The mid-tine tiller has been the reliable workhorse of market gardeners and vegetable growers everywhere for many years, offering robustly dependable performance and making tough cultivation work significantly less taxing in the process. As such the mid-tine tiller is probably the most instantly recognisable form of rotovator around and the machine that we associate most closely with soil preparation. For the majority of manufacturers the basic style of these machines has changed relatively little over the years, with powerful petrol engines used to drive heavy duty tines designed to ready compacted earth for planting. Yet technological innovations and a range of accessories mean that mid-tine tillers are now more practical and versatile than ever.
Any dedicated gardener or allotment society would therefore do well to consider the benefits afforded by tiller ownership, especially if they have large vegetable patches to tend. However, there is in fact quite a variety of machines available for the discerning horticulturalist, so it is important to pick a machine suited to the ground which you will be working. For those who require manoeuvrability and precision in addition to powerful all-round tilling performance, for example, we recommend one of the more compact machines in our range, all of which will happily deal with compacted soil while also handling well enough to enable weeding between existing rows of crops.
Beyond this the basic rule of thumb to follow is as follows; the larger the cultivator, the more suited it is to working on larger plots of earth. Our range, however, includes machines of all sizes made by some of the world’s leading manufacturers, so whatever the dimensions of your garden, smallholding or allotment we should be able to sort you out with something to take the blood, sweat and tears out of tough soil cultivation work. Many tillers are also designed to be impressively flexible, with features such as detachable tines, multi-speed gearboxes, differential steering and reversible handlebars allowing you to quickly adapt your machine’s performance to suit the job at hand.
For even greater versatility, however, some machines can also be accessorised with a number of optional attachments. These are designed to complement your tiller’s primary function, with tools such as ridgers, ploughs and potato lifters allowing you to use your machine for a variety of soil cultivation processes. This ensures that even large plots of land can be worked as effectively and efficiently as possible, while also making certain that the growing conditions in your vegetable patches are perfect for whatever you might be planting.