Filter
Top Products
TILLINGTIPS & TECHNIQUES(CON'T)
PowerComposting
Powercompostingsimplymeanstilling underandburying in thesoil all mannerof organic
mattersuchas crop residues,leaves,grassclippingsand covercrops.Thismaterialwill de-
composeduring the non-growingseasonandadd importantnaturalnutrientstothe soil.
Thefirst placeto beginiswith cropresiduessuchas leftovervines,stalks,stemsandroots.
Powercompostthesecropresiduesassoonastheyfinish bearing.Thesoonerthis is done,
thebetter,as tendergreenmatteris easierto till under.Usethedeepestdepthregulatorset-
ting possiblewithoutcausingthe engineto laboror the tiller tojump ahead.
Standingcornstalksof reasonableheightcanbe powercomposted.Pushingover(butnot
uprooting)cornstalkswill often makeit easierto chopupthe stalks.Keepthetines clearof
excessivetanglingby "fishtailing"or frequentlyusingreverse.Makeseveralpasses,then re-
turna fewdays laterto finish off anyremainingstubble.
Aftertilling undercropresidues,addmoreorganicmattersuchasleaves,grassclippingsand
evenkitchenscraps.Whentilled intothesoil, this organic matterwill decomposeandadd
evenmoreimportantnutrientsto thesoil.
WAHNIN(3: When power
composting, do not keepthe
DepthRegulator Leverata
deepsetting ifthe tiller jumps
or bucks.
If jumping or bucking occurs,
movethe Depth Regulator
Leverdown to ashallow
setting andthen slowly
increasethetilling depthon
laterpasses.
Failureto follow this warning
could result in personalinjury.
Afterpowercomposting,you maywant to planta "greenmanure"covercropto protectthe soilduringtheoff-season.Yousimply growa
cropof clover,alfalfa,buckwheat,peas,beans,ryegrass,grain,or kaleandthentill it into thesoil priorto theplanting season.
TillingOn Slopes
Readthe followingrecommendationsbeforetilling onslopes:
Ifyou mustgardenon a moderateslope,pleasefollow two very importantguidelines:
1.Till onlyon moderateslopes,neveronsteepgroundwherefooting isdifficult (reviewsafe-
ty rulesin Section1:Safetyof this manual).
2. We recommendtilling up and down slopes ratherthan terracing.Tilling vertically on a
slopeallows maximumplantingareaandalso leavesroomfor cultivating.
IMPORTANT:Whentilling onslopes,besurethecorrect oil 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: Do not
operatetiller on aslope too
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 the soil sothat it has goodmoisture-holdingtexture andtry
to avoidleavingfootprints or wheelmarks.
• Whentilling vertically,tryto makethe first passuphillas thetillerdigsmoredeeplygoing uphillthan itdoesdownhill.Insoftsoilor weeds,
youmayhaveto lift the handlebarsslightlywhile going uphill.Whengoingdownhill, overlapthefirst passby aboutone-halfthe width of
thetiller.
TillingAcrossSlopes Without UsingTerraces(HorizontalTilling)
• If verticalor terracinggardeningaren'tpracticalfor you,then you cantill laterallyacrossa slope.We don't recommendthis methodas it
cancreateunsurefooting and invitessoil erosion.
• As interracegardening,startatthe topof theslopeandoverlapthefirst passby halfthewidth ofthetiller.Foraddedstabilityof thetiller,
alwayskeeptheuphillwheelinthesoft, newlytilledsoil.
TerraceGardening
• Whena slopeistoo steepor too shortfor verticaltilling, it may benecessaryto till acrossthe slopeand createterracedrows. Terraces
arerows thatarecut into theside ofa slope,creatinga narrow,butflat areaon whichto plant.
• Ona long slope,you can makeseveralterraces,onebelowthe other.
• Terracesshouldbeonly 2-t0-3feetwide.Diggingtoofar intothesideof theslopewill exposepoor subsoilthat isunproductivefor plants.
15