Tiller A tiller....do I need one????

[PapaPerk]

I planted some grass last year. It died because it was planted late in the season. So I need to dig it all up again. I have been thinking about a tiller. What brand tiller do you guys recommend? I have a 3830 Kubota. I've been thinking about a 72" tiller but I concerned about prices. Any suggestions would be great! By the way...I don't want any TSC stuff!

 

[PineRidge]

You could scratch the surface up a bit with a landscape rake, use starter fertilizer, seed, and use a roller for good soil contact. You'll then see grass in no time.

BTW TSC makes some pretty decent tillers for the money. I have one of their gear driven models with slip clutch and it has always worked well. What more can one expect from a tiller?

 

[MadDog]

CCM's prices on gear-driven tillers are tough to beat and Mark is a super-nice guy to deal with. I'm running one on my B7800.

Now, I can't exactly say whether you NEED one for your intended use, but if you WANT one it will certainly do the job, plus you can turn yours and your neighbors' veggie gardens. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif You can never go wrong with another attachment.

 

[hwp]

How big an area do you have to reseed? If it is not too big and you had a good bed when you first seeded, I would suggest a light scarification with a rake or something similar, then a top dressing with good top soil and reseeding. I lost quite a bit of lawn last summer due to the long drought but I top dressed and reseeded the dead areas in September and by late October the lawn was as good as ever. This is a lot sheaper than buying a tiller. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[HGM]

I would say, of course you need one... If you have ever used a walk behind then a 3pt tiller, you'll definitly need one.. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Now, if you are just planning on this one use. I would just recomend renting one if you can find one. This way, you can get the job done and make your own determination as to whether you need one or not. Then too, you wont be rushed into purchase and can make a smarter decission. JMO /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Happy shopping.

 

[HayDR]

Choice of the proper grass for your situation, soil prep. & water & fertilizer are needed for good success. Water, water, water... most tall fescue grasses don't really take off until the second year. You can supplement your first year success by adding an annual rye grass. The rye will die off as the fescue is coming on. Use of a mix of the fine lawn fescues will give you a consistent lawn. New lawns do not need much nitrogen with is the first # on the analysis.

 

[RonR]

Our lawn was looking puny and I've fertilized and aerated, etc, most years.

Two Yrs ago, after conferring with a buddy, I researched our local Ag College's info. For almost all soil conditions and almost all nutritional deficiency, they recommended the same thing: Add Organic stuff to the ground.

So Wife & I spent 3 Saturdays hauling our trailer to the local recycle place and purchased in bulk, a total of 6,000 pounds of composted zoo doo! It cost about $60 and has been the BEST things we've ever done for the yard.

It was well composted, so there was almost no smell. It was light and fluffy, since they'd regularly churned it in a commercial hopper unit.

It was easy to apply, just place the trailer in the center of the yard and start flinging. We raked the thickest spots to keep from burying the existing grass. Then we watered the heck out of it.

Prior to applying this, walking across our yard was like walking across a concrete drive. Now, you walk across and you can feel the springiness in the ground. It has really loosened it up.

There were some weeds that came up that we had to deal with from the hay the elephants ate, but that was easy to control.

Maybe spread some seed next spring, and topdress with organic????????

Ron

 

[EastTexFrank]

Do you need a tiller? .... probably not. As others have said, you can probably do it with a rake.

Don't discount TSC, some of their stuff is good. My experience with a tiller is that, initially, I used it a lot and worked it hard. After tilling up my large vegetable plot to full depth a few times, it now takes about 20 minutes. So, if your use is only going to be occasional, you probably don't need a high priced, top of the line model because once the initial hard, breakup work is done, you can literally tear through it in no time flat.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Kuhn and I won't be getting rid of it anytime soon but I think it would have been more cost effective to rent one for the first couple of years and then use a walk-behind. Nah, a walk-behind isn't nearly as much fun and it's a lot harder work.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

The "TSC STUFF" is a King Kutter tiller. I'm not much of a fan of their products, but the tillers they make are nothing to laugh at. In fact, for the money, I don't see anything else being any better. Not a bad tiller at all...

Over tilling soil for a lawn is about as bad as doing nothing at all. It tends to wash away easily. I'd suggest looking in to renting a power seeder, and just direct seeding into what you already have. As was suggested, get a mix (of seed) that includes perennial (sp?) rye, and the type of grass you intend as the "main course". Fertilize. Water. And MORE water.

Dirt has a way of improving structurally on its own if left alone. Tilling upsets natures way of doing things. This is the thinking behind no-till farming. Let freezing and thawing, along with the earthworms improve soil structure.

But get that tiller anyway! And start a garden.

 

[RobJ]

This won't be a fun solution but here goes anyway. A tiller is very expensive. And depending on how much area you have (you didn't say), look into renting a sod cutter from home depot or another rental place. $75 a day and these work great. I used one late last year and in about 30 minutes I cut up about twice as much dead grass that I wanted(I couldn't stop the fun /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif). I had to buy 3.5 pallets of grass to fill in what I cut. It was sort of fun. It's a self propelled unit, about 18" wide and runs at a fast walk pace. Of couse the hard part was raking up the grass. But now you can use your tractor and a rake for that. I considered a tiller (walk behind) but this was 100 times better because there was no dead grass or weeds mixed in. I set the depth to slice just below the ground, then went over it again after the grass was removed to loosen up the spoil.

For a small area it'll save you some money.