TILLING TIPS& TECHNIQUES

TillingDepths

_=i, WARNING: Before
A _• tilling, Contactyour
,m ==== telephoneor utilities
companyand inquireif
undergroundequipment or
linesare used on your
property.Donot till near
• Avoid pushingdown on thehandlebarsin anattemptto force thetiller to dig deeper. Doing
sotakesthe weightoff the poweredwheels,causingthem to losetraction. Withoutthe wheels
helpingtohold the tiller back,thetines will attemptto propelthetiller - oftencausingthe tiller
toskip rapidly acrossthe ground. (Sometimes,slight downwardpressureon the handlebars
will helpgetthrough a particularlytoughsectionof sod or unbrokenground,but in most cases
thiswon't benecessarY.)
• Avoid tryingto digtoo deeplytoo quickly,especiallywhenbusting sodor when tilling soil
thathasn'tbeentilled for sometime. Useshallowdepthregulatorsettings(onlyan inch ortwo
deep)forthe first passesthroughthesoil. With eachsucceedingpass,diganotherinchor two
buriedelectric cables, deeper.(Wateringthe areaafew days prior totilling will maketilling easier,aswill lettingthe
telephone lines,pipes or newlyworkedsoil setfora dayortwo before makinga final, deeptilling pass.)
hoses.
• Whencultivating (breakingupsurfacesoil aroundplantsto destroy weeds,seeFig.4-9), adjustthetines to digonly 1"to 2" deep. Using
shallowtillingdepthshelps preventinjuryto plantswhose rootsoftengrow closeto thesurface. If needed,liftup onthe handlebarsslightly
topreventthe tines from diggingtoo deeply. (Cultivatingon a regularbasis not onlyeliminatesweeds,it alsoloosensandaeratesthe soil
forbetter moistureabsorptionand faster plantgrowth.)
ChoosingCorrectWheel& Tine Speeds With experience,youwill find the "justright" tillingdepthand tillingspeedcombination
thatis bestfor yourgarden.
Settheenginethrottle leverat aspeedto givethe engineadequatepowerandyetallow it to operateatthe slowestpossiblespeed...atleast
untilyou haveachievedthe maximumtilling depthyou desire. Fasterenginespeedsmaybe desirablewhen makingfinal passesthrough
theseedbedorwhencultivating. Selectionofthe correct enginespeed,in relationto the tilling depth,will ensurea sufficient powerlevelto
dothejob withoutcausingtheengineto labor.

Letthe Tiller Dothe Work

Whiletilling,relaxand letthewheelspull the
tiller alongwhile the tines do the digging.
Walkonthe side that is not yet finished (to
avoidmakingfootprints in the freshly tilled
soil) and lightly, but securelygrip the han-
dlebarwithjust onehand,

AvoidMakingFootprints

Wheneverpossible, walk on the untilled
sideof the unitto avoidmakingfootprints in
your freshlytilled or cultivated soil. Foot-
prints causesoil compactionthat canham-
per root penetration and contribute to soil
erosion. They can also !'plant" unwanted
weed seeds back into the freshlytilled
ground.

AvoidTillingSoggy,Wet Soil

Tillingwetsoil oftenresults in large,hard
clumpsof soil thatcan interferewith plant-
ing.If time permits, wait a day or two after
heavyrainsto allow the soil to dry before
tilling. Testsoil bysqueezingit intoa ball. If
itcompressestoo easily,it istoo wet to till.

PreparingSeedbeds

• Whenpreparing a seedbed,goover the samepath twice in the first row,then
overlapone-halfthe tiller width onthe rest of the passes(seeFig.6). When fin-
ishedinone direction, makea second passat a right angle,as shown in Fig.4-7.
Overlapeachpassfor best results (in very hard ground,it maytake threeor four
passestothoroughly pulverizethesoil.)
• Ifthegardensizewill notpermit lengthwiseandthencrosswisetilling, thenover-
lapthefirst passesbyone-halfatiller
Fig.4-8
D
Fig.4-6 Fig.4-7

Cultivating

With planning, you can _ _ r_
allowenoughroom _ _-_"-(_"
betweenrowstocultivate _ _
(seeFig.4-9). Leaveroom _ _
for the hood width,
plus enough extra _ _'
roomfor future plant Fig.4-9
growth.
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