agk@ihuxq.UUCP (Andy Kegel) (01/11/84)
What experience can people offer regarding roto-tillers? I received a blurb in the mail from the Troy-Bilt people offering "great savings" -- is this something to get excited about? I've been thinking about getting a roto-tiller for my 12x24 garden, but have hesitated at the cost. What do you do with your roto-tiller that justifies the couple of hundred bucks? I suppose I should offer to collect responses, but I don't really expect that many, so go ahead and post, sharing your experiences. Catalog fever has got me...on the run. -andy kegel, AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL, ...!ihnp4!ihuxq!agk
mdash@mh3bc1.UUCP (01/11/84)
Troy-built does offer savings to off-season buyers, but this is not off-season. Try late summer for the best deals. I have used large Troy-built tillers, a large Ariens, and several varieties of conventional, small, front-tine tillers. I leased them. They all manage to destroy shallow-rooted weeds and incorporate additives into the soil, though the front-tine variety beats you mercilessly in the process. Note, however, I was tilling a rock-infested, 2000 sq. ft. plot of northern New England. A front-tine tiller might be considerably less abusive in more favorable conditions. I doubt that you would find even a small tiller useful in your garden. You might save some hand labor (weeding, hoeing, spading) but would have the responsibility and headache of another internal combustion engine and associated nuts and bolts. I cannot imagine any way you could take advantage of a large, rear-tine, Troy-built-style tiller.