[jeannie]

I would like to help myself in the garden this year and have been considering getting a petrol driven Mantis (or similar) but after a bit of research they do seem to be quite combative and noisy.  Would I be just as well to buy myself a good new spade and fork - my time is my own and I do like to listen to the birds as I garden! Or am I being a bit romantic.  I do have a large garden and it can be quite daunting at times.  Any tips or advice would be gratefully received.

[Annen]

I'm a devotee of the Wolf-Garten soil miller.  I found a try-out of a petrol rotavator exhausting and noisy, so got this and it is wonderful. It does a similar job to the mantis that I tried, but I felt more in control and strangely, it seemed easier work. I dig the bed over first, which you have to anyway with a lot of rotavators, and push it back and forward and it mills the soil! I'm so pleased with it I find myself wishing I had more beds to do. 

[Kristen]

I have a Mantis which is great on cultivated soil, but would be next to impossible to dig virgin ground (heavy clay) here

If you are fit & able then digging, initially, I think is best. Opportunity to incorporate some organic matter below the first spit, and if time & energy available to loosen the soil below the first spit too ("Double digging").  Thereafter I would plan on adopting a no-dig, or "close to no-dig" approach.  I use weed suppressing membrane here to prevent weeds growing between plants, to save time that used to be spent weeding (and it reduced the time spend watering a fair bit too).  Cardboard would do instead (covered with manure/similar) but only lasts one season.

[cadalot]

I bought an petrol generator and electric tiller 3 years ago and have never used them!
Spade and fork with weed membrane and mulch and no noise, I can hear my Robin talking to me letting me know he is around. 

[jeannie]

Thank you so very much for all your advice, tips and observations.

Annen your suggestion for the Wolf Garten soil miller made sense to me.  I already use a couple of their hoes which I like very much so will defiantly explore that avenue.
 
Kristen I am lucky to have very loamy soil but my vegetable are all grown in raised beds and the herbaceous border I realise just has to be controlled by hand until the ground cover planting does its job/ and I am more organised about my assault on the pesky weeds and I love digging (not weeding just digging!)
.
Cadalot you have voiced my main concern that I buy some machine and will NEVER use it (mainly because of noise ).
Thats my excuse for not using the vacuum cleaner very much because it is so noisy!

So thank you all for making me gather my thoughts and really working out what would suit me. Decision made. I will be buying a new spade, fork and probably the soil miller and a new wheelbarrow.  The snowdrops are out - spring is on its way.  Have a lovely gardening year. 

[Goosegirl]

Never used a rotovator but think they don't go as far down as hand-digging does. Re: new spade and fork - "fork out"  on good quality ones and do a pretend dig on the shop floor to see if they suit your height etc. Another thought is to go to either an auction or antique bric-a-brac place as they sometimes have lovely old ones handed down and can be quite cheap.

[Headgardener22]

I have a Mantis Tiller and, like others have said, its fine if the soil is already disturbed but not so good trying to break it up in the first place.

When I took on my allotment a few years ago, it had been run for 20+ years by somebody who only rotavated (and fertilised & weedkilled). There was a solid pan of clay about 9 inches down and the soil wasn't in very good condition. I've hand dug it every year and put in compost/manure and now the soil condition is much better.

I use the tiller to loosen the top few inches of soil before sowing or planting stuff as I find it breaks it up better than a fork or rake.

[jeannie]

Well, thats good advice - I think I have always gone for cheap tools (and break them regularly) because I have never been convinced of my own keenness for the garden but now feel I deserve the best I can afford - I shall enjoy trying them out in the shop which makes very good sense!

Any views on wheelbarrows - I have nice flat ground but there will be lots of weeds and tipping onto the compost heaps I find can be a problem ….

I like the idea of auctions but no transport but I can't think of a nicer tool than the smooth worn wood handle of a well designed spade or fork - very inspiring.

I am learning so much from this little enquiry.  Thank you for your replies.

[Kristen]

Well, thats good advice - I think I have always gone for cheap tools (and break them regularly) because I have never been convinced of my own keenness for the garden but now feel I deserve the best I can afford - I shall enjoy trying them out in the shop which makes very good sense!

Mine came from car boot sale - well loved & used, strong, lasted their lifetime and will do mine, and my kids too probably!  Cost next to nothing too ...

Any views on wheelbarrows

I have a builder's-barrow. Large but very well balanced so that the weight is over the wheel

I like the idea of auctions but no transport but I can't think of a nicer tool than the smooth worn wood handle of a well designed spade or fork - very inspiring.

Worth looking at Sneerboer  and De Wit.  I have found that some of their stuff is not actually that effective in use, but in the main they are lovely - certainly well built.  make sure you are sitting down when you check the price!!

De Wit's website is useless, but here you go:
http://www.dewit.eu/catalogus-1.html

Sneeboer is better:
http://www.sneeboer.com/t/toolfinder

I'd like to try their "stone spade" on my heavy clay, its reputed to be very good for that job:

[barley]

got to admit we do rotavate but only because we have so much land - we have a Honda engine one , being a girly that's as much as I know about it 

its a beasty machine and has 2 large tiller wheels and breaks up all manor of things , it digs as deep as a fork , and the soil is a fine tilth when finished

infact we spent all weekend rotavating as its been so dry the ground was just right for it

[Growster...]

Digging is fine for the first turning, clearing perennial weeds etc, and yes, stirring up the bottom of the trench to let the air in, but it's the knocking down afterwards, which seems to take more of a toll on the body frame - well it does mine!

That's where a Mantis is just superb, as it will get down at least a spit, if not a bit more, and from then on, raking is a doddle!

A petrol Mantis, the small one, should be fine for you, and once you've mastered the way it moves, you'll find it will do pretty much all you need with very little effort!

(The path-clearing brush is great too, especially for old bricks)!

[crh75]

The 4-stroke engines are much quieter than the 2-stroke ones.

[barley]

Took a picky today of the said rotavator if its any help

its a bit noisy but the chooks aren't scared when its working  their just interested in what gets dug up to scoff 

[jeannie]

Yes that is some beast and I'm sure is very good at its job.  My chickens would run a mile but they are a bit daft!

 Well, I have just been out with my trusty old spade and am doing a grand job - just taking it steady and enjoying the glimpse of spring.  I think the one thing I was worried about was my energy - and have found it is good working order.