Best Tillers In 2022

Features To Look For In Tillers

Handheld or Long Handled – Most tillers are either handheld models or long-handled. The one you choose may depend on the type of gardening you are engaged in and your muscular-skeletal health. Handheld tillers are ideal for maintaining a garden as you can use them for aerating the soil around your plants and removing the weeds. These handheld tillers are also perfect when you are working on raised flower beds.

Long-handled tillers are more suited for grunt work where the soiled has become hard or compacted. This is usually the case after a long, cold winter when the soil has remained dormant after the inactivity of autumn and winter. The long-handled tillers are also a better choice for those with issues in their backs and knees. The long handles make it easier to complete the tilling and cultivating while standing.

Material – Tilling hard, compacted soil can be a difficult task and if you’ve ever tried to do this with a flimsy tool, you’ll know how ineffective they can be. The materials used in the production of tillers need to be made of solid metals that can withstand being forced into hard ground to till and cultivate the soil. In some tillers with tines, these also need to be solidly made with strong, durable metals. When it comes to motorized tillers, the motor needs to be quite strong with equally strong blades or tines. While there are plenty of inexpensive options available, it will actually be cheaper, in the long run, to get yourself a tiller made of high-quality materials as a reassurance that your tiller will last you for many years.

Handle Grip – While gardening is a relatively tame task, you can still be injured if you can’t hold on to your tools properly. Whether you are working with hand-powered tillers or motorized ones, a good grip is essential for your safety and for getting the job without hindrance. Look for handles with a good rubber grip that feels comfortable in your hands and that allows you to move the tiller with ease.

Handle Length – A short handle length is ideal for small garden beds or for garden maintenance like aerating the soil or removing weeds. It’s not really effective when you need to work on larger gardens as it would simply take too long with a short handle.  Long-handled tillers are more effective at tilling and cultivating larger garden beds and are the preferred tillers for those with back and knee problems. The longer handles allow you to complete your gardening without bending or kneeling. Some handles are even telescopic so you can adjust them to adapt to your height.

Shape – There are many different shapes of tillers. There are straight tines that can easily penetrate through hard soil to be tilled and aerated but you can also find curved or clawed tines that can be twisted into the soil which is useful for loosening and aerating the soil. Some tillers have blades or wheels. With or without tines, these make the work of tilling the soil quite easy.

Size – The size of the tiller you choose will depend on the size of your garden. There is no need to invest in a large tiller if you only have a few garden or flower beds. Fortunately, there is a perfect sized tiller for every garden so choose one appropriately sized for your horticultural needs. A small handheld tiller will be sufficient for a few flower beds, while for crop gardens it may be worthwhile to get a larger tiller or even a power tiller.

Types Of Tillers

There are basically two types of tillers and they are power tillers and hand tillers.

Hand tillers are simple enough to use. They feature a long grip handle that sits across the top of the tool and this allows you to grip the handle and twist the tiller into the soil. The smaller tillers are also easy to use and simply require you to stab into the soil to loosen it up and make it easier for water and nutrients to move around the roots of your plants. Some hand tillers work on blades or wheels that roll over the soil, churning and aerating at the same time.

Power tillers work on the same principle as hand tillers, but they make use of a motor to not only get the job of tilling done much faster but also facilitate tilling larger areas. Most tillers work on a push or pull method in which the base of the tiller rolls over the soil during operation.

Tiller FAQ

Q: What are tillers?

A: Tillers are simply gardening tools that are designed break down hard, compacted soil into soft, loose soil that makes planting seeds or seedlings easier. Tillers are often mistaken for cultivators. The main difference between a tiller and a cultivator is the function they perform with the soil. A tiller is more powerful and is used to break and loosen hard-packed soil while a cultivator is used to do the finer task of aerating the dirt into finer soil that makes planting easier.

Q: What is the best tiller for clay soil?

A: If you’ve ever worked with clay soil you know it is a different type of soil to work with. Clay soil is often more compacted than other soils and is quite sticky and difficult to work with. It resembles tightly compacted mud and comprises of minerals, dirt, and moisture. Trying to till clay soil by hand is considerably difficult as the clay seems to stick to the tiller’s tines or blades. A rototiller is usually more effective at tilling clay soil as it rolls over the dirt, breaking it up in the process. Fortney, rototillers are available in hand-powered and motorized versions so you can choose the one best suited to your needs and the size of your garden.

Q: How does a tiller work?

A: A tiller works by breaking up hard, compacted dirt and loosening it up into smaller particles to facilitate soil aeration. This not only allows for water and nutrients to flow more easily around your plants, but it can also be a method of minimizing the number of weeds growing in your garden, crop, and flower beds.

Q: What are the benefits of using a tiller?

Tilling the soil has a number of benefits in the world of horticulture. By using a tiller in your garden, you can prepare the soil by breaking it up into smaller pieces, aerate the soil and even use a tiller to thoroughly mix manure and other fertilizers in with the soil. By tilling or turning the soil once or twice a year, you can decrease the number of insects and weeds in your garden beds which will be beneficial to your plants. Soil that is tilled or aerated is also more beneficial to your plants. When the soil is hard-packed, your plants’ roots will have a hard time expanding and reaching out to absorb water and nutrients from the soil. This will drastically stunt the growth of your plants. By working the soil, you will keep your garden beds well aerated and oxidized, which your plants will love and they’ll have a better chance of thriving.

As the weather warms, you’ll feel your green thumb activating and when it does, it’s time to get out into your garden and get those beds ready for planting. Use a tiller to loosen the dirt without unnecessary strain to your back and make those garden beds are a comfortable place to rest your plants.