What Did You Do In The Garden?

Gardening with Rabbits said:
I talked to my neighbor gardener. He is older and really does not do much, but he said next year he is going to get a small tiller like a Mantis to use between plants. DS said he used one for the elderly couple he worked for in their garden and it did not do any good, but the weeds I think were too big. I am wondering would it be harder to get rid of small weeds with a Mantis tiller or using a hoe like the stirrup hoe? I have only ued a Mantis once years ago and can't remember what it was like.
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How the Mantis performs depends on the type of soil that you have ... if nice and fluffy or pure sand, works greata But if you have hard clay or rocks, it will bounce around more than do the intended job.
 
Gardening with Rabbits said:
I talked to my neighbor gardener. He is older and really does not do much, but he said next year he is going to get a small tiller like a Mantis to use between plants. DS said he used one for the elderly couple he worked for in their garden and it did not do any good, but the weeds I think were too big. I am wondering would it be harder to get rid of small weeds with a Mantis tiller or using a hoe like the stirrup hoe? I have only used a Mantis once years ago and can't remember what it was like.
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I love my mantis. It can easily get clogged with weeds. You need to back it off and let it dig itself into a hole to rip apart the weeds. The trick is to not allow them to get too tall before you use it. I do have gardens with invasive grass that has long roots that can be difficult to tear. I need to clean the tines more often for those. But regular soft young weeds can be removed as I described. There are 2 kinds-2 cycle and 4 cycle. I could not live with out it I have had 4 in 40 years. They last about 12 years. The only one that did not last very long was one I got from sears. Sometimes manufacturers make cheaper versions for cheaper sales at stores. I love the power of the 4 cycle. The one thing I do not like it that it is a few lbs. heavier and at, ahem, lets say middle age, it is a little more annoying to carry to it's place. But, I prefer the reg. gasoline as opposed to mixing gas/oil.
 
I'm also a Mantis lover, had the gas powered for years but now have the electric jobie. I gave the gas powered one to one of our boys. This does all the jobs needed doing around here. Breaking new ground or heavily compacted soil I get my son in law to till it with the 5 hp Honda I gave him when I bought the first Honda.

Annette
 
My little tiller is a Honda 4-cycle. Probably the Mantis still uses the Honda engine, so I imagine that they are much the same.

I didn't get it out of the garage this season but that's mostly the tractor guy's fault. If he would stay on my paths and just till my beds, I wouldn't need to move so much ground back on the beds with a shovel. First goes down the fertilizer. Once the shovel work is done, there is no important need for the little tiller.

Yes, I used it for the loose soil in the 4' beds to mix in the fertilizer. Honestly, 3' would have been easier with me staying in the paths and just circling the beds a couple of times. Walking backwards and pulling the tiller leaves a better seedbed.

Anyway, it is completely useless to kill weeds in the paths. The amount of rock in the soil means the little thing just skips along! And, it needs to follow the tractor tiller or my walk-behind or the spading fork. I'd hate to have to rely on little tiller from the get-go.

Steve
 
Gardening with Rabbits said:
Those are all great suggestions. I will think about what about. I may rent one next spring and see what I think. I put more rabbit manure on the garden. I have enough to cover the whole garden. Lol. I am digging some out of the old compost that never finished composting.
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Lucky you, rabbit manure the best of the best. I was lucky enough to find some last year dug it into the raised bed where I grew the cucumbers this year. We picked 100 or more Diva Cucs off 6 plants. Now we have to buy:(, $4 for an English cucumber, imported from Holland so the label said.

Annette
 
Nyboy said:
Annette why dont get a rabbit. all the animals I have Harvey is the easiest
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We used to raise rabbits back in the 70's, 80's and early 90's. Mostly for show, actually went to a show in Huston Texas that Bay had something to do with:). We tried our hand in raising quite a few breeds, Checkered Giants, Tans, Belgium Hares, Satins, Champagnes, Californians, Netherland Dwarfs and Holland Lops. We did pretty good on the show circuit winning our fair share of BOB's and even a few BIS's. We gave this up when we found ourselves wanting to do other things but we had a great time while we doing it. If I got one rabbit I know that would get me going and I'd have to have more soooo I just look around for someone raising rabbits and beg or buy a sack or two of black gold.

Annette
 
Gardening with Rabbits said:
I talked to my neighbor gardener. He is older and really does not do much, but he said next year he is going to get a small tiller like a Mantis to use between plants. DS said he used one for the elderly couple he worked for in their garden and it did not do any good, but the weeds I think were too big. I am wondering would it be harder to get rid of small weeds with a Mantis tiller or using a hoe like the stirrup hoe? I have only used a Mantis once years ago and can't remember what it was like.
Click to expand...
Unless you really work your soil and have a lot of compost a Mantis tiller is a waste of money bc it won't rip up stubborn roots. My tiller gets clumps stuck and I have to clean off the tines, but it was worth the money. It was a gift, but I would have bought it for myself.
 
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