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).

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

"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.

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).

Unless you have a good friable soil most of the smaller units are under
powered

I had a local come and till about 1/2 acre recently with his fergy
tractor , bottle of scotch did it in 20 minutes what was a days work and
I guess you have a smaller need of course , do you have a local hire
place perhaps where they have mowers and power tools ?

"terryc" wrote in message
...
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).

The only one I've ever seen that I would be tempted by is what was called a
Chinese walking tractor. It was big and it didnt' seem to be very
ecologically friendly or suitable for a domestic garden. It was used by a
chap who had 40 acres and he used it like chinese peasants do, to cultivate
and to move things around his place - he'd rigged up a seat on wheels with a
sort of carry all thigny on the back as well. it was powerful but slow but
not suitable for a garden bed. From what he said at the time (and this is
at least 15 years ago) it took him a major effort to find it.

On Mon, 31 May 2010 13:41:41 +1000, David Hare-Scott wrote:

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.

Thanks David (and others).
That will probably be the way I go (if it gets financial approval. I used
one of the heavy, powered wheel versions at high school, when you would
do a 1/4 acre at a time. Twenty years ago, I hired same model and gave
the garden plots a thorough going over at the maximum depth of the
machine.

Hiring one occasionally is an option, but given the quality of hire stuff
over the years, it is far easier and safer to just buy my own gear for
regular needs.

Unfortunately the garden plots are a tad small for the larger model and
they are fine when you are young and fit, so I was looking at the smaller
models.

I have seen them dance across the surface of harder ground, so
I knew about that problem. This would be for working well worked/mulched
beds.

Looks like I'll just have to try the various produce places to see what
they offer.

On Mon, 31 May 2010 02:56:54 +0000 (UTC), 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).

Just make an anonymous call to the police and tell them you saw someone burying a body in
that garden bed.

On Tue, 01 Jun 2010 20:31:15 +1000, rainman wrote:

On Mon, 31 May 2010 02:56:54 +0000 (UTC), 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).

Just make an anonymous call to the police and tell them you saw someone
burying a body in that garden bed.

Yes, that joke is doing the round atm.
Sadly it is my garden bed and there would be a few skeletons pop up if
they did give it a deep going over.

On 1/06/2010 8:31 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 31 May 2010 02:56:54 +0000 (UTC), 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).

Just make an anonymous call to the police and tell them you saw someone burying a body in
that garden bed.

Dont be silly, the Police are much too busy burying bodies in Victoria
it seems.