Tiller Tiller. Walk behind vs 3ph

[TimberXX]

I garden in So. Texas gumbo which is now similar to concrete with the on going drought. My 48" PTO tiller is a life saver. At 64 I will not even think about chasing a tiller over my 35 x 70 garden. I can do in about 20 minutes what would take hours with a walk behind. Time is one of the most valuable assets you own. Go for the PTO tiller.

You use a PTO tiller in a 35 x 70 garden, I would think that would be too small of a garden for such a machine. What kind of tractor do you have?

 

[IXLR8]

Another thought, see if you can rent a 3pt tiller. There is a rental place about 40 minutes from me that I can rent a 5' tiller for $50/day, $300/week. I have trouble justifying the expense of buying when I plan on using it just once per year to break things up. I plan on gardening for the next 15 years, over all cheaper to rent than to buy.. assuming the rental place stays in business. I don't have to worry about storing it or maintaining it. Although I do have the hassle of getting/returning it.
Another idea for you to consider.

 

[wcampbell47]

You use a PTO tiller in a 35 x 70 garden, I would think that would be too small of a garden for such a machine. What kind of tractor do you have?

I have been using a B7510 (21hp) with a 48" tiller. The previous owner of the lot where my garden is tried using a walk behind. After 4 hours of tilling they had a 10'x10' area tilled about 2" deep.

I am in So. Texas with an ongoing drought. We are 20" behind in normal rainfall. It recently took me 4 hours to till a garden about 30 x 70 to six inches. I had to add about 200 lbs of weight to hold the tiller down to get down 6".

Think what you may - I would not even have attempted that with a walk behind.

 

[leonz]

Thanks guys. Speed is not really an issue for me. I can till down to 6-8" with my Honda in one pass. If I was to sell the Honda and buy a 3ph tiller I'd likely be in the hole around $1000. If the difference in quality was only marginal it would not be worth it.
I do plan on buying a Fred Cain subsoiler. From my Internet research I hear that is about the best one.
Weiss, I can't find anything for them on google.

You can google Weise industries or look in one of my old posts for the link

 

[bigtiller]

You use a PTO tiller in a 35 x 70 garden, I would think that would be too small of a garden for such a machine. What kind of tractor do you have?

You reminded me of a vegetable garden I tilled once for a new customer that made me chuckle. The garden was 6 feet square.

I have also done a lot of 12x20 gardens. But that 6 footer, I have been chuckling about that one for several years now.

 

[pickeringchris]

I garden in So. Texas gumbo which is now similar to concrete with the on going drought. My 48" PTO tiller is a life saver. At 64 I will not even think about chasing a tiller over my 35 x 70 garden. I can do in about 20 minutes what would take hours with a walk behind. Time is one of the most valuable assets you own. Go for the PTO tiller.

I'm all for ya! Machines are made to make our life easier. If you have the money and buying a pto tiller is gonna save the old joints and back then why not. Nothing wrong with doing this.
To be honest I didn't even need a tractor. I could continue moving truck loads of dirt by wheel barrow. Truth is, I have some back and knee problems that will thank the tractor. Not to mention the time saved.

 

[Baby Grand]

Nice punkins, by the way. Look like they could swallow a small child whole!

 

[pickeringchris]

Nice punkins, by the way. Look like they could swallow a small child whole!

Hahaha. They can swallow a few children.

 

[Deere Dude]

I have a 5 HP walk behind and a 3pt 42" hydraulic tiller behind a large garden tractor. It takes a while to attach the 3PT tiller but the time saved using that is considerable. If it was just a matter the time difference saved I probably wouldn't even hook it up, but the job is incredibly better using the 3PT. The walk behind ends up with clumps where the 3pt makes the garden almost powder smooth and makes it more enjoyable working in the garden with little bitty seeds.

 

[pickeringchris]

I just listed my Honda tiller for sale. I can't justify keeping both. Nor can I afford it.
If I can get a decent buck for the Honda I will consider a KK II.