Poulan 172498 - Manual (Page 9)

OPERATION
BREAKING IN YOUR TILLER
Break-in your belt(s), pulleys and tine control before you
actually begin tilling.
•
Start engine, tip tines off ground by pressing handles
down and engage tine control to start tine rotation. Allow
tines to rotate for five minutes.
• Check tine operation and adjust if necessary. See
“TINEOPERATION CHECK” in the Service andAdjust-
ments section of this manual.
TILLING HINTS
A
CAUTION: Until you are accustomed to
handling your tiller, start actual field use
with throttle in slow position.
To help tiller move forward, lift up the handles slightly (thus
lifting depth stake out of ground). To slow down the tiller,
press down on handies.
If you are straining or tiller is shaking, the wheels and depth
stake are not set properly in the soil being tilled. The proper
setting of the wheels and depth stake is through trial and error
and depends upon the soil condition. (The harder or wetter
the ground, the slower the engine and tine speed needed.
Under these poor conditions, at fast speed the tiller will run
and jump overthe ground).
A properly adjusted tiller will dig with little effort from the
operator.
• Tilling is digging into, turning over, and breaking up
packed soil before planting. Loose, unpacked soil helps
root growth. Best tilling depth is4"-6”. A tiller will also
clear the soil of unwanted vegetation. The decomposi­
tion of this vegetable matter enriches the soil. Depend­
ing on the climate (rainfall and wind), it may be advisable
to til! the soil at the end of the growing season to further
condition the soil.
• Soil conditions are important for propertilling. Tines will
not readily penetrate dry, hard soil which may contribute
to excessive bounce and difficult handling of yourtiller.
Hard soil should be moistened before tilling; however,
extremely wet soil will “bail-up" or clump during tilling.
Wait until the soil is less wet in order to achieve the best
results. When tilling in the fall, remove vines and long
grass to prevent them from wrapping around the tine
shaft and slowing yourtilling operation.
You will find tilling much easier if you leave a row unfilled
between passes. Then go back between tilled rows,
(See Fig. 9) There are two reasons for doing this. First,
wide turns are much easier to negotiate than about-
faces. Second, the tiller won’t be pulling itself, and you,
toward the row next to it.
Set depth stake and wheel height for shallow tilling when
working extremely hard soil or sod. Then work across
the first cuts at normal depth.
CULTIVATING
Cultivating is destroying the weeds between rows to prevent
them from robbing nourishment and moisture from the
plants. At the same time, breaking up the upper layer of soil
crust will help retain moisture in the soil. Best digging depth
is
•
You will probably not need to use the depth stake. Begin
by tipping the depth stake forward until It is held by the
stake spring.
* Cultivate up and down the rows at a speed which will
allow tinesto uproot weeds and leavetheground in rough
condition, promoting no further growth of weeds and
grass (See Fig. 10).