Rotavatoradvice

Fruittea

Hi there

I would like to get a rotavator as a christmas gift - can anyone recomend one please. I probably need quite a light one as I'm not that strong. Many thanks

wallbash

A good rotavator needs a fair amount of 'taming' , strong arms. Would it not be more MSE to get the land turned over professionally, must be cheaper than having a rotavator stuck doing nothing in the garden shed for most of the year. How much land have you got and how often do you expect to use the rotavator?

PS I hate it when I ask a question and its wrongly answered or in this case NOT answered ... Sorry .

peter_the_piper

The other thing to take not of is the soil itself. Norfolk sandy soil is much different to good old Sussex Clay.

mrbadexample

I've got a little 2-stroke Mantis which I used initially to give the beds a good going over, but now I dig as little as possible. It gets used about once a month to turn the compost heap (although it is brilliant for that).

They no longer make the 2-stroke but the 4-stroke is better anyway I expect.

Leif

Wouldn't it make more sense to hire one? Then someone else stores it, maintains it, and repairs it, and you pay a small fee on the few occasions when you use it. You can avoid having to re-dig beds if you avoid walking on them.

Also, I do wonder if rotovators can cope with all soils. Our soil is clay rich with loads of flints, some 8" across. Digging with a spade is not possible until the stones are removed.

glasgowdan

A mantis tiller is not a rotovator.

A rotovator is used to open up the ground, to break up compact soil and clay and bring stones to the surface. A small mantis tiller is used to cultivate broken soil and doesn't do it any quicker than a rake/hoe in good hands.

The question is what do you want the rotovator for exactly?

Sambucus_Nigra

Fruittea wrote: »

Hi there

I would like to get a rotavator as a christmas gift - can anyone recomend one please. I probably need quite a light one as I'm not that strong. Many thanks

What is this for?

Fruittea

Hello Everyone
Thank you for the comments. My allotment is about 4 metres by 60. It's on the edge of the allotment site and is bounded by trees. My problem is tree roots. So much so that I find it hard to break through the tough roots and use the back side of the allotment. I thought a rotavator would help. When I first took the site over I had it proffesionally rotavated but found I had a lot of weeds. Now I have managed the weeds but the soil is chunky and the tree roots are a real problem. So much so that I am trailing slightly raised beds. I thought being able to chop things with a rotavator would be help. I think I would need a fairly light weight machine as I have some health/back problems. The idea is to buy a present for my partner so we can manage the allotment with a little more ease. Perhaps this is a silly idea. So i'm looking for a machine that can be managed with ease and regularly rather than once a year. Your advice would be welcome.

Sambucus_Nigra

I think you would be better off raising the soil with raised beds, personally. The problem is that the tree roots will take all the moisture and nutrients out of the soil before your veggies get a chance.

Is this the only allotment option available to you?

Fruittea

Mines about the worst one - the trees are supposed to be cut this year (anytime now) which will help. And I am gradually putting in raised beds all down the side that's affected. Just getting enough soil to fill them is a bit of a challenge but when I look at the other allotments (those that use a rotavator) their soil just looks so good - so fine and mine is very clumpy even after fours years of working it. To be honest I don't dig that much as mentioned - since I fell down the stairs and broke a back bone.

Thanks for the advice though.

Sambucus_Nigra

Can you borrow their rotavator?