The Musical Gardener: I Like Rototilling

Thursday, May 12, 2011

I Like Rototilling

Some people like to knit, others do crosswords, I just plain like rototilling. I like the feeling of killing weeds, of mulching up dead stuff from last year, of mixing in manure, creating a fluffy arable topsoil behind me. I find it very relaxing and I know I'm making a better garden for my efforts. When we used to market garden, I spent a large portion of my spring attached to a tiller. Now a couple of hours each year is probably the extent, although I do plan on taking a tine or two off, so it will probably see some use later in the season for weed control.

Last night I finally got my last truckload of manure from the neighbours on the way home from school. I wheeled it onto the garden and dumped it in the last few remaining spots. Then I took the manure fork and spread all the heaps that I've accumulated over the past couple of weeks.

Before, note the heaps of poop - six truckloads

Tilled once, you'd think I'd have got rid of the coffee cup for the photo op!

The freebie

Time for the tiller. My tiller was actually a freebie from an acquaintance, who rather than fix it, bought a new one. I guess I'm just cheap, but it required a $0.50 clamp, a half hour of my time and runs like a top. Albeit, there is a tiny hole in the gas tank - it must have got hit a bang, prior to my ownership. I'm hoping a bit of PVC glue might patch that - the other option is just to not fill the tank to the leak - either way pretty simple.

But again, as usual I have digressed down a rabbit trail. Back to the actual tilling. I went over the garden once, which started the leveling process. Then I started over again, actually mixing the manure down into the topsoil. I got about half done and ran out of gas -- it was also just about too dark to see. So tonight I'll tackle it again. I'm thinking my veggie garden is going to be a far cry from last year's pitiful harvest.