To Rotovate or Not

[Paul Wagland]

I've used various rotovators (did the GYO product test a couple of months back!) and I think there is a time and a place for them.

If your plot is uncultivated and completely infested with weeds, then rotovating won't do much to spread those weeds (they're probably already everywhere they can possibly be!). On heavy (ie clay-rich) ground however, rotovating will utterly devastate soil structure, leaving an impermeable pan of smeared clay that will prevent water from draining and roots from growing beyond a few cm deep.

As it's virgin ground, my top tip would be this: If your soil isn't too heavy, and there's really no other way to get it into shape, rent the biggest, meanest rotovator you can find. One that needs two people to lift. Nothing else will do a better job or be easier to use than a spade and a fork.

When the ground is in production you could use a lighter version like a Mantis to break up the topsoil each year, but I still prefer a fork.

[bluemoon]

I would never rotovate, due to the problems of spreading weeds and the fact that if broken to too fine a tilth our clay would set like concrete after the first shower. Having said that when I'm old, sick or disabled and the choice is a rotovator or giving up the plot I'd rotovate.

[pigletwillie]

but I still prefer a fork.

Here here, rotovators do have a place, but once your all cultivated, there is nothing like using a fork or spade to turn soil. Its just one of those fab gardening feelings.

[jacob marley]

Well a lot of you good people on here seem to derive pleasure from hard work well so be it .
i have always maintained that gardening is as easy or as hard as you want it to be i have a no dig policy the only digging i do is lifting potatoes carrots onions or shallots .
A my digging is done by Mr Honda my trusty Honda 502 it is like a Merry tiller but has got grunt and reverse gear .
i have 3 plots all 10 m x35 m and have got plenty of space so every thing gets planted in rows wide enough for mr Honda to work between the only hand cultivation i do is hoeing between the plants in the row this may seem crazy to some people but it works for me if i want to do close up work his little brother mantis is the boy for the job .
Time spent on the plots is approx 12 hours a week all 3 plots were well overgrown when i took them over but strim the rubbish of and let the new growth start and hit it with gyslophate and bobs your uncle job done .
There is a few weeds that keep appearing but the hoe sorts them out not bad for a old codger between 65 and death so you can work with a rotovater if you know how to go about it jacob

[veg4681]

To Rotovate or Not

I've just dug up a wild field which had grass grown upto 3 feet high last year (but these have died down since). There are far too many grass roots about in the soil and the majority of these roots are easily over a foot long. Would it be an unwise move to rotovate the soil in this state?

Besides I'm not 100% sure what a rotovator is for, certainly not something that will substitute initial digging . I thought it's like a plougher just to loosen the soil. My DH thinks it's unwise to rotovate if it may only spread the grass roots about in the soil and that it's still better to separate them by hand . Is he right?

[Two_Sheds]

If you hit it properly there is no need to remove the roots as they are all dead...
I must say that the glysophate has only been used once on each plot and has not been used since. ... Used responsibly and properly, its a one hit wonder

Thanks Piglet for a responsible, sensible approach to chemical weedkilling. Could you perhaps start a nice shiny new Thread on "how to use glyphosate most effectively" ?
I'm not a hair shirt luddite. (well only sometimes) My problem with chemicals etc is that people don't read the instructions, they don't understand what they are doing, they just blast everything in sight.
The plot next to me is still uncultivated after about, what, 8 years of neglect. Each new tenant makes a start, sprays everything in sight, thinks it will magically render the plot clear and ready to plant, doesn't do the job properly, and gives up. The plot then goes to rack and ruin, until someone else comes and tries again.

[veg4681]

My problem with chemicals etc is that people don't read the instructions, they don't understand what they are doing, they just blast everything in sight.
The plot next to me is still uncultivated after about, what, 8 years of neglect. Each new tenant makes a start, sprays everything in sight, thinks it will magically render the plot clear and ready to plant, doesn't do the job properly, and gives up. The plot then goes to rack and ruin, until someone else comes and tries again.

I've lost faith in chemical weedkillers even in my garden. I mean, do they really work ? Why would companies want to make it work too well anyway if it means they won't sell enough to make a living. I think I'll be pulling all the grass roots (or weed ones if I can find them) by hand.

I agree with Roitelet have to say:

I have come to the conclusion that quick fixes are really more trouble than they are worth because you have to go on and on with more quick fixes. Do it right the first time and the problems are reduced.

But it's practical for me as my plot/beds are relatively small so forgive me for being a hypocrite .