Grow Your Own Magazine

As I've recently become my Grandchildren's 'minder' I find I've far less time to spend at the lottie. I always swore I'd never bother with a rotavator unless it became necessary for reasons of health or age, but I think I might have to revise that idea. Our plot has been well cultivated by us for the past four seasons and most of the perennial weeds have now been labouriously removed (I do worry about chopping them up and spreading them) We garden on a clay subsoil, but have a good depth of topsoil, (about 16 inches) even so I've seen a nearby plot turned to concrete by over use of a rotovator followed by rain then a dry spell. If I just buy the little 2 stroke Mantis tiller and just use it for general, occasional digging would it be OK? The depth of the tines is apparently about 10 inches, so shouldn't disturb the clay. I find that with less time available I'm spending far too much of my time on the drudgery and too little on the planting and growing, but also I don't want to then spend hours setting the tiller up and dismantling/cleaning it. Does anyone use one of these, and would they recommend it for my situation? One advantage is as the tiller is so small I'd be able to pop it in the car and bring it home after use as we have had problems on our site with stolen rotavators in the past.

I have used my Mantis today first i chucked some chicken muck and grow organic on the soil and mixed it in before planting Onion plants out then turned the tine's back to front for weeding not digging and cleared some weeds out from the shallot bed .
The mantis fits nicely in the car in the front the slashers fit nicely where the front seat passenger puts there feet and the handles fit nicely each side of the head rest do's not need strapping in it just sit's there as good as gold and it stays quiet with no backchat majic .
If you do buy one please watch the video that comes with it it becomes easy then jacob

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My Friends elderly dad uses a Mantis, it makes the difference between him managing his allotment and not.

He wouldn't be without it.

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I have the four stroke Mantis Tiller (saves mixing petrol and oil) and I wouldn't be without it. It is only a little machine but can do some good hard work. If I were you I'd invest in one and enjoy using it.

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It is the doom of man, that they forget.

I bought a second hand two stroke Mantis last year on e-bay. (I had to watch and wait as people seem to bid silly prices, but eventually got one for about £150.) It's an excellent and powerful little machine and great for breaking up the soil. Like any cultivator avoid using it on heavily weed-infested ground as you will just chop up the roots of couch grass and bindweed and make the problem ten times worse. I avoid over use as I reckon that it can break the soil down too much. (I have watched a fellow allotment holder use his repeatedly and his soil is like dust.) Mantis reckon that if you reverse the tines you can use it for weeding but I have never had any success with this.

Mantis do sell factory reconditioned machines from their Stockport base at a discount to the price of a brand new machine.

Just re-read your post bluemoon!! Yes - it fits easily in the back of my car with one of the back seats folded down without folding the handles. The tines are not ten inches - more like 2-3 inches - but you pull the Mantis backwards (towards you) and the tines dig down in to the ground. If you go over the same piece of ground several times you can easily get down to a depth of around 10 inches. Cleaning the tines is fairly quick and easy - remove the securing pin, slide the tine off, scrape clean, and re-secure. (Keep spare pins in your shed!!!)

The Mantis has certainly helped me.

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Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it.

Thanks everyone. OH and I have read your posts, discussed it and we're definitely going for it. I've requested info from the company, so will decide exactly what we need when it arrives. I think it will prove to be the difference between managing the allotments and letting them get completely away from us. The first plot is clear and cultivated, but the second one is new and covered in weeds. OH's plan is to cover the new one for now then dig it by hand over the winter, using the tiller on the old one and gradually bringing it into use on the second one as it's cleared. - if that makes sense. I'd always been put off using one as one of the old boys on our site - many years ago, before we got our current plots - was obsessed with his huge, noisy rotavator with which, in my opinion, he ruined his soil. But then he did use it constantly, planting his rows really wide so that he could use it between them and never even using a hoe for the weeds, he'd just wait until there were enough then out would come the rotavator. I like the idea though that the Mantis will turn in organic matter - a bit of which might have helped the afore mentioned old boy's plot - and will do many of the boring jobs quickly, leaving us free to enjoy our lottie again - I love my Grandkids, but boy are they time consuming.....still, only another 4 years 5 months 'till the youngest is at school.

Hi Bluemoon

I know you've already made your mind up but I've got the four stroke Mantis (as Snuffer says, saves on the mixing, which I always hate ) and I wouldn't be without it!

I've got similar ground to you, decent soil with a clay sub layer and the tines break the bigger clods up a treat but as mentioned already, dont over use and your soil will be fine. Easy to clean, the handles fold in half so easy to store (we keep ours at home) and fits snugly in the car behind the drivers seat no probs and no wobbling! Also very light to carry.

You won't regret it. Happy gardening!

Gill

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