Rotovators

[shortpaws]

Hi,

I am looking for advice about buying a rotovator. I would like something reliable, with 4/6 blades and suitable for a female who has a large vegetable area to manage. Any makes to be avoided? I have seen a Dori MD40, anyone heard of this make?

Would be very grateful for any advice,

Shortpaws

[hoverfrog]

depending on your soil (and where you live), get one that takes a plough attachment.

Rotovators can reduce the soil to such a fine tilth that come a good rainstorm it sets like rock (with lakes on top) and is immpossible to do anything with! Ploughing, on the other hand, aerates the soil and doesn't destroy its structure.

[Tarn1]

"Ploughing, on the other hand, aerates the soil and doesn't destroy its structure." That's a matter of opinion :-)

We have a rotavator purchased from Auchan. Had it for the last three years and it works fine. You won't use it much anyway so I wouldn't spend a lot...

The advice I have been given by a friend who was a farmer in UK is, don't rotavate at all if you can help it, the problems being as described above, but mainly that you can  upset the structure of the soil by rotavating and as you walk behind it you compress the topsoil / subsoil.

He says DO NOT plough!! as this destroys the structure of the soil, turning it over, bringing the sub-soil to the surface and burying the top-soil (indeed, one of his neighbours here in France is a commercial farmer and has stopped ploughing altogether). He is quita adamant about this, and I can verify that his vegetable garden would make Alan Tichmarch jealous.

His recommendation for veg plots (which I followed as best as I could last year - and it helped) was to prepare the soil in autumn then leave it well alone. Top dress with whatever you wish but don't dig stuff in - that's what the worms are for. The most important thing is to ALWAYS spread your weight by walking on boards laid in between the rows of whatever you are planting (or weeding) to prevent compressing the soil - especially after the frosts have finished. Compressed soil ends up like concrete when the baking sun arrives.

I followed his tips and my yields improved. However, you do it how you like! :-)

Have fun,

Tom

[hoverfrog]

funnily enough when I did rural science at uni they were all raving about direct drilling! The major drawback was that it involved using weedkiller in large quantities.

In my book there is no substitute for digging - and digging properly, removing perennial weed roots as you go. Double digging, on the other hand, would have exactly the effect you describe (sub-soil on the surface) where the topsoil was thin as it is round here.

There's autumn digging and spring digging, however mine seems to get spread out between the two!

[seb47]

We bought a 6 bladed Husqvarna - the blades can be removed to fit narrower rows. Not the cheapest, but it will last for years. It has a Subaru Robin 6hp, 4 stroke engine using 95 RON unleaded petrol. It starts first time every time (if you remember to turn on the fuel) and has forward and reverse gears. The right hand "go" lever is pneumatic and is less of a strain than gripping one connected by wire. It works fine and the potatoes, tomatoes, courgettes etc we grow are wonderful imho! With 6hp it copes extremely well with our stoney soil. My OH Sue manages with it very well. I'm not going to get drawn into the relative merits of rotavating versus ploughing versus double digging.

Pete

[Tarn1]

'The right hand 'go' lever is pneumatic...'

This is a good point worthy of consideration if you buy one. Ours is a cable operated one and it is hard work holding it down. So much so that I slip a jubilee clip over the end of the lever and the handle-bar to hold the lever down. This is clearly potentially dangerous, and as a health and safety professional in a previous life I really should know better.  I can't recommend it as a solution and you shouldn(t do it. However, this does illustrate how much strain holding down a cable operated clutch lever is...

Tom