Is a tiller a good investment??

[Patch of Heaven Farm]

Hi

I am planning a huge garden this year along with some raised beds. My question is would a tiller be a good investment? My dad always used one and his garden always looked great and weed free. My dh works alot and is not able to help as much as I need him to in the garden so it is usually just me and the kids to do all the weeding and harvesting.

I usually get my dad to break up the garden with a plow. My soil is great and breaks up really nice and I can plant without further soil prep. But my dad is very ill so I don't know if he will be able to plow it this year so it has me thinking about a tiller.

I know some here do not like them but I just need to know the pros and cons of one. I usually get frustrated by May with all the weeding and pulling dirt to plants. I am thinking of buying a troybilt or one from Sears. So if you have one you woud reccomend please let me know!
I have thought about mulching for the weed problem but wasn't sure I could mulch all plants. Is there any that shouldn't be mulched? I know probally a dumb question!!!

Thanks!

 

[allabout]

Not a dumb question, but I'll give you a honest answer. I plant huge gardens, (feel free to look at my veg. garden page on "view personal page") and we plow the soil well before planting, let everything sprout, and plow again and even a third time. That gets rid of a ton of grass and weeds so that we don't have to use the tiller much but I have my trusty troybilt on standby. I purchased mine used to help with the initial crunch on the wallet. I have never had a bit of problems with it, not once! It's a workhorse, plus it's easy even for me to use so yes I do recommend it.

Just remember its not something you use alot, but boy do your friends love you for having one!

 

[Patch of Heaven Farm]

Thanks allabout!! So you have a plow that goes in between the rows? We don't so I couldn't have him plow but intially (sp?). That is why I was thinking about a tiller. When I was a kid we would always till once a week and my dad had an attachment that pulled the dirt to the rows a harrow maybe?

Anyway our garden was always beautiful and productive. But if I can do that same thing with mulch it would save about 2000.00. I also want to do some beds for asparagus and strawberries maybe some herbs and was thinking I might need to till first but I have never did a raised bed so I wasn't sure. Anyway thanks for the help

btw your garden is huge!!!! Probally a bit more than I will do but I plan to plant an acre and a half of corn and then just do other veggies in my garden plot. So it will be alot for me to keep up with.

 

[farmerlor]

We have one of those little mantis tillers which I use when the husband isn't around to get some weeding done and prepare the odd bed or two. We use a BIG tiller for getting the garden ready and working in compost. I mulch for weed control too but I do that because my soil is in pretty crappy shape and I need the added organic material.

 

[patandchickens]

If you have an enormous area to tend, are not trying to plant intensively (why not?), enjoy running the tiller down the rows every couple weeks (oh, *that*s why not <g>), and have lots of water to use on the garden, I guess it may make sense (at least in the shorter term) to buy a tiller.

OTOH a hoe works perfectly well too, and with intensive planting (like wide rows or etc) and mulch and being smart about how much/when you disturb the soil, it saves you a whole lot of money and doesn't damage soil structure. Really, to a considerable extent you can 'outsmart' a lot of the weeds. And that way, less water used, and the soil develops better tilth as time goes by.

You shouldn't have to till nice soil in the spring btw. Keep it covered during the winter so it doesn't crust over, then plant directly in (for transplants) or just rake the row you're going to seed into (for direct seeding). Just fine.

Personally I don't think tillers are generally the way to go. But of course some people do and still have satisfying gardens. And I am willing to suppose that in a few situations, esp. where the soil needs a lot of work over a long time to improve it but you have to be producing good veg crops during that interval, and if there is just one of you and lots of water and a gigantic garden, there may be times when a tiller is not unreasonable.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Reinbeau]

We've got both a Troy-built big tiller and a Mantis. I really prefer the Mantis on already established gardens, but that Troy-Built works really well when I'm making a new one - plus I do use it once, in the spring, to get everything tilled in nicely before I plant. So yes, I do think they are a good investment, but I'd probably only buy the Mantis if I had to make a choice.

 

[farmerlor]

I LOVE my little mantis! I can start it and work with it by myself so I don't have to be all girlie and call the husband to help me. But we have about an acre in garden so we need the big behemoth tiller at least in the spring.

 

[rockytopsis]

DH uses the tractor at first then I have a self propelled tiller and after the plants come up I use my mantis. Don't know what I would do with out my tillers.

Nancy

 

[Hencackle]

Dh has a Troybilt & I have an electric Mantis, which has a lot of power, believe it or not. It's so quiet that I can use it without worrying about disturbing the sleep of my neighbor that works graveyard shift. Plus, it doesn't belch out smoke either. I tried using my dad's gas-powered Mantis--there's no way I would give up my electric Mantis!

 

[Patch of Heaven Farm]

Thanks for all the info!! One question for the mantis owners: does it have enough power to break up sod? I mainly want a tiller for weeding and maybe break ground for a bed or two so I was wondering if a mantis might be better than a troybilt???


Oh and one more question: Where do you guys get all that newspaper for mulching? I have about 3/4 acre garden and that would take a lot of newspaper!!