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TILLING TIPS & TECHNIQUES
TillingDepths
_=i, WARNING: Before
A _• tilling, Contactyour
,m ==== telephoneor utilities
companyand inquireif
underground equipment or
linesare usedon your
property.Donottill near
• Avoidpushingdownon thehandlebarsin anattemptto forcethetiller to dig 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'tbeentilledfor sometime. Useshallowdepthregulatorsettings(onlyaninchortwo
deep)forthefirst passesthroughthesoil. Witheachsucceedingpass,diganotherinchortwo
buried electric cables, deeper.(Wateringtheareaafew daysprior totilling will maketilling easier,aswill lettingthe
telephone lines,pipesor newlyworkedsoil setfora dayortwo beforemakingafinal, deeptilling pass.)
hoses.
• Whencultivating(breakingupsurfacesoilaroundplantsto destroyweeds,seeFig.4-9),adjustthetinesto digonly 1"to 2"deep. Using
shallowtilling depthshelpspreventinjuryto plantswhoserootsoftengrow closeto thesurface. If needed,lift uponthehandlebarsslightly
to preventthetines from diggingtoo deeply. (Cultivatingon a regularbasisnotonlyeliminatesweeds,it alsoloosensandaeratesthe 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, relaxandletthewheelspullthe
tiller along while the tines do the digging.
Walkonthe sidethat is notyet finished(to
avoidmakingfootprints inthefreshlytilled
soil) and lightly, butsecurelygripthe han-
dlebarwith justonehand,
AvoidMakingFootprints
Wheneverpossible, walk on the untilled
sideofthe unitto avoidmakingfootprintsin
your freshlytilled or cultivatedsoil. Foot-
prints causesoil compactionthat canham-
per root penetrationand contributeto soil
erosion. They can also !'plant" unwanted
weed seeds back into the freshly tilled
ground.
AvoidTilling Soggy,Wet Soil
Tillingwet soil often resultsin large,hard
clumpsof soil that caninterferewith plant-
ing.If time permits, wait adayor two after
heavyrainsto allowthe soil to dry before
tilling. Testsoil bysqueezingit intoa ball.If
itcompressestoo easily,it istoo wetto till.
PreparingSeedbeds
• Whenpreparinga seedbed,go overthe samepathtwice in the first row,then
overlapone-halfthetiller width on therest ofthe passes(seeFig.6). Whenfin-
ishedin onedirection, makea secondpassat a rightangle,asshown in Fig.4-7.
Overlapeachpassfor best results(in very hardground,it maytakethreeor four
passesto thoroughly 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 _ _-_"-(_"
betweenrows tocultivate _ _
(seeFig.4-9). Leaveroom _ _
for the hood width,
plus enough extra _ _'
roomfor future plant Fig. 4-9
growth.
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