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| Cultivators and Rotivators |
Powered Cultivators and Rotivators:
Although in the present amateur garden it is not often considered that purchasing a powered cultivator is a worthwhile investment, increasing numbers of gardeners are looking to the machine industry and motorized aids to assist them with the more laborious aspects of their work. Cultivators and Rotivators are particularly useful in breaking up the soil into a fine tilth and providing a suitably fine growing medium for vegetable crops. Cultivators of all types have rotating blades known as tines that break down the soil and to a lesser extent, turn it over too.
They are also useful in the garden for incorporating soil conditioners and improvers such as compost, manure and organic fertilizers. The rotation of the tines can help to mix these mediums into the surface of the soil to the depth of the blade set as the machine is worked. Good quality cultivators are always petrol powered, I have seen a few models that are battery operated which unfortunately often lack the power and drive of their petrol counterparts. Cultivators and Rotivators generally have two types of drive. Either the machine is power driven to both its wheels and tines, or those that are only powered to their tines. The former will generally have the tines mounted behind the wheels, following the machine. These are generally a little easier to use as the wheels assist movement and direction, however, they are often heavier and have more working parts to go wrong! They mince the soil well and are ideal for the organic kitchen garden. They are great for producing a fine seed bed; however, they do not cope brilliantly with heavy or compacted soils, as the depth of cultivation is often limited. Although there are large forms of this type of machine too for hire, they are not often offered without a contractual operator too.
Cultivators which are driven solely by the rotating tines are built differently and operated differently too. The tines will be mounted in front of the engine and small plastic drive wheels and work on a different principle. The tines draw the machine forwards, easing movement and preventing strain on the user’s back and arms. Whilst drawing the machine forwards, they dig into the soil to the depth of the blades. These are exceptionally useful for use on a developing kitchen garden. Downsides of this style of machine in the garden, however, especially in the undeveloped areas of the amateur garden, is that perennial weeds are churned up by the blades and will eventually grow into younger developing plants causing additional work later in the season. The reliability and successes of the cultivator in the small amateur garden do, however, outweigh the initial costs of the device and petrol prices.
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