The Gardener's Companion: Using a Garden RotoTiller::How to use a tiller

For a gardener, there are a few essential tools to make your task possible. The most basic is the garden hoe, which is used to chop weeds, make rows in the plowed earth and cover seeds after they are planted. This hub will concentrate on a venerable piece of powered equipment, the roto-tiller, which helps make the soil soft and loose enough for the hoe to be effective.

Known by most experienced gardeners simply as a tiller, this is a device with a set of blades that rotate so that they can slice up the soil and make it loose enough for seeds or young plants to extend their hair like roots into the ground for three purposes: to find moisture and nutrition and to anchor the plant. A tiller is an indispensable component of your gardening arsenal if you have anything larger than a 15 by 20 foot plot. A properly operating machine will work the soil up so you can easily draw your hoe through to make rows without any effort.

There are three styles of tillers: Front tine, rear tine and teh kind that operates off the power take off of a tractor. The difference in front and rear tine types is simply the position of the rotating cutting blades. Front tine tillers will have the tendency to pull you along more than the rear ones do, but if you have large clods to work on the advantage is that your blades get to them first. Both types of tiller have a set of wheels that will allow you to transport the machine to and from your gardening area.

Most of my experience is with a rear tine tiller, specifically one built twenty five years ago by a company called Troy-Bilt. This tiller has a seven horse power engine and can really give you a work out the first time or two over freshly plowed ground. In front of the tines are two powered wheels which help you move the tiller as it cuts through the soil.

Both types of tiller will have a depth regulator attached to the rear of the machine. With this device you can select the depth of your cutting. The higher this is raised the deeper you will cut. For instance when using the tiller to eradicate weeds you may want a more shallow depth to your cut than when working up the ground for the first planting.

For many years I saw the wonder known as the Mantis tiller/cultivator with dreams of ease in working in and around my crops woitjhout the fear of damaging them with the larger and harder to control full size tillers. It was not until last growing season that I actually purchased a similar model for use as a close quarters weed eliminator. I can say it works as well if not better than advertised.

Tillers come in various sizes. You can get front times in horsepower ranges from 2 to 10 or more. Rear tine tillers have a similar range, so there is much flexibility. One thing to keep in mind is that depending on your soil the higher horsepower may be necessary to prevent you from making several trips across your desired garden plot.

There are also tillers classified as cultivators that are much smaller and able to work in closer quarters. These little machines may only till a path between 4 and eight inches, where the big brothers might to two to three feet at a time. These little guys are auited for small size gardens, or places where the big tiller just cannot fit.

Tillers can be powered a couple ways, by electricity or with gasoline. Obviously the electric powered machines are intended for a garden close to a reliable power source. IF you use this type be sure to pay attention to where your cord is as you wind back and forth through your plot so you don’t grind your cord into pieces.

Gasoline powered tillers offer you much more freedom and can be used anywhere they are needed. Some tiller will require a straight gas mixture, while others have engines requiring a gas and oil mixture. Be sure to consult your owner’s manual as to the proper fuel type so that your tiller provides you with the maximum benefit.

Tillers are machines and thus require some mechanical care. Thankfully the tines are mostly maintenance free. Unless you till in a spot with heavy weeds, hard dirt clods or strings and wire. If so, these may become tangled around your cutting elements or the shaft they are mounted to. Never fear, most tillers have tines that can be removed to remedy this problem.

As you can imagine these constantly rotating tines have the potential to cause wear to the machine. Most tillers will have grease ports that allow you to keep the sources of friction well lubricated and working nominally. You can ignore these, but you do so at your own peril!

Do not leave your tiller outside, even during the gardening season. I have seen many of these machines parked at one corner of the garden for easy access, but the elements are harsh and can reduce the life of your machine. Sunshine and cold will age the rubber hoses and gaskets on the tiller, causing you unhappy moments in your otherwise rewarding outdoor pursuit.

Predominantly I use my tiller to work up the ground for the first planting each spring. Most of the time I have a local farmer bring over his tractor and plow to break up the garden plot that has become hard throughout the winter rains and snow. You can use the tiller for this task, but you are arranging a much more daunting task than if you follow the larger device.

Start tilling at one side of your plot and work toward the other. Depending on the amount of hardness and moisture in your soil your tiller may jerk around, bouncing over harder sections of soil. Don’t worry so much about keeping the path terribly straight on the first pass, but try to get as much of the ground tilled as possible. Most likely it will require two or maybe more trips to make the soil so you can work in it.

You can also use the tiller to return to the crop as it begins to grow to remove weeds between your rows. This is necessary to have a clean, well kept garden plot. The tiller will loosen the soil as it chops the weeds, allowing rain to penetrate the surrounding area and reach the roots crawling toward the area between the rows.

Outside of the uses mentioned above, you can also make the tiller part of your lawn care arsenal. Either when moving to a new home or as a result of weather, our yards can sometimes develop undesirable slopes or mowing obstacles. The tiller will be an invavluable aid to resolving these type of problems.

These tips will help you get started using your tiller. You will quickly see how beneficial this device can be to your gardening experience.