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TILLING TIPS & TECHNIQUES
TillingDepths
_=i, WARNING: Before
A L• tilling, Contactyour
m, m. telephoneor utilities
companyand inquire if
underground equipment or
linesare usedon your
property. Do nottill near
buried electric cables,
• Avoidpushingdownonthehandlebarsin anattemptto forcethetillertodig deeper•Doing
sotakestheweightoff thepoweredwheels,causingthemto losetraction•Withoutthewheels
helpingto holdthetiller back,thetineswill attemptto propelthetiller- often causingthetiller
to skip rapidlyacrosstheground• (Sometimes,slight downwardpressureonthe handlebars
will helpgetthrougha particularlytough sectionof sodor unbrokenground,butin mostcases
this won't benecessary.)
• Avoidtrying to digtoo deeplytoo quickly,especiallywhenbustingsodor whentilling soil
that hasn'tbeentilledforsometime• Useshallowdepthregulatorsettings(onlyaninchortwo
deep)forthefirst passesthroughthesoil• Witheachsucceedingpass,diganotherinchortwo
deeper•(Wateringtheareaafew daysprior totilling will maketilling easier,aswill lettingthe
telephonelines, pipesor newlyworkedsoil setfor a dayortwobeforemakinga final, deeptilling pass.)
hoses.
• Whencultivating(breakingupsurfacesoilaroundplantstodestroyweeds,seeFig.4-9),adjustthetinestodigonly1"to 2"deep• Using
shallowtilling depthshelpspreventinjuryto plantswhoserootsoftengrow closeto thesurface. If needed,lift uponthehandlebarsslightly
to preventthetines from diggingtoo deeply. (Cultivatingon a regularbasisnotonlyeliminatesweeds,it also!oosensandaeratesthe soil
for bettermoistureabsorptionand fasterplantgrowth•)
ChoosingCorrectWheel&Tine Speeds With experience,you will find the"just right" tillingdepthandtillingspeedcombination
that is bestfor yourgarden•
Settheenginethrottleleverataspeedtogivetheengineadequatepowerandyetallowitto operateattheslowestpossiblespeed...atleast
until you haveachievedthe maximumtilling depthyou desire.Fasterenginespeedsmaybedesirablewhenmakingfinal passesthrough
theseedbedor whencultivating•Selectionofthecorrectenginespeed,in relationto thetilling depth,will ensureasufficientpowerlevelto
dothejobwithout causingtheengineto labor.
Let theTiller Dothe Work
Whiletilling,relaxandletthewheelspuIIthe
tiller along while the tines do the digging•
Walkonthe sidethat is notyet finished(to
avoidmakingfootprints in thefreshlytilled
soil) and lightly, butsecurelygrip the han-
dlebarwith justonehand,
AvoidMakingFootprints
Wheneverpossible,walk on the untilled
sideoftheunittoavoidmakingfootprintsin
your freshlytilled or cultivatedsoil• Foot-
printscausesoil compactionthat canham-
per root penetration and contributeto soil
erosion. Theycan also !'plant" unwanted
weed seeds back into the freshly tilled
ground•
AvoidTilling Soggy,Wet Soil
Tilling wet soil often resultsin large,hard
clumpsof soil that caninterferewithplant-
ing.If timepermits, wait a dayor two after
heavyrainsto allowthe soil to dry before
tilling• Testsoil bysqueezingit intoa ball.If
itcompressestoo easily,itistoowet totill.
PreparingSeedbeds
• Whenpreparinga seedbed,go overthe samepathtwice in the first row,then
overlapone-halfthetiller width on the rest ofthe passes(seeFig.6). Whenfin-
ishedin onedirection, makea secondpassat a rightangle,as shown in Fig.4-7.
Overlapeachpassfor best results(in very hardground,it maytakethreeor four
passesto thoroughlypulverizethesoil.)
Fig. 4-6 Fig. 4-7
Cultivating
• Ifthegardensizewillnotpermitlengthwiseandthencrosswisetilling thenover- With nlanninn ,,ou can _,_v_, _r_
lapthefirst passesbyone-halfatiller. . aIIow e_noughr'oo_m _-_) " _ "-(_ "
width,followedbysuccessivepasses betweenrows to Cut vate _ _ ,_
atone-quarterwidth"(seeE'g 4-8) ........... _ .................. _' _
............ tseerig. ,4-u).Leaveroom ¢2,._ @ #_
• _ _._ t,.2j
' ' for the hood width, ._, _,-_, _ '
plus enough extra _ 4_',, _11
Fig.4-8 roomfor future plant Fig.4-9
growth.
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