Troy-Bilt 8 HP - Manual (Page 28)

fall. Doing so will allow the sod or
tough surface growth to be com­
pletely broken down by the time
spring rolls around. (Sod busting
can be done even in late fall—as
long as the ground isn’t frozen.) If
there is some growing season left,
then you should plant a cover crop
(see “Power Composting” in this
Section), which will help protect
the soil over the winter.
Avoid making footprints
When making final tilling or cul­
tivating passes through the garden,
always try to walk on the side that
is not yet finished. This will avoid
leaving footprints in the freshly tilled
soil. See Photo 4-4.
Eliminating footprints contributes
much more than just good appear­
ance to your garden. It aids in
preventing soil erosion and avoids
“planting” unwanted weed seeds
right back in your newly tilled
ground. It also leaves your soil nice
and loose, so that vegetable and
flower roots can penetrate it easily.
4-4: Try to avoid leaving footprints.
Cultivating
If you plan carefully before plant­
ing, you can leave enough room
between the plant rows for later
cultivating with the tiller... all but
eliminating most hand-weeding
and hoeing chores.
The tiller hood measures 22V2"
across, so leave that much dis­
tance between the rows, plus
enough extra for plant growing
( Q Q O Q
~ O D O Q )
C O G ^ O O
4-5: Leave room between rows for
cultivating.
room (especially for bushy crops
such as beans, tomatoes and
peas). See Figure 4-5.
Cultivating can begin as soon as
your seedlings appear above the
ground; then cultivate as often as
once a week. The day following a
rain shower is an excellent time to
cultivate, as long as the plants are
dry. You should avoid working in
the garden when the plants are
wet since diseases, blights and
rusts can easily be spread among
the wet plants with your hands,
clothes, or even the tiller.
Shallow cultivation is very impor­
tant! Do not till deeper than one or
two inches, to avoid injuring the
roots of nearby plants. If you no­
tice that the tines are digging too
deeply even though the Depth Reg­
ulator Lever is in one of the top
notches, then you may have to lift
up on the handlebars slightly (run­
ning your tiller in the “HIGH” belt
range will help to prevent the tines
from going too deep).
Power composting
It is essential that a garden be
fed something if it is to be bounti­
ful year after year in the same loca­
tion. You must replenish the plant
nutrients—primarily nitrogen, phos­
phorous and potassium—that you
remove from the soil in the form of
harvested vegetables and fruits.
A simple and very effective way
to do this is to use your tiller to
chop, blend, and turn under all
kinds of organic matter including
crop residues, leaves, grass clip­
pings and “green manure” cover
SOIL ENRICHMENT IDEA
MULCH—If you use an organic
mulch during Iho growing .sfM.son.
it can lie tilled under with your
crop residues at the end of the
growing season PopulfK mulches
include hay. old straw, grass t'lin-
pings, and other dense organic
n’atcrials. ri:l this m.stter under to
a depth of 4 to 6 inches.
crops (clover, annual rye, grains,
alfalfa, buckwheat, etc.). This or­
ganic matter will decompose dur­
ing the non-growing season and
add important nutrients to the soil.
See Photo 4-6.
When power composting, set the
depth regulator at the deepest set­
ting possible, without making the
engine labor too hard or causing
the tiller to jump. Crop residues
should be tilled into the soil as
soon as possible after harvesting,
since tender, moist green matter is
tilled more easily. We recommend
that you use the “HIGH” belt range
and “SLOW” wheel speed gear
when power composting. If you
find the tines aren’t working effec­
tively in the “HIGH” belt range
setting, then try tilling in the
“LOW” range.
After all power composting has
been completed, you should plant
a cover crop to protect your soil
during the non-growing season.
Then in the spring, the cover crop
can be tilled under a few weeks
prior to planting, providing more
organic matter to help feed the soil.
4-6: After harvest, till under crop resi­
dues to add nutrients to the soil.
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