I admitted in another thread that my garden isn't exactly Instagram-ready right now. It’s basically a 5-foot-tall forest of careless weeds.
When it comes time to hit the reset button, I don't mess around with hand tools. I bring out the heavy artillery. I wanted to share my current setup and see what kind of machinery you guys are running to prep your beds.
My first step is to knock everything down with my mower. I have a 52-inch Huslter Fastrak zero-turn mower. I don't own a tractor, but I imagine this Hustler is the next best thing. It’s a beast.
My strategy is to drop the deck as low as physically possible without hitting the dirt. Since I still have raised rows/mounds from last year, I have to be careful. If I scalp those rows, I end up driving through a massive dust storm, and my allergies definitely can't handle that.
I run it on side discharge. I know some people say you should mulch it up, but when the weeds are taller than the mower, the mulching kit just gets clogged. I blast it out the side and let it dry out, at least what little of it still has any moisture in it.
Next I bring in the Troy-Bilt Bronco. Once the vegetation is knocked down, I bring in the Troy-Bilt.
This is a CRT (counter-rotating tine) model, meaning the tines spin in the opposite direction of the wheels. In my opinion, if you are breaking new ground or dealing with a neglected garden like mine, you have to have a rear-tine CRT. It digs in and pulls up those root balls where a standard tiller would just bounce off the top.
I love my Bronco but, I will admit, it’s a workout.
A buddy of mine has a front-tine tiller. I've used it before and it's definitely lighter, easier to maneuver, and does a better job of "fluffing" the soil. That is if you keep your soil soft all year, like you probably should. But if you're a procrastinator like me and have to hard reset every January? I think the rear-tine is king.
What do you use? Are you Team Front-Tine or Team Rear-Tine? And does anyone else use their zero turn to "mow the garden," or am I the only crazy one?
When it comes time to hit the reset button, I don't mess around with hand tools. I bring out the heavy artillery. I wanted to share my current setup and see what kind of machinery you guys are running to prep your beds.
My first step is to knock everything down with my mower. I have a 52-inch Huslter Fastrak zero-turn mower. I don't own a tractor, but I imagine this Hustler is the next best thing. It’s a beast.
My strategy is to drop the deck as low as physically possible without hitting the dirt. Since I still have raised rows/mounds from last year, I have to be careful. If I scalp those rows, I end up driving through a massive dust storm, and my allergies definitely can't handle that.
I run it on side discharge. I know some people say you should mulch it up, but when the weeds are taller than the mower, the mulching kit just gets clogged. I blast it out the side and let it dry out, at least what little of it still has any moisture in it.
Next I bring in the Troy-Bilt Bronco. Once the vegetation is knocked down, I bring in the Troy-Bilt.
This is a CRT (counter-rotating tine) model, meaning the tines spin in the opposite direction of the wheels. In my opinion, if you are breaking new ground or dealing with a neglected garden like mine, you have to have a rear-tine CRT. It digs in and pulls up those root balls where a standard tiller would just bounce off the top.
I love my Bronco but, I will admit, it’s a workout.
A buddy of mine has a front-tine tiller. I've used it before and it's definitely lighter, easier to maneuver, and does a better job of "fluffing" the soil. That is if you keep your soil soft all year, like you probably should. But if you're a procrastinator like me and have to hard reset every January? I think the rear-tine is king.
What do you use? Are you Team Front-Tine or Team Rear-Tine? And does anyone else use their zero turn to "mow the garden," or am I the only crazy one?
