Small Tillers?

[wildcat62]

Originally Posted by PA_Julia

This is the one I purchased in 2012 for around 325.00. It's a Honda 4 Cycle with a 9 inch till.

Excellent machine.




I have now outgrown it and have recently purchased a larger 5HP front tine machine.
The Honda would be great for any raised bed but I plant in ground and have been wanting to expand my planting area by a sizable amount and the Honda was just too small.

I bought this same model last spring & you're right it's a tilling monster. Starts easy & is the best small tiller I have ever had my hands on.

[ContainerTed]

I bought a TroyBuilt from Lowes last year for $200. Works just fine. I use it mostly for weeding among the tomato plants.

[Worth1]

I saw a guy years ago in Austin trying to till a huge old rock hard vacant lot with one like that.
It was comical to say the least.
He might as well been trying to till the concrete highway.
They are great little weed getters in soil that is already prepared.

Worth

[Rootwad]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I personally think it would be a waste of money that could be spent more wisely on drip irrigation stuff.

With a 3 foot X 12 foot bed you can if you want just use a small heavy hand mattox like I do.
Or a nice hoe like this.

No need to till deep at all in a raised bed.
I just keep piling leaves in mine.

Just something to break up the surface.

Worth

Worth you got it right, they are just toys.

[ContainerTed]

I agree, Worth. The guy across the highway comes over with his John Deere and uses a big tiller attachment to do the initial spring "groundbreaking". Then I use my full sized Garden Machine 20" tiller to do another soil preparation just before planting out. The "Mantis-sized" TroyBilt is only used for weeding.

That neighbor across the road tills at least half a dozen gardens for all the neighbors around here every spring. Yes, we trade a lot of stuff that only one of us is growing each year.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Rootwad

Worth you got it right, they are just toys.

You just reminded me.
They used to sell these hoes at the store now all they have is junk fall apart china hoes.
Our fault because people were cheaping out and buying the china junk.

Worth

[clkingtx]

My hubby bought a tiller attachment for our weed whacker, and it seems to work fine for our light tilling needs.

Carrie

[SueCT]

I have had a mantis tiller for a number of years and love it. Used it in ground and raised beds. I don't have rocky soil. I have found I have to clear the tines of roots and grass frequently when using it on turf to expand the garden. I use it yearly for my main garden that is about 12x16. I use it to till in compost, manure, whatever I want to add to the soil before planting as well as to break up and/or remove roots from previous years plants. It is great for getting into smaller places and I no longer have the energy or stamina for the hand double digging I did 20 years ago, lol. But it is pricey. I split the cost with my mother and two other family member have used it several times, so overall we feel the money was worth it. Can you rent them? Might be worth it to try one you are seriously considering before actually buying it, be the Mantis or Honda or any other.

[ricman]

I own an older (1977) Troy-Bilt horse, although I would not consider it a small tiller. This is the second one I have owned and they are real workhorses and handle my hard red clay fairly easily. They can be found on craigslist from time to time. I bought both of mine at auctions for about a $100 bucks each, a steal in my opinion. I kept the one that was equipped with electric start. The older models made by Garden Way were great quality machines, not the junk being produced today. Just my 2 cents worth.

Rick

[pmcgrady]

Originally Posted by clkingtx

My hubby bought a tiller attachment for our weed whacker, and it seems to work fine for our light tilling needs.

Carrie

Stihl makes a nice tiller attachment for their weed eater.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by pmcgrady

Stihl makes a nice tiller attachment for their weed eater.

Echo does too.
Worth

[Misfit]

For those interested; I can vouch for Rogue Hoes. A lot of mountain bike clubs use them for trail building and maintenance. The ones with hickory handles are especially nice. They come very sharp, making it useful for scrapping weeds away, as well as digging in the dirt.

My 55H has hundreds of hours on it already. http://www.roguehoe.com/trailbuildin...lbuilding.html

-Jimmy

[Yak54]

FWIW, I have used my Mantis for 25 years or so. However I dig up the ground first with a shovel and then after the turned over ground has a few days to dry out, I hit it with the Mantis. Used in this manner it has given me good service. I'm thinking about replacing it with a new Honda version in the next year or so. I would call it a "lite duty" tiller, but with that in mind it can last a long time.

[BigVanVader]

My stepdad has a really old tiller, it is the easiest tiller you could ever imagine using. It is a one arm tiller that a child could use. I have a newer troy built rear tine tiller that makes you feel like you were trying to tame a wild bull all day after using it. Funny how technology seems to work backwards sometimes. It looks very similar to this and may be a Wizard brand tiller. It is so rusted nothing is visible just by looking it over, and yes it still runs.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

My stepdad has a really old tiller, it is the easiest tiller you could ever imagine using. It is a one arm tiller that a child could use. I have a newer troy built rear tine tiller that makes you feel like you were trying to tame a wild bull all day after using it. Funny how technology seems to work backwards sometimes. It looks very similar to this and may be a Wizard brand tiller. It is so rusted nothing is visible just by looking it over, and yes it still runs.

I'm just going to ask this and not mean any insult what so ever.
The reason I am going to ask is I have heard this not only here but have seen people do it in real life.

Troy Built makes or at least did two different contraptions.
One is a cultivator and the other is a tiller.
The difference is which direction the tines go.
The tiller has the tines rotating backwards the cultivator has the tines going forward.
If you dont put the rear spike into the soil with a cultivator it will take off like a wild jackass.
With the tiller it has a depth control shoe that goes down.
You use this to control how deep you want to till.
I have what they call a dual rotating tine tiller that does both and has the wheel drive like a troy built and is rear tine.
If isn't like the reverse on a tiller it is made this way to do both.

I dug a 12 foot long 5 foot wide 2 foot deep hole in the yard with it.
Then put a board ramp in to get out.

Worth