"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
terryc wrote:
Okay, finally decided that no-dig aided occasionally by the shovel
isn't going to work for our largest garden bed, so it is time to
consider the purchase of a power tool for the job.

Where do people look for walk behind cultivators?

Looking more towards the smaller self propeller rather than the
heavier one on two wheels(bed is raised and need to be a bit gentle).

I once hired one of the smaller self propelled sort. The brand and model
escapes me. For breaking ground in heavy soil it was useless, it didn't
have the power or weight to do the job. The kind that will do that are
rather large and expensive. For tilling broken ground it was OK but only
went down about 20cm. I suggest trying to hire an example of the model
you want before you buy or getting it on approval so that you know if it
will do the job you need in your soil and that you can handle it.

David

I hired a small cultivator or rotary hoe just wanted to turn the dirt over.
Was useless and that was in WA's gutless sand. A bigger unit was much better
but hard work. Just remember that it had a robin motor on it about 8hp i
think. So as David says hire, beg or steal one before buying one. If you
have a good tilth it maybe ok but if you have green stuff or clods it will
be a waste of time with a small one.