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Avatar for ozzand
Jan 13, 2025 5:45 PM CST
Thread OP
West Kentucky
I have a vegetable garden that is around 1/2 an acre. I'm wondering if a small tiller like a Mantis or a Wheel Hoe would be better for keeping out weeds. I have a tractor tiller and a larger rear tine tiller. I'm just looking for something fast to keep out weeds. Thoughts?
Avatar for porkpal
Jan 13, 2025 6:58 PM CST
Name: Porkpal
Richmond, TX (Zone 9a)
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What sort of soil do you have in that garden?
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Jan 14, 2025 5:55 AM CST
Name: stone
near Macon Georgia (USA) (Zone 8a)
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I've been unimpressed by tillers.

When we can find woodchips, or hay bales, mulch is the best thing for preventing unwanted plants from growing.

Ruth Stout was a promoter of just using more mulch... to the point where she thought that turning the soil (at all) could be eliminated.

I find that when the soil is allowed to dry out, some digging will be required, but tilling for the sake of tilling?
Tilling brings up seeds... Meaning it causes additional unwanted plants.
It doesn't help the worms either.
You could just use the plants that were pulled as a mulch...
Last edited by stone Jan 14, 2025 5:57 AM Icon for preview
Avatar for ozzand
Jan 14, 2025 7:08 AM CST
Thread OP
West Kentucky
porkpal said: What sort of soil do you have in that garden?


Hosmer Silt Loam and Robbs Silt Loam
Avatar for love2garden2
Jan 14, 2025 8:17 AM CST
Name: Jan
Mid-Atlantic (Zone 7b)
1/2 acre, nice size garden! My veggie garden is way smaller.

One of my favorite tools is my Mantis mini tiller, small enough for me to handle and easy for me to maneuver around. I use it primarily to turn under the garden soil before planting while mixing in compost or peat, some type of organic soil amendment to help hold moisture in the sandy soil.
Before planting my rows, drip irrigation lines are laid between them. And those areas get covered with the permeable black mulch film to suppress weeds.
After the seedlings appear, I go back with my garden hoe to disturb the soil around the seedlings and put straw around them to suppress weeds. Sorry! Hope that's not too much information! Kinda got off on a tangent..

It is true that once the soil is tilled, all those little weed seeds that have been buried will sprout! So it is important that the soil is covered by some means to keep that from happening.

But I find that little tiller to be useful in other tasks around my yard, too. When planting trees or shrubs, it breaks up the soil to make it easier to remove from the planting hole, and mixes in the soil amendment before planting. Wherever a new flower bed is planned, that's the first tool to get it started. Also I like to shallowly edge the foundation plantings with it and fill in with mulch. It also has an edging blade that can be used on one side to cut turf.

My garden is much smaller than yours, I don't know if my methods would be adequate for your situation, but wishing you a good garden season this year!
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