I've been looking into tillers for larger garden this year.

Considering a Troy built or a Cub Cadet in the $700-$800 range. Cub Cadet
(RT65) has good reviews at Home Depot website. Troy Built has counter
rotating tines, Cub Cadet has reversible tines.

Alternatively, I have a couple of small tractors, a Ford 8N and a 26HP
Kubota, the tillers for them are ~$1300 but a disk would be in my price
range.

Any recommendations?

RogerN wrote:
I've been looking into tillers for larger garden this year.

Considering a Troy built or a Cub Cadet in the $700-$800 range. Cub Cadet
(RT65) has good reviews at Home Depot website. Troy Built has counter
rotating tines, Cub Cadet has reversible tines.

Alternatively, I have a couple of small tractors, a Ford 8N and a 26HP
Kubota, the tillers for them are ~$1300 but a disk would be in my price
range.

Any recommendations?




If you're using the tiller for bed prep and NOT for weed control the
choice is a large tractor mounted unit. The one I use will do a better
prep than ANY other method. Leaves you with a nice planting area.

BUT if you plan on using it for weed control as well then the rows need
to be apart far enough for the tractor which can be a problem.
In my case I use both.Tractor mounted for initial prep and a Troy-Bilt
for the weed control.

If you only want one unit I would only recommend one unit. A Troy-Bilt
Horse. I have two Horse models, one is a '70 and the other is an '82.
Both of mine have cast iron Kohlers on them. They are not cheap BUT they
are real investments. They LAST a long time. Other than one drive gear
and a rebuild on the engine that is all they have had done.



--
Steve W.

"RogerN" wrote in message
m...
I've been looking into tillers for larger garden this year.

Considering a Troy built or a Cub Cadet in the $700-$800 range. Cub Cadet
(RT65) has good reviews at Home Depot website. Troy Built has counter
rotating tines, Cub Cadet has reversible tines.

Alternatively, I have a couple of small tractors, a Ford 8N and a 26HP
Kubota, the tillers for them are ~$1300 but a disk would be in my price
range.

Any recommendations?

Depends... a tractor mounted tiller will last nearly forever for a gardener.
Well, unless you suck up a concrete form stake or two, wrap them around the
axle, and damage a seal. Um, I wouldn't know that of course. LOL.

On Sun, 3 Apr 2011 08:46:36 -0700, "Bob La Londe"
wrote:

"RogerN" wrote in message
om...
I've been looking into tillers for larger garden this year.

Considering a Troy built or a Cub Cadet in the $700-$800 range. Cub Cadet
(RT65) has good reviews at Home Depot website. Troy Built has counter
rotating tines, Cub Cadet has reversible tines.

Alternatively, I have a couple of small tractors, a Ford 8N and a 26HP
Kubota, the tillers for them are ~$1300 but a disk would be in my price
range.

Any recommendations?

Depends... a tractor mounted tiller will last nearly forever for a gardener.
Well, unless you suck up a concrete form stake or two, wrap them around the
axle, and damage a seal. Um, I wouldn't know that of course. LOL.

Find a local guy and pay him to do it for you for a lot less money.
Group together with your neighbors and save more, hiring one guy to do
all the plots in the neighborhood in a day for even less money per.

There are many, many people who no longer do any tilling, allowing the
anaerobic flora and fauna to increase their yield instead. I'm moving
into that mindset myself after taking the Master Gardener course a
couple years ago. I pick out the weeds and put a nice, thick layer of
mulch on top. Organic compost works well to both feed/replenish and
cover the soil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-till_farming
http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/no-till_revolution

--
Not merely an absence of noise, Real Silence begins
when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in
order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary.
-- Peter Minard

RogerN wrote:
I've been looking into tillers for larger garden this year.

Considering a Troy built or a Cub Cadet in the $700-$800 range. Cub Cadet
(RT65) has good reviews at Home Depot website. Troy Built has counter
rotating tines, Cub Cadet has reversible tines.

Alternatively, I have a couple of small tractors, a Ford 8N and a 26HP
Kubota, the tillers for them are ~$1300 but a disk would be in my price
range.

Any recommendations?




as youve tractors, my thought was to get an implement for either, which
ever you prefer to drive, then offer to do other folks rotovating for a
fee to offset the implement cost.
Weve a Ferguson diesel TE 20, I bought for my son for his 10th birthday,
its a 1948 model , we use it all the time, needs a bit of work now weve
had it 17 yrs!!.
go for the tractor way.
good luck,
Ted in
Dorset
UK.

Today I went shopping around and ended up with a Troy Built Super Bronco
from Lowes on sale for $699. My plan is to try it out this year and perhaps
get a tractor mounted tiller next year if I need to. I figure the 16"
tiller will be useful for weeding between rows.

I tried the tiller out when I got it home, I've never used one before, sure
beats the shovel! I tilled the area of last years garden in a few minutes,
this year I plan to make a much larger garden. Looking forward to some good
healthy vegetables later this year.

RogerN

On Sun, 3 Apr 2011 22:28:56 -0500, "RogerN" wrote:


Today I went shopping around and ended up with a Troy Built Super Bronco
from Lowes on sale for $699. My plan is to try it out this year and perhaps
get a tractor mounted tiller next year if I need to. I figure the 16"
tiller will be useful for weeding between rows.

I tried the tiller out when I got it home, I've never used one before, sure
beats the shovel! I tilled the area of last years garden in a few minutes,
this year I plan to make a much larger garden. Looking forward to some good
healthy vegetables later this year.

RogerN


Nothing quite as satisfying as a new machine that works well.

Milady has 150 tomato plants growing (inside a high tunnel
greenhouse). I tilled it with my VERY old gravely tiller. It uses a
quart of oil to every tank of gas. Got to breath blue smoke even with
the doors open. Still really looks nice when first completed.

Karl

Karl Townsend wrote:
On Sun, 3 Apr 2011 22:28:56 -0500, "RogerN" wrote:

Today I went shopping around and ended up with a Troy Built Super Bronco
from Lowes on sale for $699. My plan is to try it out this year and perhaps
get a tractor mounted tiller next year if I need to. I figure the 16"
tiller will be useful for weeding between rows.

I tried the tiller out when I got it home, I've never used one before, sure
beats the shovel! I tilled the area of last years garden in a few minutes,
this year I plan to make a much larger garden. Looking forward to some good
healthy vegetables later this year.

RogerN


Nothing quite as satisfying as a new machine that works well.

Milady has 150 tomato plants growing (inside a high tunnel
greenhouse). I tilled it with my VERY old gravely tiller. It uses a
quart of oil to every tank of gas. Got to breath blue smoke even with
the doors open. Still really looks nice when first completed.

Karl
This morning has been bright and sunny.
We cut a weeks wood for half an hour, some beech flooring put by from
last year.
Took off the cord wood saw and pto pulley, and put on the 3 point
linkage. Hitched up the 1 ton tipping trailer.
Then we fired up the T 35 tractor which has a 180 Deg slew back actor
on it, and lifted a turf area say 5 yds by 15 yds. put into trailer and
tipped in a spare hole in the bottom field.
used the digger to break up the top soil, put on 10 barrowloads of
dung, then covered the lot with 6in of best matured top soil.
so when my ladyship came back at 12.30, it was all ready for her
tomatoes, peas and runner beans.
I might get a steak with chips!! for dinner tonight!!
Lif'es great
Ted
Dorset
UK.

Ted Frater wrote:

I might get a steak with chips!! for dinner tonight!!

I know that UK chips aren't USA chips - USA chips are called "crisps,"
right?

But I wonder about chips - are they closer to steak fries:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22steak+fries%22
or parsley buttered potatoes, but segmented?
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q...red%20potatoes ?

In this one travelogue I saw, the fish & chips didn't look deep-fried at
all - the fish was white and the "chips" were white; great big chunks of
potato, all swimming in grease, delivered in a cone of newspaper. It
looked absolutely delicious! (I've also heard that they sprinkle vinegar
on them. YUM!!!!!)

Thanks,
Rich

"Rich Grise" wrote in message
...
Ted Frater wrote:

I might get a steak with chips!! for dinner tonight!!

I know that UK chips aren't USA chips - USA chips are called "crisps,"
right?

But I wonder about chips - are they closer to steak fries:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22steak+fries%22
or parsley buttered potatoes, but segmented?
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q...red%20potatoes ?

In this one travelogue I saw, the fish & chips didn't look deep-fried at
all - the fish was white and the "chips" were white; great big chunks of
potato, all swimming in grease, delivered in a cone of newspaper. It
looked absolutely delicious! (I've also heard that they sprinkle vinegar
on them. YUM!!!!!)


I "deep fry" "chips" in about 5/8 inch of oil in a #8 Griswold cast iron
killet--preheat the oil to just below the smoke point...

For "salt and vinegar", suggest use 5% acidity white vinegar in an equal
part water, along with appx 1 tbs salt per cup

--Spritz a little bit of it INTO the hot oil WHILE frying the chips, several
times during the frying process...the oil will foam up each time, so BE VERY
CAREFUL TO NOT let oil boil over because likely you will then have a fire on
your hands.

--a dutch oven might provide for a bit more safety....

Not to get all technical here but the signature "salt and vinegar" flavor
profile that is produced by following the above process is due to the
formation of sodium acetate.

--