How To Use a Rotavator
Rotavators are potent pieces of gardening machinery, often used in allotments and fields, to break up, churn and aerate the soil before planting seeds and bulbs or laying turf. Rotavators uses a set of blades or rotors which twist and break through the soil. This improves effluent, levels the area and makes the ground perfect for growing vegetables and crops.
How To Use A Rotavator
Check Soil Moisture
Before deciding when to use a rotavator, and when to buy any rotavators for sale it is essential to consider land moisture, especially if the soil is compacted, or never tilled before. Although a rotavator can be used on sandy soil at any time, clay soils are different when they are wet or dry. When clay soil becomes dry, it gets very hard. Using a rotavator to cultivate the land can be very difficult, and the rotavator may not be able to do more than scour away a couple of inches of soil. If the soil is too wet, it forms clods. Those clods become like rocks when they dry, and this can ruin the ground until the next winters weather moderates them again.
If your soil is compacted or has never been tilled before, water it for several hours, three or four days before tilling. Then check to see whether the earth has drained enough. You can do this by picking up a handful of soil from the bottom of a 6-inch deep hole and squeezing it into a ball. The ball should be easy to break apart with one finger. If it marks rather than breaks, the soil is still too moist to till.
Operate The Tiller Safely
Ground tillers and rotavators can be dangerous if they are not used correctly and if the correct safety precautions are not taken. You must keep your feet and hands away from the tines, and you must stay in control of the machine at all times. Safe operation requires having the correct rotavator for the job and not moving along too swiftly with the rotavator. It is also advisable to use ear defenders and padded gloves, especially if you're using a heavy-duty rotavator over a large area.
Control The Rotavator Properly
Rotavators can buck and whirl while working. Using physical strength to control the rotavator will make you tired quickly, and could cause muscle injury. Instead, you should stay relaxed and let the rotavator jump when it hits something hard, and then guide it back on track. This occurs mostly when tilling the new ground. Pushing down on the rotavators handlebars allows you to control how big a bite the rotavator takes.
Rotavate The Land In Strips
You should rotavate the land in strips, slightly overlapping with the previous strip as you move on to the next piece. Make two or three passes over each strip, and repeat the process at right angles to the original rotavated strips. Don't dig much deeper than two or three inches deep on the first pass. You can then set the rotavator to dig deeper on each pass after that.