How to Use a Rototiller

A rototiller seems like a great garden tool, but how easy is it to use? My husband found his Troy-Bilt rototiller extremely useful in the years we maintained huge gardens for the farmer's market. Here's what you need to know about using a rototiller.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. First read the user manual that came with the rototiller. Each model has it's own precautions.

2. 
   Troy-Bilt Horse

   My husband always liked the Troy-Bilt rototiller because the tines were in rear of the tiller and would dig deeper than the front tine tillers. Using his weight on the handles helped the Troy to dig even deeper. The biggest tiller he had was called a ‘Horse’.
   Previously he had front-tine tillers and they would bounce Clyde around so badly that his back would be hurting by the time he finished the garden.

3. Each year Clyde would till the garden in a different direction. One year cross wise the next year length wise.

4. He would till the garden several times going deeper each time. Usually he would lap half-way over the last lap to be sure there were no hard spots.

5. 
   Lovely tilled soil

   As he finished a row, he would lift the tiller tines from the ground to turn around to go back the other way. In this process some soil would fall off outside the actual garden so when Clyde was completely finished he would go along the edge and rake the loose dirt back into the garden where it belonged.

6. 
   Watch your step

   The last time through he would walk by the side of the tiller, then turn and go back tilling his tracks away. By the time he was through he had a beautiful tilled garden without any footprints.
   Any walking you do on the soft, tilled ground, packs the soil down and makes it harder for the new plants to come up.

7. His tilled garden always looked so good, he soon was being asked to till other gardens, for a fee of course. This helps pay for the tiller over just using it in your own garden.

8. 
   Our potato patch

   After we planted a row of seeds or plants he would till between the rows again eliminating our track marks and fluffing up the soil. The garden prospered!

9. There came a time when Clyde decided he needed a smaller tiller to eliminate hoeing weeds. So he found a Troy-Bilt Junior that worked well and saved Clyde‘s back since he was in his 70s and still gardening a lot. Leave plenty of space between rows to get the tiller through or you will be hand weeding.

10. 

    It is surprising what comes up to the top of the ground when you are tilling. Clyde found rocks, chunks of cement, the roots of an old hedge tree, pretty pieces of broken glass and of all things, marbles.

Tips & Warnings

• Remove all rocks and sharp objects from the area to be tilled.
• Make sure the blades are on correctly.
• Wear sturdy shoes.
• The Troy-Bilt machines also had a reverse gear that was handy in many places, such as too close to a fence.
• Shut the tiller down while putting in more gas.
• Make sure the protective guards are in place before starting it up.

[gailM]

on 10/21/2008 When we were gardening and fishing at our summer place in eastern Kansas we would bury the fish bones, heads, guts and skins in our garden to add their fertilizing goodness to the soil like the Indians did.

[slphilbrick]

on 9/29/2008 Marbles STILL come up in my garden bed after tilling too ! My dad always said that rocks "grew overnight", guess the same is true for marbles !

[vallain]

on 9/27/2008 That's an impressive potato patch.