[Timbo]

Hi all,

I have recently extended my garden with a small piece of land and am returning to allotment husbandry after a few years lay-off (whilst I still can). I am therefore looking for a rotovator (unsure how this is spelt) ie heavy dutyish to deal with the heavy clay, clods and sods!. Any advice from you experts would be much appreciated as to the best buys and if anyone knows of any availability in my area (not rich and hence dont want to spend a fortune).

Thanks in anticipation
Regards

Timbo

[mushroom]

hi Timbo and welcome to the forums.

a few questions:

what's your budget?

how big is your plot?

if you bought secondhand, would you be prepared for some hassle/effort to get it working?

[crowndale]

I bought my mantis on ebay, they ahve a lot of bargains on there and do from time to time have them in this area.  but a mantis would probably be too small for what you want.

[John]

I've got a Mantis and a Merry Tiller. Even the Merry Tiller bounces on my heavy clay soil, I dig it first and then rotovate,

If you are going for second hand expect to pay around £100 to £150 for a reasonable machine. My Merry Tiller is 31 and cost £80 plus a service (I'm not a mechanic) another £80.

If you want a new machine I've got a 5.5hp  MTD in the allotment shop on offer for £339 and a coupon for £20 off drops it to just £319 - maybe worth a looksee to you if only so you can see what new prices are before buying 2nd hand.

http://www.allotment-garden.org/greenhouse/Offers/index.php

Hope you're as lucky with your rotovator as I've been with my MT

[Timbo]

Thanks for the rapid response folks,    

I am looking for secondhand ideally as I may get bigger for less and the bigger machine I assume will be make 'lighter' work', the actual plot is around 400 square metres of Holderness clay. With regards to 'tinkering' I can do the basics with engines but dont enjoy at all, working effeciently is always good and best option for me. I look on Ebay regularly and have spotted a couple of Howards which from desritions seem to be a good workhorse. If this is the right option and anyone has somthing suitable within the vicinity I would appreciate any advice. Once again thanks for replies.

Timbo

[John]

I've found ebay to be really expensive on rotovators - try your local free papers and don't underestimate word of mouth. Ask around, it's amazing how often it gets a response.

One of our plot holders has a Howard Dragon - it's more a 2 wheel tractor than a rotovator. It copes easily with our soil and gets a really fine tilth.

One point on rotovators,  if you go down 9" year after year you end up with a pan below and your plot will really suffer. I'd suggest you double dig a fifth of your plot each year or better still a quarter and that way you will prevent panning.

[muntjac]

Thanks for the rapid response folks,    

I am looking for secondhand ideally as I may get bigger for less and the bigger machine I assume will be make 'lighter' work', the actual plot is around 400 square metres of Holderness clay. With regards to 'tinkering' I can do the basics with engines but dont enjoy at all, working effeciently is always good and best option for me. I look on Ebay regularly and have spotted a couple of Howards which from desritions seem to be a good workhorse. If this is the right option and anyone has somthing suitable within the vicinity I would appreciate any advice. Once again thanks for replies.

Timbo

 welcome to the gang ( more yorkies )  :roll:  

 sorry to spoil ya plan timbo .the heavier machine doesnt make lighter work . you need to take into account the throwing around of a few hundred pounds of metal .the bigger machines only come into thier own on larger plots than normal . see my link below for varios larger machines. i have a merry tiller i aquired via
www.freecycle.com
a couple weeks back and it runs perfick now after spending £20 . so check freecycle for a machine as well . the howard bantam is the smaller of the howards and would be useful on a plot of this size . id like an idea of dimensions as im having trouble try to imagine 400 sq yards i have a 1/4 acre , the howards in good condition go for £300 +

[richyrich7]

400yds is about 12th of an acre, which would be a third bigger than a standard lottie plot.

So the kind of machine you should be looking for is something around 5 hp at a guess, I have a flymo DM of freecycle which is 3hp and once the ground has been loosened works pretty darn well.
Mantis reckon that their little machine will work on compacted clay soil  but will need several passes. In the end it come down to budget, storage ( can you house a Howard Gem ? they are big ) how much work you want it to do?.

Consider it may be better to hire a big modern machine for a day to blitz your plot then invest in a smaller model to upkeep it. Most of the time a big machine will sit around doing nothing, where as a little one can be bought out to do in between crops, after lifting spuds etc

[muntjac]

those little mantis things i wouldnt think would do a plot that size any good at all mate . its a tinny little plastic thing if the guys out back of me has anything like the noise and he uses it on veggie beds in his garden and he has gone over his 3 times to date .....it digs about 10 inches. after a couple sesons of that the soil is gonna be compacted at that level if you want a machine so you dont have to dig down then you need a rig that will go about 16 inches .

[richyrich7]

Thats right matey but all rotovators create a pan eventually, but at 16" I wouldn't worry    like John says double dig a fifth each year, do I remember you saying you hand dig a portion of your s each year ?

[Timbo]

Cheers chaps,

The land has been broken by the farmer and measures about 3x60m strip + 15x15m. I take on board what you say, my garage is currently full of everything but cars and realise how big some of the howards are if storage is needed - good point I didnt consider. I will look on freecycle and see whats available. Thanks again

Timbo [/quote]

[muntjac]

i hand dug all of mine this year matey ,every three yrs to put in manure and as ypou say break it up .,but saying that if i fed only artificial fertilisers i wouldnt need to as most farmers dont go above 16 inch on ploughing   . hand digging is a good idea on al soils as this gets you into closer contact  

[richyrich7]

hand digging is a good idea on al soils as this gets you into closer contact  

Esp if your like me and fell into the bean trench I had just dug  :roll:  

[muntjac]

hand digging is a good idea on al soils as this gets you into closer contact  

Esp if your like me and fell into the bean trench I had just dug  :roll:  

 no comment

[John]

Don't knock the Mantis, Munty. I love my litttle Mantis. I'd take it to bed but theres no room with three cats and the missus crying 'cos the floor's hard.

No, seriously now folks, the Mantis is brilliant  at the jobs it's designed for.  

After the Merry Tiller has been over the Mantis will produce a really fine tilth  It's also light enough to use in a deep bed.

Harumph harumph