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northern indiana

When tilling depth is key in this game. My gear driven front tine gets down about 10", or at least thats how deep I can easily slide the diggin fork after tilling. BUT, has anyone tried or know if it might work, to add extensions to the tines to get even deeper? I would like to get down to about 14". The gear box drags deep and hard the way it is but if it were possible to add extensions to the existing tines, long enough to just barely clear the deck maybe additional depth would be possible. Any Ideas? Im sure someone has at least tried this and would like to hear how well it worked before I modify my tiller.

4/20/2004 11:04:01 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Oxygen will not penetrate the soil much deeper than 6". So if you where to go 18" deep you would need to add a drainage pipe with a air inlet to provide air circulation.

4/20/2004 11:15:08 PM

Wisconsin

Shannon, I knew a guy that did that once. He built an elaborate PVC pipe system that had drainage pipe (with holes) that were down in the soil a couple feet. It was connected to pipes that came up to the surface and were facing west (into the prevailing winds). I can't remember how it turned out. His neighbors (and I) got a good laugh out of it anyway.

4/20/2004 11:30:54 PM

Montoursville, PA

The trend in growing any garden is to less till and no-till.
Going deeper than the usual four to six inches. The only effecive way to go that deep is to double dig.

I have seen many a book elaborately detail double digging. I have never seen anyone but the author of the book do it.
There have never been waves of comments on the value of such efforts.

It appears to be far easier and more beneficial to build up than it is to dig down. Doing this preserves the natural building which is far better than anything a machine or shovel can build.

4/21/2004 10:02:24 AM

Deer Park WA

Adding extensions to your tiller would probably wover work it and certianly would void any warrenty. I plowed our main garden with my 2-bottom to 24 inches to incorperate all the compost, manure, and amendments into the native sub soil and to improve drainage. I think the no-till folks are either lazy or have gone over board on their organic natures friend beliefs. Try planting in a field that has not been plowed/tilled and you'll find your plants are much smaller than a deeply tilled fluffy field. Just my experience/opinion.

4/21/2004 10:58:59 AM

[email protected]

Larger tines might be available if you have the clearance. But the HP of the engine is then in question. Extensions would not work.

4/21/2004 11:22:10 AM

[email protected]

Original tines might also be longer if the originals are worn.

4/21/2004 11:23:11 AM

Commack, NY

Ive at times had to quadrouple dig my patch because of all the years of adding manure. its alot of work, and not for the faint of heart. whenever i use my tiller i always feel bad for the worms that inevitably get chopped up. Im a big fan of using the shovel, but sometimes its not practical.

4/21/2004 12:10:44 PM

Caceres, mid west of Spain

Oxygen on the soil depends on many factors. Structure an humidity over all. In soils with the subsoil wet is truth that oxygen doesn't go deeper than 6", but in dry subsoils can go deeper than a yard. It is adviced, for a vineyard plantation here to break the soil as deep as 25", and in Cordoba vineyard roots are found in lime soils at 18 feet deep.
This year I am going to break my patch subsoil with a big tractor at 20" deep, but till only the first 10". Last year I wanted to do it, but I couldn't, and as you know, results wasn't bad with the 10" tillage.

Carlos

4/21/2004 12:16:11 PM

Sequim, WA

I'm glad to hear you'll be using the tractor for that Carlos. I don't think Goliat would be too happy if you tried that with him.

4/21/2004 12:58:49 PM

Puyallup, WA

IMO...the reason to loosen the soil as deep as possible is to make it easier for the roots to penetrate the soil as well as allowing the water to penetrate to reduce the need for frequent watering.

4/21/2004 5:26:35 PM

C N Y

i'd be concerned with the safety issue of the tiller now having 2-foot-long tines on it...lol...i know, you said 14 inches, but it's hard to limit yourself! lol again.....
if you do it, do something to prevent the tiller from taking-off and getting out of control, i've always thought i should install a kill-switch on my rear-tined Troy-Bilt,
exactly like the motorcyclists use at the dirt track or whatever....if it gets more than a few feet away from you, a strap attached to YOU is pulled from the SWITCH that is on the tiller, thereby averting some of the potential damage. many times i have had to just watch as my tiller
took off and met up with the bushes or tree. in the beginning, when i was inexperienced with it, and the gearbox was "between jobs"...lol......safety first!...eg

4/21/2004 8:27:09 PM

[email protected]

My friends King-Kutter that we used here last fall had oversized tines. His original tines had worn out in a year. He had just enough clearance, but only after we made modifications.

Keep in mind this thing was running on the 30hp PTO of his Kubota tractor & even it had some trouble with larger roots & rocks. Thanks to our modifications, he can n ow expect to break more stuff like PTO shaft U-joints.

We did manage to make it down about 12-14". But no front tine tiller is ever going to get this far down regardless of modifications. The wear & tear would be extraordinary even if the engine had the power to turn oversized tines.

Perhaps renting one of those hideous hydraulic rear tines would be better for occasional use. Bertolini or something I think they're called.

4/21/2004 8:51:25 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Have you guys ever looked into a "Spader" better than a rototiller

4/21/2004 9:23:35 PM

Itzetown City

If you would like to till deeper than normal, you dont need oversized tines. You can do it in two layers. Till the first layer und showel the dirt beside and than till the second layer and showel the first layer back.
I´d plan to do so last month, but my rototiller ( 25 year old "B&S norlett-profi" ) collapsed after a few minutes. So I had to do all that work with a spade.
If you ask me, I my a** would prefer a rototiller.
Someone out there who can send an old B&S motor to me?

4/22/2004 7:21:14 AM

northern indiana

Thanks for the opinions guys. I think that I may just try this and see what happens. I broke ground that hadn't seen the plow in 30+ yrs with this tiller. Thus I think that if I go down slowly, a little deeper each pass it may work. At 8-10" with the tines it has, welding 2" extensions to the outer set may get me to 10-12" at least.
Eric

4/24/2004 11:20:00 PM