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Garden tillers are really quite expensive considering how often the average gardener uses one. Garden tillers are exceptionally useful when creating a garden, especially if you are creating a garden where there is currently a lawn. Garden tillers are also excellent for tilling and cultivating a garden of annuals, though it can be very difficult to till or cultivate a garden full of perennials without tilling the plants as well.
Garden tillers come in all different varieties, strengths, speeds, and sizes. The garden tiller that will match your needs will depend on your average usage. If you just purchased a home on three acres of land without any landscaping and you are ready to get busy with the dirt, then a large garden tiller with multiple settings is in order. If you own a town home in the city and have just a little patch of land to cultivate, then obviously you won't need the most powerful or the biggest garden tiller.
Garden tillers will adequately do the job of a shovel, a hoe, and even a rake all in one motion. Garden tillers do require a certain amount of upper body strength to operate, especially the large garden tillers. As garden tillers do their job, obviously the dirt becomes quite loose, often a few feet below the earth's surface. This makes for a rather unsteady surface to walk on while trying to manage a large piece of equipment. This is something to keep in mind when purchasing a garden tiller. A slight individual may have a very difficult time with a large garden tiller.
Some garden tillers come with a setting that allows for the neat and clean trimmings of the edges around the garden. This is a very handy feature in a garden tiller, especially if you are using it to create a brand new garden. Many of these garden tillers come with an available ground clearing feature, which allows the garden tiller to chew up and cultivate the top layer of weeds, small bushes, and even some tiny saplings. This is useful whether you are actually putting in a garden or you are simply fighting the annual weed battle with the woods behind your house.
Purchasing a garden tiller is a fairly large financial commitment, although one that can save your back, your knees, and your very valuable time. Most people who own them believe that they were well worth the expense, even if they only use it once a year. The physical toll on the body that was relieved by the annual gardening is priceless.
To save your back and knees you could go with a stand up manual garden till like the famous garden weasel. It is cheap and easy to use.
For medium or large gardens you are going to need a garden tiller with a little more power than your arms. So what type of tiller do you buy?
If you have a smaller or confined garden you will want to go with something maneuverable like an electric mini tiller or cultivator. Or maybe a small 2hp gas model. Most of them are lightweight and very easy to handle. Cost on them is reasonable too for the amount of work they will save you.
One of the biggest pluses for a small garden till is that it uses less storage space. If you buy one with folding handles you can save even more room. A word of warning though, I would not recommend using a small garden tiller to start a new garden where the soil has never been broken up before. You will need something a little more heavy duty to cultivate your soil for the first time.
Renting a large heavy-duty garden tiller the first year to bust up your soil and then get a small tiller for maintenance and cultivating the following year.
Front tine vs. rear tine
The best purpose for a front tine tiller is maintaining soil that has been cultivated before. Start out the first time with a rear tine tiller.
Rear tine tillers are easy to handle and maneuver. They will pretty much turn on a dime when needed and require much less effort from the operator. The majority of rear tine tillers can handle any garden job that you require from them.
What Brand To Buy
There are many different brand names in the garden tiller business. Some of the better known garden tiller brands are, Troy Bilt Garden tillers, Mantis Tillers, Honda Tillers, Husqvarna Garden Tillers, Craftsman Tillers, and MTD Tillers. Prices and models vary a lot so the best thing you can do is shop around and compare after you have decided on what type you need for your garden.
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