# Tilled the garden....



## Greg (Sep 16, 2003)

Last Fall I spread a layer of fallen leaves over the garden and tilled it in. We have been having an unusual mild Winter and it's been sunny with temps in the mid to high 50's for quite a while. The garden finally started calling for a Spring "massage"... So, yesterday I got the TroyBilt Super Bronco out and gave it it's first Spring till.

This is what it looked like all Winter:

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/kgregc/Before-till.jpg">

The little Super Bronco really works well. I did add frame weights to it to hold it down a bit. It's just about the right size for my garden and I wouldn't be without the power reverse.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/kgregc/Super-Bronco.jpg">

About half way through and it's starting to look good.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/kgregc/Halfway-done.jpg">

I put in several truck loads of top soil when I built the garden and the soil looks really good. I'll be doing my soil testing in various spots and adding what it needs before planting.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/kgregc/Good-Soil.jpg">

All finished and ready to dry out some more and get warm.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/kgregc/Finished.jpg">

Of course no job can be done right without a "supervisor"..... Here's mine! Tommy 4 is just over a year old now (we think) and pushes his 55+ plus pounds around if I don't follow his "instructions" to a "T"..so to speak..:furious: 

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/kgregc/Supervisor.jpg">

Can't wait till it gets in the 60's and 70's to really get going with the garden. 

Anybody else been getting things ready to plant?


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## Argee (Sep 17, 2003)

My garden is just off to the left in this picture.  I have been stacking slow release mositure pellets on it for the last few months....when they release and I am able to see the soil in about a month I'll get it to the point you have yours.

<img src=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v226/Argee/My%20House/Winter12003-4.jpg?SSImageQuality=Full>


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## Greg (Sep 16, 2003)

Randy,

Is that a Feb 21 pic? You still have that much snow????:hide: 

We will probably have water rationing here this summer because of so little rain this winter. Very little snow in the mountains, compared to normal.

We are on a co-op water service but they will still watch it close, I'm sure.

How big is your garden? Any pics of it in it's "glory"?


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## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

agree i was thinking the same thing... xcant see any sign of a garden.. just snow... getting more monday i think...


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## MowHoward2210 (Nov 2, 2003)

Too early in my neck of the woods. It's warmed up some, but we've had a really wet winter, and it's still pretty muddy around here. 

Great looking dirt and plot, Greg. :worthy:


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## Argee (Sep 17, 2003)

> _Originally posted by simple_john _
> *agree i was thinking the same thing... xcant see any sign of a garden.. just snow... getting more monday i think... *


Yeah I here ya...we're suppose to get another foot or so this next week...winter isn't over in these neck of the woods....only gardening I do this time of year is found in magazines and seed catalogues.


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## memmurphy (Sep 18, 2003)

Greg,
Your soil looks great. I was looking at those Bronco tillers today at Lowes. They look like a nice unit. Not that I need one. Already have two old front tine tillers. One from each grandfather. The newer one has power reverse on it. I also like that feature. On smaller gardens saves the back and arms from some of the wrestling around.

Tommy has grown since your last picture. Is he still pestering his sister?  

It will be a while before any tilling gets done here. It was 10F Friday morning. The garden is a mixture of snow, mud and partially frozen yet. 

Mark


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## Fusion1970 (Feb 23, 2004)

I did manage to get some work done on my little herb garden (3' x 9' or so) on a warm day about a week and a half ago. I am planning a small vegetable garden this season which I have never done. Should be interesting!

I don't have a tiller, but can use my grandfathers. Ive got basically til mid May before I can start planting, so it's not pressing, but once I start on it I will post a few pics.

Looks good Greg! C'mon Spring!
Greg


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## Greg (Sep 16, 2003)

mark,

Thanks. I got the Super Bronco at my JD/AG dealer. The "super" had 1" bigger tires, the engine guard, and a 6.5hp B&S Intek engine for $100 over the regular Bronco. The guard itself was $76 so the Super was a better deal. It really tills nice. 

What brand are your tillers? Any details...pics...stories? There are arguments about front vs mid vs rear tillers but I think whatever you have or works for you is what's important. 

Tommy has gained about 15 - 20 lbs and grown longer and taller for sure. He doesn't give Duskin as much pain and suffering as he used to. I think he is mellowing with age... like his old man:furious: :furious: Besides, Duskin has been getting in his face if he gets anywhere near her food. That's a recent development.:truth: 

Supposed to be 60 tomorrow but turn sour to the low 50's and rain (first in soooo long) next week. Dang! 

Greg,

How are Herbs coming along? Saw your post with the pics of your H garden. Nice. What veggies are you planning on for your other garden? How big?


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## Ingersoll444 (Sep 17, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Argee _
> *Yeah I here ya...we're suppose to get another foot or so this next week...winter isn't over in these neck of the woods....only gardening I do this time of year is found in magazines and seed catalogues. *


WOW thats a lot of snow.

Never got to much this year. Still have most of the ground coverd, but not much, a few inches. Ground is WAY frozen. Been a REAL cold year. They say we have a big one comeing tomarrow. The last few "big ones" have petered out, so I hope this one does likewise.

As for garden? May pas on one this year. Last year was a bust. Put WAY to much time into it, and got almost nothing usefull out of it. Probably just sencond year blues. The year before, the first at my new house, the garden did AWSOME!!! May just give it a rest, and spend the year amending the soil.


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## memmurphy (Sep 18, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Greg _
> *mark,
> What brand are your tillers? Any details...pics...stories? There are arguments about front vs mid vs rear tillers but I think whatever you have or works for you is what's important.
> *


Don't have any pictures of them. Their kind of buried under tractor attachments and all the other stuff packed inside for the winter. I'll get a picture when I get them out to till in a few weeks. I found the engine operating manual and sales receipt for the oldest one. I'm going to post it in the small engine area. It is a Sears, Roebuck and Co. David Bradley front tine with a B&S 4 cycle engine rated at 2.5 [email protected] rpm, originally purchased 3-10-1955. The original engine however is not currently running. My grandfather had used a piece of plywood to make up for a loose drive belt. The wood became oil soaked and soft. Consequently one of the mounting tabs broke off the base of the engine from the strain of the bolts not being tight (which also allows the oil to run out). I bought another engine from a local guy that is several years older and put on it nearly 20 years ago. I still have the original engine and plan to make repairs somehow to the base or find a replacement base and re-mount it. I was thinking about trying some JB Weld on it as a last ditch effort to save the original base plate. The newer tiller is a Tru-Test with 5Hp. B&S engine, 70's vintage. They both have many hours on them. Time has taken it's toll. Had to make repairs to stress fractures on the handles of both of them. Kind of rough shape to look at but they still do a good job of digging. Especially the heavier newer one.

I don't know what I would buy for a new one. My area is small so a front tine works a little better. For now I'll just keep fixing my old friends.  

Mark


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## Michael (Sep 16, 2003)

Hey mod squad misfit, Nice garden you got going there, It looks good, I was out on my regrading project next to my 2nd driveway, moving a buch of dirt and making my mutant (Harley Davidson) neighbor all p.o.ed at me for getting dirt on the private road we live on. I guess the big rain is up for Tuesday


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## CatDaddy (May 30, 2004)

P.O.ed about dirt on the road? WTF!?!

Does he complain if clippings get on his property when you mow the grass too?


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## jodyand (Sep 16, 2003)

Hey Mark i have an old Rocket tiller that has the power reverse on it. Heres a picture of it.

<img src=http://www.tractorforum.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=81177>


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## jodyand (Sep 16, 2003)

Heres the side view of it.

<img src=http://www.tractorforum.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=81178>


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## memmurphy (Sep 18, 2003)

Jody,
Yours looks the same age and engine as my Tru-Test. The drive is different though. Mine is belt drive to a worm gear box. It has two powered drive pulleys on the engine. The reverse I believe is connected to the camshaft on it. Is that how they power the reverse on yours?

Mark


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## Michael (Sep 16, 2003)

> _Originally posted by CatDaddy _
> *P.O.ed about dirt on the road? WTF!?!
> 
> Does he complain if clippings get on his property when you mow the grass too? *


No the Clippings that get on the road he never said anything. He lives katycorner from my property and he was the leading reason folks here woted to install 3 speed bumps. He gets in Ford SuperDuty and by the time he is halfway down in front of my place he is doing at 40 MPH in a 20 MPH zone. He then is P.O.ed we decided on the bumps. 

He does get mad at the horse folks for not cleaning up the droppings that horses make on the road. I could care less. I do not own any horses but they have been here longer then he has.

He also throws parties and then has a bunch teenagers riding ATVs all over the neighborhood drinking beer and such until the cops busted him last year. Then he blames me for calling the cops and I was out of town with my wife, son and daughter-in-law at DisneyLand (for real)

I guess all neighborhoods have mutants and he is one.


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## Ingersoll444 (Sep 17, 2003)

Mark,

If your going to put the old motor on that tiller. I would not jurry jig it. You allready have a running one on it, if you want to bring it back to stock, and put the effert into it, I would just send the block out to be welded. Probably would not cost much. A pro can weld cast easly.


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## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

Greg,
Nice looking soil! You should have a great garden with soil like that! In my corner of PA we have about the same amount of beautiful top soil, but it is dispersed through out the county to fill in the spaces between our rocks. I use a 1980 Troy-Bilt Horse with the 7 HP cast iron Kohler. Anything smaller would bounce out of the ground. Not much tilling right now as my garden is covered with 2 week old snow that will be replenished today with another 12". It was 14 degrees F yesterday morning, only 20 F this morning. Our last frost free date is May 30, although we can gamble some years and get away with earlier planting.


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## jodyand (Sep 16, 2003)

> _Originally posted by memmurphy _
> *Jody,
> Yours looks the same age and engine as my Tru-Test. The drive is different though. Mine is belt drive to a worm gear box. It has two powered drive pulleys on the engine. The reverse I believe is connected to the camshaft on it. Is that how they power the reverse on yours?
> 
> Mark *


No when you move the t-handle to reverse it moves some pulleys around and that makes the tines go backward. It hard to explain i will get some pictures and then you might understand a little better then i can try and explain it.


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## Fusion1970 (Feb 23, 2004)

Sorry...I have overlooked this post for a couple days. I wish I knew as much about gardening as many of you.

Greg- Thanks for the compliment. I havent started anything yet this year, but should in the next couple weeks. I somehow have had good luck with herbs, which many I start from seed. With planning a small garden this year, I might have to buy alot of my herbs. Just too time consuming. At one time last year, I had over 250 plants that many always seemed to need transplanting. I had them in the garage, laundry room, and pantry. Some died, some was given away, and the rest were planted.

Projected list-
Herbs- sweet basil, tarragon, oregano, triple curl parsley, rosemary, garlic, and a whole bunch of jalapeno and cayenne.

Garden- carrots, lettuce, beans, tomatoes, and possibly strawberries, onions, and cucumbers. As for size, Im thinking something like 10' x 20' at the biggest. I am totally new to veggy gardening, so it should be pretty wild. I will be needing some help and advice! Just lettin' ya know ahead of time!

What is everyone else planting?

Greg


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## memmurphy (Sep 18, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Fusion1970 _
> *
> What is everyone else planting?
> 
> Greg *


Onions, lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, radishes and turnips in the fall are my mainstays. Pickles every couple of years. I had muskmelon last year and gave many away. I'm thinking of potatoes this year in place of the melons. I eat more potatoes than anything else.

My plot is roughly 20'x20'. Hard to walk through when everything is growing but that helps keep the weeds down.

Mark


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