Manual

TILLING TIPS& TECHNIQUES(CON'T)
PowerComposting
Powercompostingsimply meanstillingunderand burying in thesoil all mannerof organic WARNING: When power
mattersuchas crop residues,leaves,grassclippingsandcovercrops. This materialwill de, composting, do not keepthe
composeduring the non-growingseasonandadd imPortantnaturalnutrientsto the so DepthRegulator Leverat a
Thefirst placeto beginis with crop residuessuchasleftovervines,stalks,stemsand roots• deepsetting if the ti!ler jumps
Powercompostthesecrop residuesas soon astheyfinish bearing.Thesoonerthis isdone, or bucks.
the better,astendergreenmatter is easierto till under. Usethe deepestdepthregulatorset- If jumping or bucking occurs,
ting possiblewithout causingthe engineto laboror the tiller to jumpahead, movethe DepthRegulator
Leverdown to ashallow
Standingcornstalksof reasonableheightcan bepowercomposted.Pushing over (but not setting andthen slowly
uprooting) cornstalkswill oftenmakeit easierto chop upthe stalks•Keepthe tines clearof increasethetilling depth on
excessivetangling by ,fishtailing"or frequentlyusingreverse.Makeseveralpasses,thenre- I t r
turnafewdayslatertofinishoffanyremainingstubble. Lee passes;, ... .
t-allure[o follow tins warmng
Aftertilling undercrop residues,addmoreorganicmattersuchasleaves,grassclippingsand cou d result n oersona n urv
evenkitchenscraps. Whentilled intothe soil,this organicmatterwill decomposeandadd
evenmore important nutrientsto the soil•
Afterpowercomposting,you maywantto planta "greenmanure'!covercrop to protectthe soil duringthe off-season. Yousimply grow a
crop of clover,alfalfa, buckwheat,peas,beans,ryegrass,grain,or kaleandthentill it into the soil priorto the plantingseason.
TillingOnSlopes
Readthefollowing recommendationsbeforetilling onslopes:
you must gardenon a moderateslope,pleasefollow two very _mportantgmeennes:
If
1. Til!only on moderatemodes,neveron steepgroundwherefootingis difficult I reviewsafe-
ry rules in Section1: Safetyof this manuaU.
2. We recommendtilling upand clownslopes ratherthan terracing. Tilling verticallyon a
slopeallowsmax_murrplantingareaand also leavesroom for cultivating.
IMPORTANT,"Whentilling on slopes besurethecorrect oil levelismaintainedinthe engine
checkeveryone-halfhour of oeeratlonL Theinclineof the sloeewl causerne el to slant
awayfrom _tsnormal leveland_n_scan starveenginepartsof requiredlubrication. Keepme
motorOHlevelat the full eoint at all times!
WAF{NINEi: Donot
operatetiller on aslope too
steep for safe operation. Till
slowly and besure you have
good footing. Neverpermzt
tiller to freewheel down
slopes. Failureto follow this
warning could result in
personal injury.
Tilling Upand DownSlopes (VerticalTilling)
• To keepsoil erosionto a minimum, besureto addenoughorganicmatterto the softso that it hasgoodmoisture-holdingtextureandtry
to avoid leavingfootprints or wheelmarks.
• Whentilling vertically,try to makethe first eass. _hillas the tiller digs moreaeeplygoing uphillthan it does downhill. In soft soil or
weeas,you mayhaveto lift the handlebarsslightly while goinguphill. When goingdownhill,overlapthefirst passbyaboutone-halfthe
width of the tiller.
TillingAcrossSlopesWithoutUsingTerraces(HorizontalTilling)
• f vertical or terracinggardeningaren't practicalfor you,then you cantill laterallyacrossa slope. We don't recommendthis methodas
t can createunsurefooting and invitessoil eromon.
• As interracegardemng,startatthetop ofthe slopeandoverlapthe first passey _alfthe widthof thetiller. Foraddedstabilityof the tiller.
alwayskeepthe uphillwheelinthe soft. new_yhliedSOIL
TerraceGardening
• Whena slope_stoo steepor too short for verticaltilling, _tmay benecessaryto t_llacrossthe sloae andcreateterracedrows.Terraces
arerowsthat arecut rotethe sideof a slope,creatinga narrow,but flat areaon whichto plant.
• Ona longs_ope,you can makeseveralterraces,one belowthe other.
• Terracesshould beonly 2-to-3 feetwide.Diggingtoofar intothesideofthe slopewil! exposepoorsubsoilthat is unproductivefor plants.
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