This is the item in question - only up here for another 2 hours though!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GARDEN-CULTIVATOR-ROTAVATOR-11-STEEL-BLADES_W0QQitemZ230247506177QQihZ013QQcategoryZ112594QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I have small areas around bushes that desperately need clearing and digging over, but I could do with a helping hand before my back gives in completely. I don't want to use a petrol rotavator because I don't think I'd have enough control over it, but this looks ideal for the areas I'm thinking of.
Anyone else got one or used one?
I know there's a big debate over to rotavate or not - but this isn't for my beds its just a general tidy up before I decide what to do with the bits.
Cheers! ;D
I watched a chap doing his beds with one the other day i was impressed he had dug over his beds and i thought they looked good till i saw them after he had used this thing cant remember the word but you could plant seeds in it it was that fine
mrf94
Thanks for that mrf94. I'm thinking it will be handy for my fruit bed too as that isn't quite so weed infested but fairly uneven.
using a petrol tiller is just like using a heavy vacuum cleaner, they are not hard to control at all. Even Sparkly can use one without being dragged all over the plot :)
A tiller is something like the mantis tiller and is very popular
Rotovators tend to be much bigger and more unwieldy, thats what you can rent from DIY places or what the council would use.
That thing in your eBay advert is neither, it looks like nothing more than an oversized lawn scarifier and I suspect that on anything other than already soft soil it would bounce and skip about like a toddler cranked up on e numbers ;D
Personally I would save the money and ask around on your site and see if anyone has a mantis tiller and would help you out for some beer tokens ;)
That cultivator was on sale in Lidl last year and was a d**n site cheaper than the one on Ebay.
Two chaps on our site have similiar things but without the wheels.They may have taken the wheels off though.They seem to do the job well enough.
That's a glorified rake; I've got something like it, but without the wheels. I hardly use it. Your neighbour probably had really nice soil to start with.
Too late now but, for posterity -
1. Small areas around bushes? It looks too unwieldy for that.
2. Around Fruit Tees? If that's Raspberries, their roots are very superficial.
3. As said - certainly not a digger!
How does it work?
Do you just drag it along to get the digger things to go round?
Tim, it's for the bits in between gooseberry bushes and currant bushes.
Thanks for all the advice, the auction has ended now but I'm still undecided anyway.
I just don't know. I realise it's not for tilling but:
1. It appears that you can't get closer to stems than some 3"?
2. Surely, it can only scuff the surface?
3. What weeds do you have? All superficial? If so, surely a gentle hoeing? If not, I can't see it clearing them.
Keep us informed!
Quote from: Fork on May 05, 2008, 11:25:15
That cultivator was on sale in Lidl last year and was a d**n site cheaper than the one on Ebay.
Two chaps on our site have similiar things but without the wheels.They may have taken the wheels off though.They seem to do the job well enough.
They dont use it for weeding as such....they use it for preparing their seed beds as you would a normal rake.
It is too big to get in between your rows of vegetables.
These things are fine IF the weeds are already out. If not, then they chop them up nicely and you have twice the problem in no time at all!
They can be great for making a fine tilth but absolutely no good at all for getting rid of weeds.
Well the plan was to get rid of weeds and then use it to chop the earth up a bit finer than I seem to manage. There are fairly large gaps between the bushes so it would fit fine, just wanted to see if anyone else had had any success with it. thanks for all the comments.
Does anybody know how it works?
Sorry dtw thought I'd answered that one! By the looks of it, you push it as you would a manual lawnmower. Should imagine the soil would have to be damp, cant see that it would manage dry soil very well.
Thanks. :D