The power to turn the earth - mechanical tillers

Sunset, Feb, 1997 by Jim McCausland

Mechanical tillers can break up soil without breaking your back - or your budget

Turning soil ranks as horticulture's dirtiest but most essential task. The act itself - the clod-breaking, soil-loosening clash of earth and steel - can be satisfying, but it doesn't need to be backbreaking. It all depends on the tool.

For gardeners with more than a small area of earth to work, a mechanical tiller can make the job almost worth looking forward to: in two to three hours, you and a machine can transform a lawn or fallow ground into a garden bed. Then, after plants are growing, bring back the tiller every couple of weeks to eliminate weeds and make the earth more receptive to rainfall and irrigation.

Most of these machines fall into one of three classes: mini-tillers, front- or mid-tined tillers, and rear-tined tillers. Use the right tiller for the right purpose and you'll be a happy gardener. But if you get it wrong, you'll rue the day you bought before you thought. You can rent most kinds of tillers, although minis are scarce.

THE MIGHTY MINIS

Mini-tillers are the newest and fastest-growing class of tillers/cultivators. Though the minis seem impossibly small, their engines pack a lot of power. Think of them primarily as cultivators that can also handle light tilling. You can use one to blend manure into a vegetable plot, for example, but if you plan to break up lawn or virgin ground, a bigger unit is a better choice.

Most minis till about 8 inches deep and have a tilling width of 6 to 12 inches - about half that of full-size tillers. Because they're small and have front tines, these machines are easy to control: you can get in close to fences, walls, and plants, and simply pick the tiller up and move it when you come to the end of a dead-end row (none has reverse gears). However, since minis are lightweight - most weigh in at 19 to 25 pounds - they tend to bounce when they hit hard soil.

Some models, such as the Mantis, rest on their rotating tines, which propel the tiller forward as it digs. Other minis, like those made by Homelite and Troy-Bilt, have wheels that support part of the tiller's weight as the tines dig (the Mantis also has optional wheels).

Minis cost $170 to $350; they are seldom available as rentals. The two-cycle engines run on a mix of gasoline and oil. They have enough horsepower to allow them to convert into other garden machines; with attachments, minis can become edgers, hedge trimmers, lawn dethatchers, and more.

FRONT- OR MID-TINED TILLERS

Far heavier and more powerful than minis are the front- or mid-tined tillers. They offer a tilling path at least 8 to 12 inches deep and 10 to 36 inches wide, and they can work right up to obstacles. On the downside, they take more muscle to operate than other kinds of tillers. If you use one to break fallow ground, you'll be very sore by the time you're done. Experience find good soil, however, make them easier to operate.

These tillers sell for about $250 to $1,050, with rentals running about $40 to $60 a day. Some models have a reverse gear, which is useful for backing out of tight spots; most have only one forward gear, with speed controlled by the throttle. Some front-tined units have attachments: aerators, finger tines for seed-bed cultivation, and even furrowers.

THE SODBUSTERS: REAR-TINED TILLERS

When it's time to call in the heavy artillery, use rear-tined tillers, which propel themselves through the garden with the aplomb of small tractors. The biggest and best of these practically drive themselves, requiring little extra muscle from the user. If you have sod to break, rent one of these and the job will fly by. Most have a maximum tilling depth of about 8 inches and a width of 14 to 34 inches. Because rear-tined tillers have wheels and motor in front of the tines, they can't till right up to obstacles.

Rear-tined tillers are priced from $650 to $2,000 (you can expect to pay at least $1,000 for a good one); rentals cost $50 to $90 per day. Be sure to get one with multiple forward gears and a reverse gear, since these large units are not easy to push under your own power.

Oddly, smaller rear-tined tillers take more strength to keep on track, perhaps because their lighter weight causes them to jump over stones and hard earth instead of settling into it. (One tiller company executive told us flatly that "the ability to till is a function of weight.") Yet smaller rear-tined tillers make up one of the fastest-growing segments of the market, probably because their price range is comparable to that of good front-tined tillers.

Several optional attachments are available, ranging from plows to dozer blades; some Troy-Bilt models can even be converted to chippers/shredders.

SOURCES

Various brands of tillers are sold at home and garden supply centers, hardware and department stores, and nurseries. A few brands are sold by mail.

Ariens offers front- and rear-tined tillers; call (800) 678-5443.

BCS America makes large rear-tined tillers; (800) 543-1040.

Echo makes one mini-tiller; (800) 432-3246.