Craftsman 917.292394 owner manual Breaking in Your Tiller, Tilling Hints, Cultivating

BREAKING IN YOUR TILLER

Break-in your belt(s), pulleys and tine control before you actually begin tilling.

•Start engine, tip tines off ground by

pressing handles down and engage tine control to start tine rotation. Allow tines

to rotate for five minutes.

•Check tine operation and adjust if necessary. See "TINE 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.

To help tiller move forward, lift up the handles 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 properly in the soil being tilled. The proper setting of the wheels and depth stake is through trial and error and depends upon the soil condition. (The harder 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"-6". A tiller will also clear the soil of unwanted vegeta- tion. The decomposition of this veg- etable matter enriches the soil. De- pending on the climate (rainfall and wind), it may be advisable to till the soil

at the end of the growing season to further condition the soil.

•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 moistened before tilling; however, extremely wet soil will "ball-up" or clump

during tilling. 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.

•You will find tilling much easier if you leave a row untilled between passes. Then go back between tilled rows.

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 it.

•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.

4 i	3	2	!11
I	;	I	! i
15!	6	7	t
			1
			2

CULTIVATING

Cultivating is destroying the weeds be- tween rows to prevent them from robbing nourishment and moisture from the plants. At the same time, breaking up the upper layer of soil crust will help retain moisture in the soil. Best digging depth is 1"-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 spring.

•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.

¸

r- ,

i i

10