Topic: rotovater

[caseylee]

I just got a rotovater today from my hubby, as I was complaining about having no time to dig at the moment due to work.  Please can someone explain what rotavating means.  We have removed most of the weeds, but my soil is still in big clumps, will the rotovater break this down to smaller peices to make it easy to plant in, also I have some horse manure with straw in it, its a few weeks old and starting to break down, shoulkd I chuck this on top and mix it in as I do it or just do the soil first

[Gazfoz]

I would save the manure for autumn.
Break the soil up if you have the weed out and incorporate some pellets and growmore or whatever as a top dressing then plant what youi want to grow.

[SMP1704]

yes the rotovator will give you a nice fine tilth.  Probably best to let the soil dry a bit - assuming that one day it will stop raining ::)

As the manure is fresh it would be better to pile it up or put in a compost bin, then spread in autumn

If you are worried about perennial weeds, go over the rotovated soil with a fork before you plant.

[davyw1]

The thing is with rotorvating its the dryness of the ground decides when you can do it, if its to wet then its heavy. The rotorvator will break up all the lumps and break the soil up fore you.
If you are worried about not having any manure in then get a bag of Organic Manure after you have rotorvated put it on the soil and rake it in along with any other fertiliser you use. I use growmore but i don't scatter it over the soil,  instead i put a ring of it round each plant ( not touching the plant ) this way the feed goes where its needed.

[L8starter]

oh crumbs, you are taking on a lot with your cucumbers gherkins and now rotavator questions. i think slowly does it, just plant and see what happens and learn slowly. it takes a life time to learn how much we dont know. and every piece of land will perform differently

some people love rotavators. im not one of them but then ive never had a piece of land with no perennial roots. roatavators chop and will exacerbate any perennial root probs. i prefe digging it keeps me in touch with whats happening in my soil but ive never had anything bigger than an allotment so........

horse muck a few weeks old needs to go into the compost heap or make a much heap of its own. if you rotavate it in the straw will use nitrogen from the soil to rot it down and the nuts bit is likely to be too strong and burn the plants. having said which, if your soil is very very very light.... no i still would rot it for at least 3 months

[PurpleHeather]

The rotovator will till the earth from bigish lumps to a nice rake-able size.

An elderly neighbour does his every day for a week, reckons that it is the best way to churn up the nasties hiding in the soil for birds to feast on. Then he plants. He likes to do it before the soil gets too dry because it can turn into concrete lumps.

Being technical, the HP (horsepower not hire purchase) on your machine will make a difference. Some are only 3 or 3.5 hp which will only chomp pre dug loosened earth. The bigger ones 5hp and over will plough through harder stuff.

Manure often has stringy bits in it of straw and such, these will twist round the blades and could make the task difficult. If you are growing runner beans they like well rotted manure round the base as a mulch when they have grown about half way up the cane.

There just is no easy way, digging them there plots is hard work!



 

[L8starter]

thanks purps, i'm with you, digging is just the best. however, i go back to the original question.... caseylee, with a male pic, and loits of queations, talks of the rotavator being a pressie from her hubbie... now, i wonder, who is the gardner and who is doing all the work . yo ms caseylee cut the male pic or the 'my hubby' and just get diggin gal!>

[PurpleHeather]

thanks purps, i'm with you, digging is just the best. however, i go back to the original question.... caseylee, with a male pic, and loits of queations, talks of the rotavator being a pressie from her hubbie... now, i wonder, who is the gardner and who is doing all the work . yo ms caseylee cut the male pic or the 'my hubby' and just get diggin gal!>

You know you do have to be open minded these days L8, not all partnerships are where the bloke does the heavy job whilst the little lady stays home awaiting the rewards of his toiling so that she can make him a wonderful meal to sustain him for more work the following day. As for the 'male' picture, I think he is very cute. RU?

[albacore1854]

Fail to see the attraction with rotovators, particularly on small plots like 10 rods.Just dig it.

[caseylee]

Thank you everyone for your advice, my main reason for the rotovater is due to the fact I have two plots and we both work full time, so we will try it out.  L8 I love my picture and me and my oh are a team, we do things together, and yes I do dig and have done most of the digging

[tim]

Yes, digging is always the best. BUT:

1. I could not have coped with our home plot & 2 allotments in 1 1/2 days a week for 14 years. Or now, at present age!

2. Having read the anti-machine quote, I went out & rotovated this - [attachment=1] - in 35 minutes. At my age I could not have thought of digging it, & still having energy to plant.

3. And 10 Rods? Thats 9 times this area. No way!!

Rotovating? Always scuff over the area lightly first - even a couple of times - to 'break the ice' & get some looser soil for the machine to bite into. And then SLOWLY for the real dig. A final light scuff over can create sowing conditions. But, as said, the soil must be just right - not soggy & not dry.

[growmore]

I agree with you Tim .I have 2 lotties and the use of a third ..I also rotovate 2 old guys lotties that cant dig em no more .. They would have had to pack em in otherwise..Mine are not used just for digging  the plot over, the crops are set so I can take some tines off  put the plant guards on  and rotovate  in between the rows .. This way only hand weeding done is from around the plants  .
For incorporating muck they are invaluable tool too..Samewith making a seed bed  or getting a fine tilth to set seeds in .
The anti rotovator brigade probably have never owned one or if they have, couldn't use one  correctly ..They are not something you use once a season and then leave in the shed
If  time you can spend on lotty and age aren't on your side a rotovator is a valuable tool .
.


 

[tim]

Oh, & yes - I turned in 4 barrow loads of manure in that patch!

[twinkletoes]

I wouldn't be without my little 2 stroke Mantis now.  Perhaps those who struggle with cultivating their plots every year and end up with a weedy wilderness and warning letters to quit their plots due to non-cultivation should try using one - it makes much better use of time available to you if you work full time.  Also if you are older and find digging a bit too much.  It was star tool at the weekend when planting potatoes - just rotovated the row and dug out the loose soft soil.  Much easier and quicker than digging alone.  Growmore is quite right - it is not a tool you buy (and they are not so cheap) then use it once and leave it in the shed for a year. 
twinkletoes

[L8starter]

hi casey, apologies for my comments last night, i just got confused cos i thought you were a bloke then it seemed like youre not, not that it matters a tad either way but it came over diffeently than id intended!!! good luck with the rotavator. im anxious about over tilling of the soil which isnt good for it. when you dig you definitely do minimum and often plant in previously planted soil kept in good condition. i guess its just do what feels right to you... a bit like bringing up children really, read a lot, ask a lot then ignore most of it and go your own way!