to name a few.

A sale on them at Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=Mantis%20Tiller&search-type=best&tag=coffeeresearch94536-20&index=garden&link%5Fcode=qs