Due to a bit of bad health, hopefuly short term, I am looking for ways to
keep the veg garden up to snuff without breaking my back or the bank, or
having others do it for me. I like to till it,sow it, grow it, cook it and
eat it, there is no other way although my cooking is probably a bit basic.
To help me I googled this,

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/l...ndex_18998.htm

I am asking for comments on the product or recommendations on similar
devices.
Baz

"Baz" wrote in message
ting, Due to a bit of
bad health, hopefuly short term, I am looking for ways to
keep the veg garden up to snuff without breaking my back or the bank, or
having others do it for me. I like to till it,sow it, grow it, cook it and
eat it, there is no other way although my cooking is probably a bit basic.
To help me I googled this,

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/l...ndex_18998.htm

I am asking for comments on the product or recommendations on similar
devices.
Baz

Several years ago, I rotovated a large area of my pal's garden using his
"Merry Tiller" or some such rotovator. It was my first time use of such a
machine, after a short time getting used to it, I was amazed at the amount
of garden I had "dug" in such a short time. Of course this doesn't clean
out the grden but it certainly makes the job of cultivating or digging, so
much easier and quicker.

Bill

On Mar 15, 12:30*pm, "Bill Grey" wrote:
"Baz" wrote in message

ting, Due to a bit of
bad health, hopefuly short term, I am looking for ways to

keep the veg garden up to snuff without breaking my back or the bank, or
having others do it for me. I like to till it,sow it, grow it, cook it and
eat it, there is no other way although my cooking is probably a bit basic.
To help me I googled this,

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/l...ndex_18998.htm

I am asking for comments on the product or recommendations on similar
devices.
Baz

Several years ago, I rotovated a large area of my pal's garden using his
"Merry Tiller" or some such rotovator. *It was my first time use of such a
machine, after a short time getting used to it, I was amazed at the amount
of garden I had "dug" in such a short time. *Of course this doesn't clean
out the grden but it certainly makes the job of cultivating or digging, so
much easier and quicker.

Bill

It depends very much on the type of soil you have, if it is light and
sandy then they are great.

On Mar 15, 10:37*am, Baz wrote:
Due to a bit of bad health, hopefuly short term, I am looking for ways to
keep the veg garden up to snuff without breaking my back or the bank, or
having others do it for me. I like to till it,sow it, grow it, cook it and
eat it, there is no other way although my cooking is probably a bit basic..
To help me I googled this,

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/l...ndex_18998.htm

I am asking for comments on the product or recommendations on similar
devices.
Baz

Using a cultivator is quicker but still bloody hard work. Don't image
it steers itself, you have to haul it round bends etc.
Also they don't go very deep. I f you have a light soil this may not
matter but in heavy soils it does. Most veg. preferrs free drainage.

"harry" wrote in message
...
On Mar 15, 10:37 am, Baz wrote:
Due to a bit of bad health, hopefuly short term, I am looking for ways to
keep the veg garden up to snuff without breaking my back or the bank, or
having others do it for me. I like to till it,sow it, grow it, cook it and
eat it, there is no other way although my cooking is probably a bit basic.
To help me I googled this,

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/l...ndex_18998.htm

I am asking for comments on the product or recommendations on similar
devices.
Baz

Using a cultivator is quicker but still bloody hard work. Don't image
it steers itself, you have to haul it round bends etc.
Also they don't go very deep. I f you have a light soil this may not
matter but in heavy soils it does. Most veg. preferrs free drainage.

.................................................. ..............................................

I have had two in my time, a Merry Tiller and a Commercial Howard and
considering the statements ""without breaking my back "" and ""but still
bloody hard work"" I would opt for altering something in the ""I like to
till it,sow it, grow it, cook it and eat it."" quote. We all have to alter
things or adapt from time to time. How important is your health to you? You
only get it once ;-)

Mike


--

....................................
Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive
....................................

On Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:04:17 -0700 (PDT), harry wrote:

Using a cultivator is quicker but still bloody hard work.

Agreed :-(

I've got a Honda - 6 gears + reverse. Wonderful machine but *very* hard
work. I never use it for more than half an hour. I remember the first time
I used it many years ago - I just couldn't believe how hard it was to use -
aching for days after :-( Got a bit easier these days but still hard work.

Having said all that I think the Lidl one might be a little easier to use
although it certainly won't do the same work as the Honda.
--
Regards,

Hugh Jampton

On Mar 15, 10:37*am, Baz wrote:
Due to a bit of bad health, hopefuly short term, I am looking for ways to
keep the veg garden up to snuff without breaking my back or the bank, or
having others do it for me. I like to till it,sow it, grow it, cook it and
eat it, there is no other way although my cooking is probably a bit basic..
To help me I googled this,

ttp://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_18998.htm

I am asking for comments on the product or recommendations on similar
devices.
Baz

If you want to make life easier forget cultivators - they're hard work
and spoil the structure especially of heavier soils and make the weed
situation worse. For an easier life after a lifetime of professional
gardening I made deep beds (not raised) Don't dig or cultivate paths
or headlands, that's hard work for no benefit.
Put all of your work and any muck you can get into the deep beds.
Remove all of the perennial weeds that you can and get started on some
veg in your first bed, keep as many others as possible fallow - some
for the whole season and some just long enough to get a spray of
Roundup on as soon as there's anything to spray. The long term fallow
can be sprayed a couple more times and used for your overwintering
crops. 2 or 3 seasons of this treatment will improve the soil beyond
recognition and you will have no more spraying to do and precious
little weeding.
I started on a similar programme to this at work just before I retired
and wish I'd done it years before.

Rod

On Tue, 15 Mar 2011 Hugh Jampton wrote:

Using a cultivator is quicker but still bloody hard work.

Agreed :-(

I've got a Honda - 6 gears + reverse. Wonderful machine but *very* hard
work. I never use it for more than half an hour. I remember the first time
I used it many years ago - I just couldn't believe how hard it was to use -
aching for days after :-( Got a bit easier these days but still hard work.

Having said all that I think the Lidl one might be a little easier to use
although it certainly won't do the same work as the Honda.

I have two cultivators, a larger one designed for turning over vegetable
plots, and which *is* hard work, and a smaller which I originally bought
for turning over the soil next to vines planted in rows. I actually find
that I use the smaller one quite a bit on the vegetable plot, mostly
when I'm preparing to sow or plant the occasional row of things. It
doesn't, as someone else has said, dig very deeply but it is very quick
and light when preparing a row or two.

Of course, if the soil has been left for any length of time then a small
cultivator is not much use at all.

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK
http://rance.org.uk

"Dave Hill" wrote in message
...
On Mar 15, 12:30 pm, "Bill Grey" wrote:
"Baz" wrote in message

ting, Due to a bit of
bad health, hopefuly short term, I am looking for ways to

keep the veg garden up to snuff without breaking my back or the bank, or
having others do it for me. I like to till it,sow it, grow it, cook it
and
eat it, there is no other way although my cooking is probably a bit
basic.
To help me I googled this,

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/l...ndex_18998.htm

I am asking for comments on the product or recommendations on similar
devices.
Baz

Several years ago, I rotovated a large area of my pal's garden using his
"Merry Tiller" or some such rotovator. It was my first time use of such a
machine, after a short time getting used to it, I was amazed at the amount
of garden I had "dug" in such a short time. Of course this doesn't clean
out the grden but it certainly makes the job of cultivating or digging, so
much easier and quicker.

Bill

It depends very much on the type of soil you have, if it is light and
sandy then they are great.



The soil definitely wasn't sandy, and to my naive thoughts, just ordinary
slightly heavy garden soil :-)

The garden was near newport, Mon.

Bill

"Rod" wrote in message
...
On Mar 15, 10:37 am, Baz wrote:
Due to a bit of bad health, hopefuly short term, I am looking for ways to
keep the veg garden up to snuff without breaking my back or the bank, or
having others do it for me. I like to till it,sow it, grow it, cook it and
eat it, there is no other way although my cooking is probably a bit basic.
To help me I googled this,

ttp://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_18998.htm

I am asking for comments on the product or recommendations on similar
devices.
Baz

If you want to make life easier forget cultivators - they're hard work
and spoil the structure especially of heavier soils and make the weed
situation worse. For an easier life after a lifetime of professional
gardening I made deep beds (not raised) Don't dig or cultivate paths
or headlands, that's hard work for no benefit.
Put all of your work and any muck you can get into the deep beds.
Remove all of the perennial weeds that you can and get started on some
veg in your first bed, keep as many others as possible fallow - some
for the whole season and some just long enough to get a spray of
Roundup on as soon as there's anything to spray. The long term fallow
can be sprayed a couple more times and used for your overwintering
crops. 2 or 3 seasons of this treatment will improve the soil beyond
recognition and you will have no more spraying to do and precious
little weeding.
I started on a similar programme to this at work just before I retired
and wish I'd done it years before.

Rod


How effective would covering the various plots with black PVC for a season?

Bill

On Sat, 19 Mar 2011 Bill Grey wrote:

How effective would covering the various plots with black PVC for a season?

I do that. It saves all the bother of cutting down the top growth so it
gives you a good start but it can give one a false sense of security.
The ground looks nice and clean and it doesn't solve the problems of
weeds but it weakens them a lot and the ground is a lot easier to dig.

I get mice and other furry animals under the PVC but they quickly
scarper when I pull back the cover!

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK
http://rance.org.uk