GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

04-02-2003, 06:22 PM

In article ,
says...

Can anyone give me their opinion on the Mantis tiller?

I had a troy built years ago and loved it, but sold it after back
surgery. Went to square foot gardening a couple of years ago and am
considering one for my small garden, flower beds, etc.

How good is it at breaking sod for new planting beds?

Thanks,
Bruce
My Mantis is a terrific tool for cultivating an established garden with not
too many rocks. It is not a sod buster. If you can keep a chain saw running you
will have no trouble getting the Mantis to start and run well. Its greatest
point is the ability to work in small spaces shallow and deep. One thing to
understand is that the Mantis is not a "walk-behind" tiller. To do well you
pull them and mostly walk backwards. They are just a completely different breed
of animal from a standard tiller. An active person with a large garden probably
needs two tillers. I use a new Mantis and a 35 year old Merry Tiller. I did
not ever like the Troy horses...very unwieldy and good mainly in the early
spring or late fall for large jobs that really need a full fledged tractor. The
worst of all were the worm gear walk behinds. The Merry with its efficient and
relatively light chain drive and weight directly over the tines is still
probably the most versatile and well designed of all the tillers ever built.