[sirpsycho]

With the recent dry spell my new allotment is turning out to be a tough one to get the soil broken down by hand / fork. I'm thinking of hiring out a rotovator for a day to run over it and start making some beds. I've never used one before so looking for advice please! Will it break the soil down a lot so that I can start making beds? I assume it depends on the number of passes and the power of the rotovator. I'm looking at hiring an 8hp rovovator (only one they seem to have). My plot is about 120sq metres but I have already hand dug a small bit of it.

[breezyacre]

In my limited experience of using a rotovator you really have to have the ground turned by hand first. I do not think it will cut its way into hard unturned earth

[sirpsycho]

sorry, i forgot to mention it was rotovated before I bought it but i dont know when exactly. so it wouldnt be "hard unturn earth", just hard turned earth I suppose

[blagadan]

Prepare yourself for a couple of days recovery afterwards!! Rotavators can be really tough on the arms and back.

I've used rotavators quite a bit over the years, most recently about 2 weeks ago. They can till hard unturned earth but it takes time. I churned up 20 sq mtrs of sod recently. It wasn't impossible but it did take time and effort.
But you say the ground was tilled before so it should not be a big deal. Just watch out for big rocks that can grab the machine from you. As you unearth them, pick them and stock pile them. Dont hold on to the handlebars so tight and let the machine skip about a bit.... let it do the work and dont try to fight it.
I usually make several passes instead of one big run... It makes it a bit easier.
You'll develop your own technique after you get the hang of it. 1000 times better than hand digging with a fork for sure!!!

[Annamoe99]

I have just spent the weekend rotovating 9 plots (each 100m2) twice each. My arms and back are fairly sore after all that but if you are rotovating 120m2 of previously tilled soil, I don't think you have too much to worry about. You will do that plot three times in about 1 hour and the soil should be very fine by then. I agree with everything blagadan says though - the stones can make it jump around a bit. If you can, get someone to help you as the rotovator is difficult to turn a sharp corner quickly. Get your buddy to walk beside it and give it a pull around when you get to the corner. Don't let him walk in front though as the rotovator can "take off" a bit if the tines get caught on a big stone or piece of timber in the ground. Also if the plot is on a hill, it can be difficult to keep it on a straight line as the weight of the rotovator will tend to make it slide sideways down the hill in the tilled soil. Good luck!

[sirpsycho]

Thanks for the comments! Annamoe99 - you sound like an animal with rotavators!! I'm building up a picture in my head of what to expect now... especially the bits about the rocks and turning corners....don't wanna end up going through the fence into one of my neighbours!

One other question though, how deep do they dig into the ground?

[michael brenock]

if at all possible do not use the rotavator for a number of reasons, spreading roots of perennial weeds, damaging soil structure danger of stones and if it rains afterwards and then dries it will set like concrete and will not dry out properly. use a spade or fork and prepare a small area properly as required. i used a rotavator nearly 40 years ago, got rid of it and am digging ever since. As for depth a rotavator will go as deep as you wish by holding it back but a depth of 10-12 inches (25 -30cms) is usually sufficient

[sirpsycho]

cheers for your comments michael brenock. i've hand dug a few areas on my plot but i just wont have enough time to get the rest of the areas dug out and plant my stuff. after i rotavate, would covering some of the areas with plastic/fleech prevent the problems you described after rain?

[blagadan]