Price for garden tilling?

[Haywire]

Since I have a plow and tiller for my 2660 now, I was thinking of offering a garden tilling service next spring.

What do you think I should charge for the average backyard vegetable garden?

Ian

 

[bp fick]

Since I have a plow and tiller for my 2660 now, I was thinking of offering a garden tilling service next spring.

What do you think I should charge for the average backyard vegetable garden?

Ian

Given transportation costs, horrendous fuel costs, and the risk of hitting something in the ground or tearing up your equipment..... everything the local market can bear. That is $50 for reasonably small plots around here. Of course, I think anything under a 100x300 is a "small" plot. So, don't take my word for it. :laughing:

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Given transportation costs, horrendous fuel costs, and the risk of hitting something in the ground or tearing up your equipment..... everything the local market can bear. That is $50 for reasonably small plots around here. Of course, I think anything under a 100x300 is a "small" plot. So, don't take my word for it. :laughing:

$50 for maybe a 10x30 but not a 100x300:thumbdown:
My brother rented a tiller a couple of years ago for $65 a day, day minimum price. He has a 20x30 garden and after picking up, returning, unloading, loading and being jerked around by a tiller for a couple of hours he volunteers to gladly pay me $50. I wouldn't charge him anything but he insists to help me cover tractor, fuel and tiller cost. He lives next door and I never charge him for backhoe digging or any other tractor services.

 

[herd]

I agree, $50.00 is a fair price for a fairly small plot; paying to rent a tiller is only a small part of the torture, running is the bigger part.

I'm thinking about doing this myself next spring, trick is, at least I think so, is to get anumber of garden plots in a near by areas, thereby making the most of your mobilizing costs.

 

[magicheater]

Since I have a plow and tiller for my 2660 now, I was thinking of offering a garden tilling service next spring.

What do you think I should charge for the average backyard vegetable garden?

Ian

I get a delivery charge + $1 a minute with no minimum to encourage gardening. I have a 5.5' tiller.

 

[5030]

I just borrow my neighbor's Frontier (JD) 84" rear mount tiller. He says it will roto till asphalt but I've never tried it.......

 

[2458n]

You will have the opp to till asphalt. Ater you beat the tines off the tiller the home owner will volunter to tell you that the garden is now where the old barn or smoke house was. Fall is a great time to offer plowing altough a weedeater and a tiller can hide alot of neglect from this years weed patch. Once you get started word of mouth is your best advertizement. With all the dry weather peoples gardens were not very succesful this year. In the spring it is all forgotten and gardening will again seem like the thing to do. When opening up new ground do not forget to locate the under ground utitilies. One phone call and they come out free of charge. Tearing up phone lines and cable can be very costly.

 

[taborekle]

If it were me, I'd bump up the price a little for a first time customer. I found that the first couple of times that I tilled my in-laws guarden (which had never been tillered before) that I was constantly breaking my shear-bolts on their rocks. I've since upgraded my sheer-bolt to a slip-clutch. The 2nd or 3rd season that I tillered it went much faster, as I had cleared so many of the rocks.

If it's an old plot that has been under seed before, then there is no need to call a utility company to mark the land. Tillers only go down about 4 or 5 inches, and if it's been under seed before it probably was plowed (which is much deeper).

If it's never been under seed, then I'd be concerned about tearing up my equipment on that forgotten underground foundation.

Don't be afraid to turn down a tillering job, depending on the answers to your questions and the lay of the land (and the lay of the person hiring you).

Larry

 

[PapaPerk]

How does one handle liability? Everyone nowadays is "sue happy".

 

[5030]

How does one handle liability? Everyone nowadays is "sue happy".

Maybe in your state, not mine.