Rotovator suitability

Clueless · « **on:** May 16, 2007, 12:22 »

I may or may not be the worst gardener in the world, and I may or may not be the least experienced, but I am certainly a contender for both titles, so this may be a silly question.

We have a big patch of garden that has obviously been a veg patch at some time, but it has not been dug over in years, maybe decades. I would like to grow my own vegetables so last year I attacked it with a spade and fork. I worked hard and struggled and only managed to dig a tiny fraction of the total area. It was simply very tough going, and there were also many stones, including big ones. So being realistic I know that I am never going to manage this by hand. Would a rotovator work on this hard-packed ground? If so, what should I look for? Or have you any other suggestions?

liz from the fizz · « **Reply #1 on:** May 16, 2007, 12:32 »

Welcome to the forum clueless.
alas i cant help you with the rotavtor query, but later you will get a lot of help, so keep checking. And it would be helpful to know just how far North you are.

Clueless · « **Reply #2 on:** May 16, 2007, 12:33 »

Thanks for the welcome. I am in Finland, at about 62 degrees North.

andyh4 · « **Reply #3 on:** May 16, 2007, 12:48 »

Hi clueless
in a similar situation in the deep South except that I am not sure when/if my bits of ground were ever cultivated.
Borrowed a big Hisquvana rotovator and attacked said plot. The bits I had dug last year it gobbled up, but the undig bits were much harder work. The machine had a bit of tendancy to ride up out of the cultivated bit and then hop along the surface with me in tow. But after 4 or 5 passes the whole lot was broken down to a really nice fine tilth.

A friend and I emptied the compost heap (about 2 m³) onto one section of rotovated garden. "It'll take a couple of hours to dig this in" he says. Watch this says I. 15 minutes later the machine was cleaned off and back in its shed having turned the whole lot in, - no problem.

The only problem: It only goes down one spit, so if you try to insert canes as support, they go down 8-10 inches and hit the hard stoney ground and go no further.

Gwiz · « **Reply #4 on:** May 16, 2007, 12:51 »

if its some thing thats difficult to dig by hand, then the average smaller type of rotovator is going to struggle as well. that said, once its been done the first time, it will be much better the next.
could you not hire a mighty beast to start off with? something large and honda, maybe with wheels?
you could then get a smaller machine youself.

Clueless · « **Reply #5 on:** May 16, 2007, 13:12 »

> could you not hire a mighty beast to start off with?

Maybe yes. I'll look into that - the only difficulty is likely to be transporting a large beast. How big an area could a "mighty beast" do in a day? The ground is hard-packed and has lots of grass/weeds/unidentified dodo growing on it.

> something large and honda, maybe with wheels?

OK. I hadn't even realised some don't have wheels. Did I mention I am clueless?

liz from the fizz · « **Reply #6 on:** May 16, 2007, 13:35 »

You are not Clueles you are learning just like the majority of us.

Aidy · « **Reply #7 on:** May 16, 2007, 13:58 »

Rotovators are very usefull, I am now using one but I have turned the ground over with a spade first, then rotovated it and finaly forked it through, I have adopted a french method this year and I can honestly say its working fantasticly well, my neighbour is always commenting how tidy the ground is looking compared to previous years. If you turn the ground over with a spade the rotovator will make it a lot easier to fork through and once you have cleared the bulk of the perenial weed roots you just keep turning the ground over with the rotovator like a mechanical hoe, the good bit it will allow annual weeds to germinate then you turn them back in gradualy reducing them with minimum effort, I had tons and tons of horsetail but if you popped down to the plot hardly any will be showing, I kind of look at it like mowing the lawn and its a lot quicker than hoeing.

David. · « **Reply #8 on:** May 16, 2007, 16:10 »

Quote from: "gwiz"

could you not hire a mighty beast to start off with? something large and honda, maybe with wheels?

I tried one of those once, but having heavy, usually wet - or baked into cracked blocks, clay soil, the enclosed rear tines just clogged up all the time, I couldn't see what was happening under it when going through rough ground - like finding bricks, metal, etc. and then you have a problem getting it out.

My F360 has none of those problems

T(hat playhouse is going to be a 2nd henhouse as soon as my daughter lets go of it)

Clueless · « **Reply #9 on:** May 16, 2007, 16:42 »

Hi David, do you think your F360 would cope with the tough-going that I am faced with? I can appreciate what Aidy says about turning the ground over with a spade first but that simply won't work for me. It is too difficult and would take me too long. I am hoping a rotovator will be a shortcut to getting my ground workable.
Oh and thanks for the picture. It paints 1000 words. Your machine looks small enough that I could get one home without problems, which is a big plus.

Gwiz · « **Reply #10 on:** May 16, 2007, 16:46 »

the f360 is a good tool, but from what our friend says about his soil, i really don't think it would touch it.
as for how much ground you could cover with a big enough machine, that depends on you, rather than the machine. it is still quite hard work, on "virgin" ground, even with a "mighty beast" of a rotovator, well it is for me, anyway with a dodgy back.

i think you would need to go much larger than that rotovator.

shaun · « **Reply #11 on:** May 16, 2007, 19:02 »

hi clueless,if you want a large area turned over in one go then you have a couple of options,it can be done with a wheel driven rotavator but it must be a big one and it will take a number of passes to get the full depth,if you have the means you could use a tractor with a scarifier/ripper to break the surface then a plough to turn it over.then you can think about using a rotavator,
failing that you could turn it all over with a mini digger then use a rotavator

David. · « **Reply #12 on:** May 16, 2007, 19:26 »

Quote from: "Clueless"

Your machine looks small enough that I could get one home without problems, which is a big plus.

You can pivot it and get the front wheel into the back of a van or MPV, then unlock the handlebars, swing round approx 45 degrees and push in further.

I cleared a patch of ground that has not been cultivated in over 20 years a couple of weeks ago and that was after the April heatwave. It has been kept mown, but having grass there meant it was really hard and dry. After going in just below turf level in first gear, then at 90 degrees to first go again in first gear, then next day in both directions, then dumping horse poo on top and going over in 2 gear - finished.

My old F300 (no gears) would have just bounced over the surface.

But it's very hard work on shoulders, back and arms holding it back on/pushing into hard patches, pushing out of softer patches, trying to stop it steering back into the ground you have just cultivated, etc.

It is easier if you dig over first, but not if you leave the sun to bake it before rotavating, nor if the rain gets in and floods it before you start either.

Suitability of plot for growing Started by ukdutypaid on Grow Your Own	10 Replies 2841 Views	November 03, 2008, 21:39 by Bombers
suitability for use for weed control/paths Started by moose on Grow Your Own	6 Replies 1976 Views	March 12, 2014, 21:57 by 3 allotments
rotovator ? Started by witchwoopiggy on Grow Your Own	4 Replies 1333 Views	June 08, 2011, 18:59 by witchwoopiggy
Suitable rotovator for hire? Started by sweet nasturtium on Grow Your Own	3 Replies 1735 Views	January 22, 2008, 13:51 by richyrich7

Rotovator suitability

Gwiz

David.

Gwiz

David.