Tiller New to tractors and new tiller

[YVS]

I'm new to tractors, been working with mine for a few months. I just bought a 5 foot tiller for my 200 by 100 ft garden. Do y'all have any advice about using, and maintaining that tiller? My garden soil can get hard as a rock. I have to water it or wait for rain to work the soil. Thanks.

 

[Fawken]

I wouldn't water it. What kind of tiller? I have a TSC 44" and in my clay soil it really helps to spread some mulch over the area 1st. Keeps the wet clay from clogging the tines and here we need it for aeration. At 540 PTO the tines spin really fast so make sure there's no wire or other junk in the field that might sling up and whack you. If the ground is really hard might have to make 2 passes to get the depth you want. Make wide turns or just raise the tiller to start a new row. Beats hand tilling!

 

[YVS]

Why wouldn't you water it? I got the red branded one. I really didn't do much looking once I decided to go for a PTO powered one vs walk behind.

 

[Fawken]

Because even though we haven't had rain here in about three weeks the ground is still wet 3-4 inches below the soil. Don't have a clue what your soil is like. If it is sandy then yes put a little water on it.

 

[Baby Grand]

Welcome to TBN, YVS!
If you have a slip clutch on your tiller, remember to follow the instructions for slipping and adjusting it, annually.
Check the gearbox oil level frequently and change it if it starts to look cloudy, before it has been run. Water in the oil is your enemy.
Grease the zerk fittings on your tiller (probably just one) the crosses on your PTO shaft before using it.
I like to till moist soil, not dry soil and definitely not wet soil.
As Fawken said, adding some mulch to the soil before you till can help improve the soil tilth.
What will you be growing?

 

[gwdixon]

Definitely lift the tiller at the end of a run, turn around, and drop it on the way back. Either on the same path or a new one.

Each row will have a mound at the start and a ditch at the end. Tilling back on the same path will fill the ditch and reduce the mound. In other words, till both ways. A tiller moves the garden soil about 6" and going the other way moves it back.

If you can break up hard soil with the scarifiers on a box blade first then tilling will go much better. If the tiller bounces off the ground while underway then the ground needs water or needs to be broken up a bit first.

Tilling very wet ground will ruin the soil's structure. Moist is best and mulch is like gold. See if you can get some mulch from recycling places or from professional tree/wood chippers. Our city dump has a mulch area where they grind up trees and such while giving away the results.

Straw/hay is not so great because it will clog up the tiller's tines and often is full of weed seeds.

 

[YVS]

I'll have to look around for the zirc fitting. That's something I wasn't aware of. I've got access to some old pine shavings (6 months) that our chickens used. That should be okay, right? I've got about 25 egg plants in the nursery that need to get in the ground. Maybe some late summer squash. Thanks for the scarifier advice. I may have to live with the mound and ditch at the ends, our garden borders a fence, I have to back up to the start of each row.

 

[Baby Grand]

Aged pine shavings with chicken manure - sounds perfect.
I have a few places where I have to do the back up to start a new row.
In the future, try to lay out your gardens to avoid that.
The method that gwdixon described works great & save a lot of time.

 

[kebo]

I'll have to look around for the zirc fitting. That's something I wasn't aware of. I've got access to some old pine shavings (6 months) that our chickens used. That should be okay, right? I've got about 25 egg plants in the nursery that need to get in the ground. Maybe some late summer squash. Thanks for the scarifier advice. I may have to live with the mound and ditch at the ends, our garden borders a fence, I have to back up to the start of each row.

I'm no expert on this, but I would suggest to pay attention to your soil Ph. I think the pine might be acidic, which could change the Ph level of your soil.

 

[jenkinsph]

I'm new to tractors, been working with mine for a few months. I just bought a 5 foot tiller for my 200 by 100 ft garden. Do y'all have any advice about using, and maintaining that tiller? My garden soil can get hard as a rock. I have to water it or wait for rain to work the soil. Thanks.

You have received good advice from the others above. That is a large garden area for home use imo. I would recommend you get some soil samples analyzed to see what is needed for the veggies you want. Some soil amendments take quite a bit of time to break down and help enough to notice. But a garden properly cared for should improve through the years. Add the amendments needed and retest each year to see what is needed as this changes in time. A 1/2 acre garden can take a huge amount of materials or amendments if the ground is poor, you might want to think about a smaller area with in this fenced area.