Topic: Gonna be busy today!

[OliveOil]

Not sure where to put this thread...

OH bought me a brand new mantis 4 stroke rotovator yesterday... He told me to go look in the boot of the car... I thnking it was a puppy said 'is it an animal?' he said 'I bloody hope so!'... opened the boot thinknig a puppy would jump out but instead saw a couple of brown boxes with MANTIS on them!

Going to try my new tool out today - even though its a bit wet!  AND I bought loads of bulbs for SS so will make a flower bed in her memory (bit early for the squashes yet!)

[Deb P]

Oooh you will have fun! ;D

I love my little 2 stroke Mantis, I look forward to using it!
I'm waiting for it to dry up enough that I can give my manured potato patch a turn over.
Watch out for backache if you use it too long though, it takes a while to get used to the 'push/pull' motion, a bit like hoovering! ;D

[SMP1704]

oooh, lucky you. am green with envy ;D

Mum gave me her old 2 stroke Mantis that hadn't worked for a while, OH got it going but the tines won't turn - himself thinks the clutch has siezed. :'( back to the spade then.........

Don't forget to show piccies of your luvverly tilled soil

[cambourne7]

what kind of soil do you have?
i have heavy clay and have been told that a mantis might stuggle?

[Deb P]

My lottie is on red clay, and it copes just fine!

[cambourne7]

so what do you use it for?

[OliveOil]

Well as expected It peed down as i stepped out the back door - got down the lotty and it was flooded again! So tiller is parked next to my staircase grrrrr.

[Deb P]

so what do you use it for?

I took over my overgrown lottie last August, used the Mantis to go over my raised beds once I had dug them over to get rid of the couch grass and incorporated loads of mushroom compost.

Also tried it on some undug soil in my garden, really good at creating that mystical "fine tilth". Good for digging holes to plant trees too. Now waiting for it to be dry enough to get the manure that has been left over winter on top of the 'long rows' side of my lottie nicely rotovated in.

I was lucky and bought my Mantis via an ad. in the local paper from a gent who had just downsized to a house with a tiny garden and no longer needed it.

[OliveOil]

Well its all dried out at the plot and weather is glorious here til friday and then the rain is supposed to set in for the bloomin weekend.

I'm off sick with flu but wondering if i could manage a quick going over tonight with help of course. But don't want to make myself more poorly and delay me going back to work... ahhhh what to do!!!!