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I have been searching for a tiller or small rotovator that doesn't run on petrol or electric. Just a push along type. Does anyone know if these exist? I have found plenty of powered ones but I dont really want to use a petrol one and have no electric supply. Just a small, lightweight one will do me.
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“If your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life.”
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Charles Churchill : A dog will look up on you; a cat will look down on you; however, a pig will see you eye to eye and know it has found an equal
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Wolf-Garten: Detail multi-star® cultivation
One of these? Scroll to the multi star one....We have one just like it. It's fab.Last edited by zazen999; 05-11-2010, 07:05 AM.
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I agree, these wolf tools are very good, but do not go deep enough for the heavy use on the lottie.
Not being able to dig for long i bought and alko hobby 350 petrol with a ridging plough attachment for just over 300 quid online from Mow direct: AL-KO HOBBY MH350-4 CULTIVATOR Discount Rotovators, Cultivators, Tillers, Rototillers and Accessories from Allotment Growing
Its great bit of kit and can rovovate a big plot down to 12 inch in a day, or on my case several short sessions. I keep it at home and bring it to the lottie when needed.
rogerComment
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Why do you think you need one? (I'm not someone who feels the need to rotavate a plot every year)Originally posted by weekendwellies View PostAll gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.Comment
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Originally posted by Two_Sheds View Post
I have had the plot a year and a half now and am still trying to clear the weeds and break open the rock hard ground beneath them. Where I have dug, sowed and hoed already is getting easier to manage. If I could run over those parts quickly in Autumn and Spring it will give me a bit more time/*energy* to deal with the rest that still needs to be done. I am not saying I would use it every year, and would probably pass it on to someone who wanted it eventually.
“If your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life.”
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Charles Churchill : A dog will look up on you; a cat will look down on you; however, a pig will see you eye to eye and know it has found an equal
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The Alko one I have seen on the web along with the MerryTiller one. They look good, its just the petrol ...
The Soil Miller DA-S and Combi-Crumbler DK-M look something like what I had in mind but maybe need something a little more robust than they appear to be.
“If your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life.”
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Charles Churchill : A dog will look up on you; a cat will look down on you; however, a pig will see you eye to eye and know it has found an equal
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Have you got anyone on the allotments that uses one? You could borrow one and see what they are like.
I've tried one and I didn't like it, might be a good idea before you spend alot of money.
They're not supposed to be good for the soil structure anyway and chop up the worms."Orinoco was a fat lazy Womble"
Please ignore everything I say, I make it up as I go along, not only do I generally not believe what I write, I never remember it either.Comment
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I have one of these too and it is fab just as Zazen said.Originally posted by zazen999 View PostComment
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Personally, if the ground is hard and compacted, I would cover it in a mulch of organic material, (compost/manure) and let nature do the work over the winter. You could also cover this with cardboard, which would suppress any new weed growth. By spring, you should have a more manageable plot.
Rotavators/tillers, as has been mentioned, can do more harm than good; they kill worms, and they also divide up perennial weeds, making them more of a problem. I would only use a cultivator on ready soil. Good luck with it.
Last edited by Glutton4...; 05-11-2010, 09:32 AM.
All the best - Glutton 4 Punishment
Freelance shrub butcher and weed removal operative.Comment
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The woman from the council who is in charge of the site said that one of the other Knowsley sites has one and we could borrow it, I have reminded her a couple of times and still have not managed to get hold of it.Originally posted by womble View Post
Maybe I just need to keep plugging away with me fork and have a little more patience.
“If your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life.”
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Charles Churchill : A dog will look up on you; a cat will look down on you; however, a pig will see you eye to eye and know it has found an equal
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I think everyone who hasn't used a rotovator expects it to be the next coming and that it will solve all their problems.
Unfortunately they aren't like that
"Orinoco was a fat lazy Womble"
Please ignore everything I say, I make it up as I go along, not only do I generally not believe what I write, I never remember it either.Comment
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My hopes are not always realized but I always hope (Ovid)
www.fransverse.blogspot.com
www.franscription.blogspot.comComment
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right ho, digging and patience and lots of Radox it is then. Thanks.
“If your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life.”
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Charles Churchill : A dog will look up on you; a cat will look down on you; however, a pig will see you eye to eye and know it has found an equal
.Comment
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iv'e been toying over the last 6 months and more about getting a tiller, especially now that we have taken on another half plot.
reading this thread and i think i have decided now that i don't need one
also the guy who has let us have his half plot(he still has another 2) must be 70 if a day and digs his all himself, so if he can so will i
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Rotovating is not easy, but is easier than digging if like me you have arthritis in the back and neck. My blind pal does some of the digging but can't dig to a uniform depth or in straight lines so before we got the motivator it was bodge job between us.
Our soil is heavy clay that soon gets compacted and the plot is sloping. The lower half where the summer veg was is now covered in a mixture of hos muck, spent hops and shredded paper. In the spring i will rotovate it all in and plough the potato trenches.
I doubt if worm damage will be any greater than slicing in 2 with a spade. And don't they just grow whole agin, or is that an urban myth?
Since getting the rotovator i have done several jobs with it for other.
Finally, mechanical tilling and ploughing has been going one for 100s of years on farms, so it not just a new fad. You would never buy a push lawn mower to cut a football pitch. Get the tools for the job, if you can afford it.
rogerComment
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