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TILLING TIPS& TECHNIQUES(CON'T)
PowerComposting
Powercompostingsimplymeanstillingunderand buryinginthesoilall mannerof organic WARNING: Whenpower
mattersuchascropresidues,leaves,grassclippingsandcovercrops. This materialwillde- composting, do not keepthe
composeduring thenon-growingseasonandadd importantnaturalnutrientsto the SO DepthRegulator Leverata
Thefirst placeto beginiswith cropresiduessuchasleftovervines,stalks,stemsand roots, deepsetting if thetiller jumps
Powercompostthesecropresiduesassoonastheyfinish bearing.Thesoonerthis isdone, or bucks.
thebetter,astendergreenmatteriseasierto till under. Usethedeepestdepthregulatorset- If jumping or bucking occurs,
ting possiblewithoutcausingthe engineto laboror thetillerto jump ahead, movetheDepthRegulator
Leverdown to ashallow
Standingcornstalksof reasonableheightcanbepowercomposted.Pushing over(but not setting andthen slowly
uprooting)cornstalkswill oftenmakeiteasierto chopupthe stalks.Keepthetines clearof
excessivetanglingby,fishtailing"or frequentlyusingreverse.MakeseveralPaSSeS,thenre- increasethetilling depth or}
laterpasses.
turna fewdays aterto f nsh off anyremanngstubbe ^:,..... ,^,,^. ,,._..... :__
FaHu_uLU/UIIUW tl I1:_W_/llllly
Aftertilling undercropresidues,addmoreorganicmattersuchasleaves,grassclippingsand could result inpersonalinjury.
evenkitchenscraps. Whentilled intothe soil,this organicmatterwill decomposeandadd
evenmoreimportantnutrientsto the soil.
Afterpowercomposting,youmaywantto planta"greenmanure"covercropto protectthesoilduringthe off-season.Yousimplygrowa
cropof clover,alfalfa,buckwheat,peas,beans,ryegrass,grain,or kaleandthentill it intothe soil priorto the plantingseason.
TillingOnSlopes
Readthefollowingrecommendati_nsbeforetilling onslopes:
/%
you mustgardenon a moderateslope,pleasefollow two very _mportantgmdelmes:
If
1.Til!onlyon moderatemodes,neveron steepgroundwherefooting sdifficult !"eviewsafe-
ryrules{nSection]: Safetyof this manuai).
2. We recommendtilling upan{]clownslopes ratherthanterracing. Tillingverticallyon a
slopeallowsmax{mutt plantingareaand alsoleavesroomfor cultivating.
IMPORTANT:Whentilling on slopes besurethecorrectoil levelismaintainedintheengine
checkeveryone-halfhourof oDerat!on_.Theinclineof the slopewl causerne m to slant
WARNING: Donot
operatetiller on aslopetoo
steel_for safe operation. Till
slowly and besureyou have
good footing. Neverpermit
tiller tofreewheel down
slopes. Failureto followthis
warning could result in
personalinjury.
awayfrom its normallevelandthiscanstarveenginepartsof requiredlubrication. Keeothe
motoroH_evmatthefull pointata!ltimes!
Tilling Upand DownSlopes[Vertical Tilling)
• Tokeepsoil erosionto a minimum, besureto addenoughorganicmakerrerneSOilsothat d hasgoodmoisture-holdingtextureandtry
toavoidleavingfootprints or wheelmarks.
• Whentilling vertically,try to makethefirst pass. _hillasthetiller digs moredeeplygoinguphillthan itdoesdownnm. Insoftsoil or
weees,you mayhaveto lift thehandlebarssbghtlywhilegoinguphill. Whengoingdownhill,overlapthefirst passbyaboutone-halfthe
width ofthetiller.
TillingAcrossSlopesWithoutUsingTerraces(HorizontalTilling)
• f verticalor terracinggardeningaren't practicalfor you,then youcantill laterallyacrossa slope. Wedon't recommendthis methodas
t cancreateunsurefooting and invitessoil erosion.
• As interracegardemng,startatthetop oftheslopeand overlapthefirst passey _alfthewidthof thetiller. Foraddedstabilityofthetiller.
alwayskeeptheuphillwheelinthesoft. new_ytilledso_l.
Terrace Gardening
• Whena slope_stoo steepor too short for verticaltilling, It may benecessaryto t_llacrosstheslopeandcreateterracedrows.Terraces
arerowsthat arecut rotethe sideof a slope,creatinga narrow,butflat areaon whichto plant.
• Ona longs_ope,you canmakeseveralterraces,one belowthe other.
• Terracesshouldbeonly2-to-3 feetwide.Diggingtoofar intothesideoftheslopewil!exposepoorsubsoilthat is unproductivefor plants.
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