Mini-tiller/Cultivators

JackE · April 5, 2011

Just wondering if other market gardeners use mini-tiller/cultivators like we do - and what kind they use - and how they hold-up for y'all. Most of our volunteer labor is older ladies who can't handle the big rear-tine tiller, so we have developed the following weed-control system over several years.

We use mini-tillers with bolo tines for row cultivation. You can get real close to small plants (especially if you tilt it a little so it stays shallow on the plant side). It leaves a nicely culivated foot-wide swath on each side of the row, and we follow behind that with a wheel hoe. The wheel hoe pusher-person lays as much dirt as possible to the row WITHOUT covering the plants, thereby smothering all the little weed seedlings between the plants within the row itself. That leaves a remaining band of weed seedlings down the middles, which we treat later with herbicide. With two people this is VERY fast! We can do an acre faster than my neighbor with his FarmAll (he spends most the time trying to get his blades adjusted right LOL)

Needless to say, these little tillers aren't designed for the hard use we give them, and they don't last very long. We presently have three of them that run (and a big pile that don't run LOL) - a DR with electric start ($400), a Stihl Professional ($350 10 yrs ago), and an Earthquake ($200). The DR and Earthquake (which are identical except for the electric start) have the best design - they have a drag bar and long-bladed tines that don't leave an untilled space where the transmission is - but they just don't hold-up. Our volunteer ladies like the electric start feature on the DR.

The Stihl is by far the most durable - designed for hard, every day service by commercial landscapers and professional gardeners. But it has a lousy design -it has no drag bar and the bolo tines are too short. It leaves a 2" wide space in the middle and you have to make another pass. The wheels (optional kit) are useless at least for us, and we have to run it it without wheels (they stick-out beyond the tines and run over the crop!) We rarely use it for these reasons - BUT, it's a super tough, top quality, professional machine. And it can be serviced and repaired by the local chain saw store instead of being thrown-away after a year or two like the others. Despite it's bad design, we can depend on it when all the others are broken down.

I sure wish we could find a high grade mini-tiller/cultivator that has the Stihl quality with the DR design. Anybody know of one? If it holds-up, price isn't really all that important.

Jack

I should add - by way of edit - that all these little tillers do a better job if pulled backwards, even the Stihl. It's too strenuous and very tiring for us, but a good technique for a small gardener who has to break-up a small area of hard ground (using Mantis-type tines, not bolos).

Our soil is soft and loose. Before anything is planted, the whole field has been deeply tilled with a large tractor-mounted tiller.

April 5, 2011	#1
JackE Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Woodville, Texas Posts: 520	Mini-tiller/Cultivators Just wondering if other market gardeners use mini-tiller/cultivators like we do - and what kind they use - and how they hold-up for y'all. Most of our volunteer labor is older ladies who can't handle the big rear-tine tiller, so we have developed the following weed-control system over several years. We use mini-tillers with bolo tines for row cultivation. You can get real close to small plants (especially if you tilt it a little so it stays shallow on the plant side). It leaves a nicely culivated foot-wide swath on each side of the row, and we follow behind that with a wheel hoe. The wheel hoe pusher-person lays as much dirt as possible to the row WITHOUT covering the plants, thereby smothering all the little weed seedlings between the plants within the row itself. That leaves a remaining band of weed seedlings down the middles, which we treat later with herbicide. With two people this is VERY fast! We can do an acre faster than my neighbor with his FarmAll (he spends most the time trying to get his blades adjusted right LOL) Needless to say, these little tillers aren't designed for the hard use we give them, and they don't last very long. We presently have three of them that run (and a big pile that don't run LOL) - a DR with electric start ($400), a Stihl Professional ($350 10 yrs ago), and an Earthquake ($200). The DR and Earthquake (which are identical except for the electric start) have the best design - they have a drag bar and long-bladed tines that don't leave an untilled space where the transmission is - but they just don't hold-up. Our volunteer ladies like the electric start feature on the DR. The Stihl is by far the most durable - designed for hard, every day service by commercial landscapers and professional gardeners. But it has a lousy design -it has no drag bar and the bolo tines are too short. It leaves a 2" wide space in the middle and you have to make another pass. The wheels (optional kit) are useless at least for us, and we have to run it it without wheels (they stick-out beyond the tines and run over the crop!) We rarely use it for these reasons - BUT, it's a super tough, top quality, professional machine. And it can be serviced and repaired by the local chain saw store instead of being thrown-away after a year or two like the others. Despite it's bad design, we can depend on it when all the others are broken down. I sure wish we could find a high grade mini-tiller/cultivator that has the Stihl quality with the DR design. Anybody know of one? If it holds-up, price isn't really all that important. Jack I should add - by way of edit - that all these little tillers do a better job if pulled backwards, even the Stihl. It's too strenuous and very tiring for us, but a good technique for a small gardener who has to break-up a small area of hard ground (using Mantis-type tines, not bolos). Our soil is soft and loose. Before anything is planted, the whole field has been deeply tilled with a large tractor-mounted tiller. Last edited by JackE; April 5, 2011 at 09:41 PM.