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TILLING TIPS& TECHNIQUES(CON'T)
PowerComposting
Powercompostingsimplymeanstillingunderand buryingin thesoil all manneroforganic 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 theti!ler jumps
Powercompostthesecropresiduesassoonastheyfinish bearing.Thesoonerthis isdone, or bucks.
thebetter,astendergreenmatteriseasiertotill under. Usethedeepestdepthregulatorset- If jumping or bucking occurs,
ting possiblewithoutcausingthe engineto laboror thetillerto jumpahead, movethe DepthRegulator
Leverdown to ashallow
Standingcornstalksof reasonableheightcanbepowercomposted.Pushing over(but not setting andthen slowly
uprooting)cornstalkswill oftenmakeit easierto chopupthe stalks•Keepthetines clearof increasethetilling depth on
excessivetanglingby,fishtailing"or frequentlyusingreverse.Makeseveralpasses,thenre- I t r
turnafewdayslatertofinishoffanyremainingstubble. Lee passes;, ... .
t-allure[o follow tins warmng
Aftertilling undercropresidues,addmoreorganicmattersuchasleaves,grassclippingsand cou d result noersona n urv
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
Readthefollowingrecommendationsbeforetilling onslopes:
you mustgardenon a moderateslope,pleasefollow twovery _mportantgmeennes:
If
1.Til!onlyon moderatemodes,neveron steepgroundwherefootingisdifficult Ireviewsafe-
ryrulesin Section1:Safetyof this manuaU.
2. We recommendtilling upand clownslopes ratherthanterracing. Tillingverticallyon a
slopeallowsmax_murrplantingareaand alsoleavesroomfor cultivating.
IMPORTANT,"Whentilling on slopes besurethecorrectoil levelismaintainedintheengine
checkeveryone-halfhourof oeeratlonL Theinclineof the sloeewl causerne el to slant
awayfrom _tsnormalleveland_n_scanstarveenginepartsof requiredlubrication. Keepme
motorOHlevelatthefull eointatall times!
WAF{NINEi: Donot
operatetiller on aslopetoo
steep for safe operation. Till
slowly and besureyou have
good footing. Neverpermzt
tiller tofreewheel down
slopes.Failureto follow this
warning could result in
personalinjury.
Tilling Upand DownSlopes(VerticalTilling)
• Tokeepsoil erosionto a minimum,besureto addenoughorganicmattertothe softsothat it hasgoodmoisture-holdingtextureandtry
toavoidleavingfootprints or wheelmarks.
• Whentilling vertically,try to makethefirst eass. _hillasthetiller digs moreaeeplygoing uphillthan itdoesdownhill. Insoftsoil or
weeas,you mayhaveto lift thehandlebarsslightlywhilegoinguphill. 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 eromon.
• As interracegardemng,startatthetop oftheslopeandoverlapthefirst passey _alfthewidthof thetiller.Foraddedstabilityofthetiller.
alwayskeeptheuphillwheelinthesoft. new_yhliedSOIL
TerraceGardening
• Whena slope_stoo steepor too short for verticaltilling, _tmay benecessaryto t_llacrossthesloaeandcreateterracedrows.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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