Tiller Depth

[xcsm]

I'll be doing a lot of stump removal on my property soon and would like to know how far below ground to grind the stump/roots. I'm assuming it should be deep enough to allow rototilling(utility tractor) for lawn prep. How deep does a typical tiller turn the soil? Thanks.

 

[bx23barry]

When the guy ground my stumps he went down about a foot to a foot and a half. My tiller won't go much over 8" deep in real soft stuff, more like 4-6" normally.

 

[jbrumberg]

xcsm:

Welcome to TBN ! My Woods T-60 and my CCM m-160 both tilled/till down to around 8". Jay

 

[Bird]

How deep does a typical tiller turn the soil?

While the maximum is usually 6" to 8", some can go deeper, depending on the type and condition of the soil sometimes. However, most also have skids that can be adjusted to allow less depth. I'm sure no expert, but if you're talking about a lawn instead of a vegetable garden, wouldn't tilling a couple of inches be sufficient? On most of the new construction I see, they don't even till at all; just seed, hydromulch, or lay sod after raking it reasonably smooth.

 

[john_bud]

3-4" is the usual first pass depth and 6-8" is the maximum you can get with tillers that I am familiar with.

If you are doing lawn prep, adjust the pH with lime, do your first tilling then add any soil amemdments (manure, fertilizer, more lime, peetmoss, etc) and do the second tilling. Broadcast the seed, pack it down tight and water. To help break down the plant material you tilled and to kill off more of the weed seeds, wait 10 days to 2 weeks between first and second tilling. Or till twice and wait. That gives time for the plants to break down and for the weeds to sprout. Tilling again at that point kills the sprouted weeds and helps give your grass a better shot.

While Mr. Bird is correct in what is commonly done, that doesn't make it right. Those folks typically have real ugly yards, especially compared to someone that created a good 8" base of fertile soil of the optimum pH. You do have to worry about weeds when you start from seed. Products containing 2,4-D are effective at controlling broadleaf weeds and are cheap.

jb

 

[North Dakota]

Before adding lime to your soil check with your County's soil conservation office. Where I'm at it is not recommended to use lime.

I'd remove the stumps to at least a foot below the surface. That way if you decide to have a garden plot or run underground sprinklers you will be lower than most excavation needs.

 

[AndyMA]

I usually try to grind to 12-18". That way theyare out fo the way, anything I plant grows better and they tend to regrow or sucker less.

Andy

 

[hemiguy]

I agree with the others that no tiller will go much deeper than 8" so if you grind the stumps down 12" or more you should be good to go. However, in my experience many larger trees tend to hump above the surrounding grade so make sure it will be deep enough when the area is leveled/graded for the lawn. Also you really should have the chips removed as well. Otherwise you'll get a lot of settling and the decomposition of the chips sucks nitrogen from the soil. I was told this by a friend who landscapes for a living and I have seen the problems with grass growing over old stumps because of this. So you may need to bring in some fill dirt to compensate.

In my area, no one tills for lawn prep as the soil is far too rocky. Here (western NY state) the usual procedure is to grade, then rake and/or rock hound, topdress with a couple inches or more of topsoil, and then seed. May be different in your area but thats how it's done here.

 

[tony123]

This ones probably been put to rest already, but I just got a tiller, and I'm measuring down 10-11". So I'd not be comfortable grinding stumps to only 12".

 

[gotcha]

I'll be doing a lot of stump removal on my property soon and would like to know how far below ground to grind the stump/roots. I'm assuming it should be deep enough to allow rototilling(utility tractor) for lawn prep. How deep does a typical tiller turn the soil? Thanks.

One of the bad features about stump grinding more especially where one is using the area as a lawn is after a period of time the stump rots out and one has one heck of a depression in their lawn. I have been filling a dozen or so of the spots to try and level out the lawn. Now that I have the B26 I'm digging all the rotted stumps and filling it all in. If I had it to do all over again I would have taken the time to remove the stumps.
The Gotcha Man