Help me talk my dh out of buying a $600 roto tiller!

[ewp11100]

Ok so taxes are burning a hole in my dh's pocket and since we are now in a house with a big yard we are super excited about making a good sized garden this year I have started my own busness so a lot of the grunt work falls to him. I would till by hand if I had the time but he will not. He wants to by a roto tiller$$$$$$!!!!!

I said why don't you rent one
He says "Bucause it will cost $80 each time (twice a year), that's $160 a year. The tiller will pay for it self in under 4 years and in comes with a 5 y warrentee"

I say "Why don't you see if some one you know has one we can buy"
He "I don't want a use one that will nickel and dime us and only work for a year or 2"

I say "but then the garden will not even produce $600 worth of food"
He says "but you spread the cost over the years of use. If it last 5 years (unlikely) thats $120 a year if it lasts 10 years $60 a year"

I say "it will kill all the goos worms and insects"
He says " I can buy worms at the bait shop"

HELP give me some logical arguements that might help!!!!

sorry for typos, helping my oldest with schoolwork and feeding the baby

[goldfinches]

I'm not sure how big of a garden you're planning, but I tilled mine by hand last year and it was HARD. My garden was pretty small, probably 10x14 or so. And, as soon as I had is turned over and the weeds pulled, they all came back, so dissapointing. Maybe you could convince him to rent one at the beginning of the season, then buy one on clearance in the fall?

[MissMommyNiceNice]

Most permaculture gardeners are going to tell you that it is best not to overwork the soil because it destroys the microorganisms ecosystems - not just worms but bacteria, mold, etc.

That being said, if you are establishing a new bed, you are probably going to have to do it at least twice the first year, and then one more time the next spring. Other than that, any working can be done by hand with a hoe or cultivator.

If you are starting with grass, I would probably cut the top layer off with a shovel to remove the sod. It's time consuming, but worth it, imo. Then you can get most of the roots of the grass out of your garden. A tiller will just move it around some. I used this sod to build a mini "wall" around my garden to help keep the fence down & keep pests out. Then rent the tiller and go once down, once across, and if you have time, once more up. This will chop the soil well.

Since it's spring, unless you have established compost or ammended garden soil to add in, you probably won't want to fertilize until the fall, at which point you may want to rent a tiller in (as late as possible in the season before freeze) to till in the ammendment to avoid burning your crops. Or just toss it in and let it go and rent the tiller in the spring. Once your soil is softened, you don't really need to till it every time.

This is the method I used for a huge 50 x 30 garden that had been pasture for EVER and it worked great.

And unless he's getting the very biggest tiller, $80 seems high for a weekend rental. I've never paid more than $40 for the second biggest at Home Depot Rental, and you get it for 2 days.

Also, another option is to check Craigslist for a rototiller for hire. I saw a lot of these adds last spring. You can probably get a few hours of tilling for $40.

Good luck!

[DirtRoadMama]

You could also make the case for square foot gardening. It is a lot less work, plenty of yield, and looks a lot tidier than most gardens usually do.

[cheenya]

Originally Posted by DirtRoadMama

You could also make the case for square foot gardening. It is a lot less work, plenty of yield, and looks a lot tidier than most gardens usually do.

or, especially if you are short on time, start with lasanga bed gardening, no digging or tilling, much less weeding. I've used square foot gardening in the past too and love it, but for starting a brand new bed at a new house this year, with very limited time, I've decided lasagna gardening is going to be the way to go. And already this year I plan to grow some compost crops to make future beds even easier. The soil structure really is a big reason not to buy a tiller and once your garden is established, tilling brings weed seeds from deeper in the soil to the surface so they can sprout more easily.

[Michaels-Mommy]

Sorry I am one of those people who is going to tell you to NOT till your garden. I'm acually reading a book called Teaming with Microbes by Jeff Lowenfels & Wayne Lewis right now. It has really good scientific info about soil. I would look into Lasangna gardening too. You could just through some cardboard down to kill the grass now but I would remove the grass and then go from there. Whatever you decide to do, good luck!!

[lmonter]

I'm no help. We have two tillers. A crappy little Mantis-type (from Lowe's) for smaller spaces and a bigger heavy duty Arien's tiller for the majority of the garden. Hubby got the Arien's off craigslist for a steal, put an afternoon and $50 of parts into it, and it runs about like new and can handle the 2lb foot-sized rocks our yard grows.

I can't till/weed 1200sf by myself every year, especially with four kids (6 and under) underfoot and a pelvis compromised by said kids (I can't dig/shovel worth crap anymore). It'd be nice if I could get away without tilling, but hand-weeding the jungle and then hand-digging more compost in just ain't gonna happen unless I ignore the kids and house and hubby for about 3 weeks straight - and that's only if the weather cooperates for that long (which it doesn't). Plus digging up those giant rocks is a total PITA.

Digging holes to plant my goodies and then attempting to keep ahead of the weeds there for a while until I give up and canning is in full swing is enough to keep me busy during the season as it is.

So anyway, my advice would be either rent, or do some research and hunt on craigslist or whatever other used-goodie outlet you've got near you.

[babygirlie]

Just sold my tiller due to no yard at new place. Let me tell you it's haaaard to till. I don't know if my family's is just a monster but oh lord it's work. Maybe he should rent one for the first year just to try it out and to see which one he likes best. I'm straining just thinking about it. And more than likely he'll till more than twice. You need to go over a few times and then you might want to go through your rows if your weeds are wacky.

[TheGirls]

Do you know anyone who owns one? Tillers are prime equipment for borrowing, IMO, because they're only used a couple of days a year. A neighbor and I are putting in a new pumpkin patch this year, and I suggested renting a tiller (since tilling by hand is hard and we'll need a big area), and she was like "why? I know a guy, Bob, who has one, we'll just borrow his and get him a six pack or something" Which makes sense...

[Shellie]

I would also rent or borrow...or hire someone to do it. Or at least buy used. Sooooo many people buy these and don't use them or need to sell them for cash. You might be able to pick up a nearly new one for cheap. My dad once bought a tractor with a tilling attachment, used it one time and ended up selling it *cheap* to someone else a few years later. LOL

[skybluepink02]

I just moved to a new house and found someone on craigslist to till my new garden spot for 45 dollars. He'll till any area up to 1000 square feet for 45 dollars and is pretty reasonable for bigger areas too. I figure for what I need, I can hire him every year for much cheaper than buying a tiller.

[Stitches]

We rented a tiller when we first were doing our yard (it was a new house so the soil was AWFUL (clay, rocks, mostly). My DH pretty much took all the skin off his hands using the thing, and it was very hard to use, and on the compacted ground pretty near useless as it just fluffed up the first 1/2 inch or so. I had far more success with my shovel and rake. (That being said my yard isn't that big, but now that my garden beds are established they just need a light turning and fluffing by hand every year)

[mattemma04]

I have dug and redug my yard by hand. I read that digging down with a tiller is not good for the soil and worms as you cited.Would be better off if the $600 was spent on building the soil up with layers of soil/compost/manure.

Making enclosed beds and maybe even buying a small harbor frieght greenhouse would be what I would spend the $600.

I can see him not wanting to dig.Get a book on lasagna(sp) gardenning.You don't even have to remove the sod-just build over it.I see some people with nice beds make from wood/plastic.I would love beds like that.

Best wishes whatever you decide.

[sweetpeppers]

My dad bought a roto tiller years ago. I think he used it once or a couple of times, before it broke down, and for some reason he was never able to get it fixed. Finally after like ten years or more of it sitting in our barn, he put it out by the road for the trash people (though I think somebody trash picked it). I'd rent one, or just go with a square foot garden approach.