Tilling Tips & Techniques

Tilling Depths

WARNING: Before

tilling, contact your telephone or utilities company and inquire if underground equipment or lines are used on your property. Do not till near buried electric cables, telephone lines, pipes or hoses.

•This is a CRT (counter-rotating tine) tiller. As the wheels pull forward, the tines rotate back- ward. This creates an “uppercut” tine action which digs deeply, uprooting soil and weeds. Don’t overload the engine, but dig as deeply as possible on each pass. On later passes, the wheels may tend to spin in the soft dirt. Help them along by lifting up slightly on the handlebar (one hand, palm up, works most easily).

•Avoid the temptation to push down on the handlebars in an attempt to force the tiller to dig deeper. Doing so takes the weight off the powered wheels, causing them to lose traction. Without the wheels to hold the tiller back, the tines will attempt to propel the tiller backward, towards the operator. (Sometimes, slight downward pressure on the handlebars will help get through a particularly tough section of sod or unbroken ground, but in most cases this won’t be necessary.)

•When cultivating (breaking up surface soil around plants to destroy weeds, see Fig. 4-9), a just the tines to dig only 1" to 2" deep. Using shallow tilling depths helps prevent injury to plants whose roots often grow close to the surface. If needed, lift up on the handlebars slightly to prevent the tines from digging too deeply. (Cultivating on a regular basis not only eliminates weeds, it also loosens and aerates the soil for better moisture absorption and faster plant growth.) Watering the garden area a few days prior to tilling will make tilling easier, as will letting the newly worked soil set for a day or two before making a final, deep tilling pass.

Choosing Correct Wheel & Tine Speeds With experience, you will find the “just right” tilling depth and tilling speed combination that is best for your garden.

Set the engine throttle lever at a speed to give the engine adequate power and yet allow it to operate at the slowest possible speed...at least until you have achieved the maximum tilling depth you desire. Faster engine speeds may be desirable when making final passes through the seedbed or when cultivating. Selection of the correct engine speed, in relation to the tilling depth, will ensure a sufficient power level to do the job without causing the engine to labor.

Let the Tiller Do the Work

While tilling, relax and let the wheels pull the tiller along while the tines do the digging. Walk on the side that is not yet finished (to avoid making footprints in the freshly tilled soil) and lightly, but securely grip the han- dlebar with just one hand.

Avoid Making Footprints

Whenever possible, walk on the untilled side of the unit to avoid making footprints in your freshly tilled or cultivated soil. Foot- prints cause soil compaction that can ham- per root penetration and contribute to soil erosion. They can also “plant” unwanted weed seeds back into the freshly tilled ground.

Avoid Tilling Soggy, Wet Soil

Tilling wet soil often results in large, hard clumps of soil that can interfere with plant- ing. If time permits, wait a day or two after heavy rains to allow the soil to dry before tilling. Test soil by squeezing it into a ball. If it compresses too easily, it is too wet to till.

Preparing Seedbeds

•When preparing a seedbed, go over the same path twice in the first row, then over- lap one-half the tiller width on the rest of the passes (see Fig. 6). When finished in one direction, make a second pass at a right angle, as shown in Fig. 4-7. Overlap each pass for best results (in very hard ground, it may take three or four passes to thoroughly pulverize the soil.)

•If the garden size will not permit lengthwise and then crosswise tilling, then over- lap the first passes by one-half a tiller

width, followed by successive passes	1
width, followed by successive passes
at one-quarter width (see Fig. 4-8).			2
			2
	3
	3
		Fig. 4-8
		Fig. 4-8

Fig. 4-6Fig. 4-7

Cultivating

With

planning,

you can

allow enough room

between rows to cultivate

(see Fig. 4-9). Leave room

for the hood width,

plus

enough

extra

room for future plant

Fig. 4-9

growth.