Cultivating, Tilling Hints | Craftsman 917.2922 manual

o Start engine, tip tines off ground by pressing handles down and engage tine control to start fine rotation. Allow tines to rotate for five minutes.

o Check tine operation and adjust if nec- essary. See '%INE OPERATION CHECK" in the Service and Adjustments section of this manual.

TILLING HINTS

CAUTION: Until you are accustomed to handling your tiller, start actual field use with throttle in slow position (mid-waybe- tween "FAST" and "IDLE").

To help tiller move forward, lift up the ham dies slightly (thus lifting depth stake out of

ground)° To slow down the tiller, press down on handles.

If you are straining or tiller is shaking, the wheels and depth stake are not set prop- erly in the soil being tilled. The proper set- ting of the wheels and depth stake is through trial and error'and depends upon the soil condition. ('['heharder or wetter the ground, the slower the engine and tine speed needed° Under these poor condi- tions, at fast speed the tiller will run and jump over the ground)_

A properly adjusted tiller will dig with little effort from the operator.

=Tilling is digging into, turning over, and breaking up packed soil before planting. Loose, unpacked soil helps root growth. Best tilling depth is 4" to 6'L A tiller will also clear the soil of unwanted vegeta- tion. The decomposition of this veg- etable matter enriches the soil.

Depending on the climate (rainfall and wind), it may be advisable to till the soil at the end of the growing season to fur- ther condition the soil

o Soil conditions are important for proper tilling_ Tines will not readily penetrate dry, hard soil which may contribute to excessive bounce and difficult handling of your tiller. Hard soil should be mois- tened before tilling; however, extremely wet soil will "ball-up" or clump during till-. ing. Wait until the soil is less wet in order to achieve the best results. When tilling in the fall, remove vines and long grass to prevent them from wrapping around the tine shaft and slowing your tilling

operation.

o You will find tilling much easier if you leave a row untilled between passes.

Then go back over the entire area at right angles. There are two reasons for doing this. First, wide turns are much easier to negotiate than about-faces_ Second, the tiller won't be pulling itself, and you, toward the row next to ito Set depth stake and wheel height for

shallow tilling when working extremely hard soil or'sod. Then work across the

first cuts at normal depth..

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CULTIVATING

Cultivating is destroying the weeds between rows to prevent them from rob- bing nourishment and moisture from the plants.. Af the same time, breaking up the upper layer of soil crust will help retain

moisture in the soilo Best digging depth is 1" to 3".

You will probably not need to use the depth stake= Begin by tipping the depth stake forward until it is held by the stake spdng.

Cultivate up and down the rows at a speed which will allow tines to uproot weeds and leave the ground in rough

condition, promoting no further growth of weeds and grass.