Hi,

I need to dig my garden. Around 100ft long, approx 10ft wide for most
of its length but opens out to about double that at the bottom so
perhaps 1300-1500 square feet altogether.

I guess I'm looking at hiring some kind of rotavator to do this job.
I've looked on HSS' website but it looks a bit expensive - around £50
for one day. Can anyone suggest a good alternative that might save me
a few quid? Living in East London (Hackney).

Mind you, there's a branch of HSS about 400yds from my flat so maybe
the convenience outweighs any cost concerns!

Thanks,

AS.

Alan wrote:
Hi,

I need to dig my garden. Around 100ft long, approx 10ft wide for
most
of its length but opens out to about double that at the bottom so
perhaps 1300-1500 square feet altogether.

I guess I'm looking at hiring some kind of rotavator to do this
job.
I've looked on HSS' website but it looks a bit expensive - around
£50
for one day. Can anyone suggest a good alternative that might save
me
a few quid? Living in East London (Hackney).

Mind you, there's a branch of HSS about 400yds from my flat so
maybe
the convenience outweighs any cost concerns!

In my boring way, I wonder why you're so sure you need to dig the
whole space. If you've thought it all out and know exactly why, by
all means treat my attitude as mere impertinence, and ignore what
follows! Then I suppose the best bet is ringing round the hire firms
in Yellow Pages, checking on delivery charge if any, VAT, all that
stuff.

It's just that a lot of people who haven't tried it can misunderstand
what a rotavator does. Maybe you don't really need to have your whole
plot loosened; and if it's clay it'll very likely be lumpy afterwards
even if you have good weather. If there's hard rubbish in the soil,
the machine won't like it -- and glass is a real pain in the ace. And
I'm sure you don't actually want all your problem weeds spread and
multiplied (that's one of the things a rotavator does for you, for no
extra charge)!

I'd say design first, and mark out the beds and other features; then
you know which bits will want digging, and it may turn out that you
can do that just as easily by hand. (Hand digging is a better way to
cope with the thug weeds, unless you use a herbicide.) If the ground
is compacted, it would be better to leave it that way where you'll
have paths and paved areas, shed or greenhouse base, and maybe even
the grassed areas.

Does any of this ring a bell?

Mike.

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
...
Alan wrote:
Hi,

I need to dig my garden. Around 100ft long, approx 10ft wide for
most
In my boring way, I wonder why you're so sure you need to dig the
whole space. If you've thought it all out and know exactly why, by
all means treat my attitude as mere impertinence, and ignore what
follows! Then I suppose the best bet is ringing round the hire firms
in Yellow Pages, checking on delivery charge if any, VAT, all that
stuff.

It's just that a lot of people who haven't tried it can misunderstand
what a rotavator does. Maybe you don't really need to have your whole
plot loosened; and if it's clay it'll very likely be lumpy afterwards
even if you have good weather. If there's hard rubbish in the soil,
the machine won't like it -- and glass is a real pain in the ace. And
I'm sure you don't actually want all your problem weeds spread and
multiplied (that's one of the things a rotavator does for you, for no
extra charge)!

I'd say design first, and mark out the beds and other features; then
you know which bits will want digging, and it may turn out that you
can do that just as easily by hand. (Hand digging is a better way to
cope with the thug weeds, unless you use a herbicide.) If the ground
is compacted, it would be better to leave it that way where you'll
have paths and paved areas, shed or greenhouse base, and maybe even
the grassed areas.

Does any of this ring a bell?

I agree with all the points Mike made.....and a few more to consider........
As one who spent 16 years in my youth designing and developing rotary
cultivators, garden types, professional models and large agricultural
monsters, I can say that...........A Rotary Cultivator is the finest
instrument ever devised for producing the most perfect, ideal conditions
for the germination of weedbeds !
Nothing is better for producing a dense flush of weed seedlings in the
quickest time possible.
Hiring a cultivator for a one-off site clearance of weeds is frankly a waste
of time and money.

The secret of weed clearance with a machine is to
"keep-the-weeds-on-the-move". which translates to repetitive
rotaring........cultivate, germinate , cultivate, germinate,
cultivate....etc, etc. Never let the weeds mature and seed. Eventually the
weeds will be controlled but it takes time. Also, its best to do it when the
sun can dry out the disturbed weed seedlings.

If you have a weed infested plot its harder, but much, much more efficient
in the long term to use a spade and hand-pull the weed plants......then you
get better results with a cultivator maintaining a cleared bed.
Models with the tines protruding forward are lightweights more suitable for
scratching root clearance and shallow digging and prodding between rows or
plants.
The types were the engine sits over the tines so that all the machines
weight is used to get better penetration and deeper tilth is preferable if
one has a larger area to prepare ( you do).

My advice? Dig your plot at least to full spade depth, take your time and
hand-clear the area. Spend the autumn / early winter rough digging
composting fertilising the ground and let the frosts break down the soil,
then, come early spring you will be on top of the weed problem, you will be
a damn site fitter and you will have added tons of new epithets to your
vocabulary, thereby improving your education.!



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Thank you. I hadn't quite realised the implications of using a
rotavator vs digging & weeding by hand. I do have a nice new spade
gathering dust so perhaps it's time I used it in anger!

"Alan" wrote in message
om...
Thank you. I hadn't quite realised the implications of using a
rotavator vs digging & weeding by hand. I do have a nice new spade
gathering dust so perhaps it's time I used it in anger!

Looking at the size of your garden--I would estimate 3 or 4 days (very long
days) of fighting a cultivator. Following that are several days of recovery
to your spine and muscles. When that is done you should be able to spend a
lot of time pulling weeds.

In article ,
Alan wrote:
Thank you. I hadn't quite realised the implications of using a
rotavator vs digging & weeding by hand. I do have a nice new spade
gathering dust so perhaps it's time I used it in anger!

Depending on your soil, it can take remarkably little time to dig
that area. Don't do more than 50 square feet the first time and,
if it is heavy soil, less. But, a few weekends later and in light
soil, digging 250 square feet a day is not a major task. As other
people say, the really time-consuming part is removing the weeds,
stones, skeletons and so on.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.