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TILLINGTIPS & TECHNIQUES(CON'T)
PowerComposting
Powercompostingsimplymeanstilling underandburyingin thesoilall manneroforganic
mattersuchascrop residues,leaves,grassclippingsand covercrops.Thismaterialwillde-
composeduring thenon-growingseasonandadd importantnaturalnutrientstothe soil.
Thefirst placeto beginiswith cropresiduessuchasleftovervines,stalks,stemsandroots.
Powercompostthesecropresiduesassoonastheyfinish bearing.Thesoonerthis is done,
thebetter,astendergreenmatteris easiertotill under.Usethedeepestdepthregulatorset-
ting possiblewithoutcausingthe engineto laboror thetiller tojump ahead.
Standingcornstalksofreasonableheightcanbe powercomposted.Pushingover(butnot
uprooting)cornstalkswill often makeiteasierto chopupthe stalks.Keepthetines clearof
excessivetanglingby "fishtailing"or frequentlyusingreverse.Makeseveralpasses,thenre-
turna fewdays laterto finish offany remainingstubble.
Aftertilling undercropresidues,addmoreorganicmattersuchasleaves,grassclippingsand
evenkitchenscraps.Whentilled intothesoil, this organicmatterwill decomposeandadd
evenmoreimportantnutrientsto thesoil.
WAHNIN(3: Whenpower
composting, do not keepthe
DepthRegulator Leverata
deepsetting ifthe tiller jumps
or bucks.
If jumping or bucking occurs,
movethe Depth Regulator
Leverdownto ashallow
setting andthen slowly
increasethetilling depthon
laterpasses.
Failureto follow this warning
could result inpersonalinjury.
Afterpowercomposting,you maywant to planta "greenmanure"covercropto protectthe soilduringtheoff-season.Yousimplygrowa
cropof clover,alfalfa,buckwheat,peas,beans,ryegrass,grain,or kaleandthentill it into thesoil priorto theplantingseason.
TillingOn Slopes
Readthe followingrecommendationsbeforetilling onslopes:
Ifyou mustgardenon a moderateslope,pleasefollow twovery importantguidelines:
1.Tillonlyon moderateslopes,neveronsteepgroundwherefooting isdifficult (reviewsafe-
ty rulesinSection1:Safetyof this manual).
2. We recommendtilling up and down slopes ratherthan terracing.Tillingvertically on a
slopeallows maximumplantingareaandalsoleavesroomfor cultivating.
IMPORTANT:Whentilling onslopes,besurethecorrectoil levelis maintainedin theengine
(checkeveryone-halfhour of operation).Theinclineof the slopewill causethe oil to slant
awayfrom its normallevelandthis canstarveenginepartsof requiredlubrication.Keepthe
motor oil levelat thefull pointatall times!
Tilling Upand DownSlopes(VerticalTilling)
WAHNING: Donot
operatetiller on aslopetoo
steepfor safe operation.Till
slowly and besureyou have
good footing. Neverpermit
tiller to freewheeldown
slopes.Failureto follow this
warning could result in
personalinjury.
• Tokeepsoil erosionto aminimum, besureto addenoughorganicmatterto thesoil sothat it hasgoodmoisture-holdingtextureandtry
to avoidleavingfootprints or wheelmarks.
• Whentilling vertically,tryto makethefirst passuphillasthetillerdigsmoredeeplygoing uphillthanitdoesdownhill.Insoftsoilor weeds,
youmayhaveto lift the handlebarsslightlywhilegoing uphill.Whengoingdownhill, overlapthefirst passby aboutone-halfthewidth of
thetiller.
TillingAcrossSlopes WithoutUsingTerraces(HorizontalTilling)
• If verticalor terracinggardeningaren'tpracticalfor you,thenyoucantill laterallyacrossa slope.Wedon't recommendthis methodasit
cancreateunsurefooting and invitessoil erosion.
• As interracegardening,startatthetopoftheslopeandoverlapthefirst passbyhalfthewidth ofthetiller.Foraddedstabilityof thetiller,
alwayskeeptheuphillwheelinthesoft, newlytilledsoil.
TerraceGardening
• Whena slopeistoo steepor too shortfor verticaltilling, it may benecessaryto till acrossthe slopeand createterracedrows.Terraces
arerows thatarecut into thesideofa slope,creatinga narrow,butflat areaon whichto plant.
• Ona long slope,youcan makeseveralterraces,onebelowthe other.
• Terracesshouldbeonly2-t0-3feetwide.Diggingtoofar intothesideoftheslopewill exposepoor subsoilthat isunproductivefor plants.
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