Garden tiller suggestions

[Baucom]

2 pts come to mind when reading this thread: 1) for those recommending a 3 pt tiller for the tractor--even if he puts a tiller on the tractor, he will still have a lot of use for a walk behind tiller once the garden is planted. The walk behind will do everything the tractor mounted tiller will do (just slower), but the 3 pt tiller won't do everything the walk behind will do (like cultivating between rows). 2) IMO if you are buying a tiller with unidirectional tines, buy one with FRT because it's more versatile (if you don't try to go too deep in one pass, FRT will bust sod just fine plus FRT mulches crop residue better than CRT). However, a dual rotation tiller would be much better as it has CRT for sod busting (still don't go too deep in 1 pass) and FRT for cultivating and mulching crop residue.

CRT only tillers are basically good for sod busting and don't really excel at much else. They want to dig too deep for proper cultivating, and CRT just pushes mulch/crop residue forward and piles it up behind the drive wheels.

 

[Nissan197]

I went with the Craftsman off of Craigslist. Couple of years old, but looks new. Still has the knobbies on the tires and no scratches on the paint. Was 60 degrees yesterday and took it out. Worked good for the 10 minutes I messed with it. Back to 18 degrees today so will have to wait a couple of months before taking it out again. I think it will work great for my applications. Running between rows was one of the big things I needed one for.

 

[LBrown59]

2 pts come to mind when reading this thread: 1) for those recommending a 3 pt tiller for the tractor--even if he puts a tiller on the tractor, he will still have a lot of use for a walk behind tiller once the garden is planted. The walk behind will do everything the tractor mounted tiller will do (just slower), but the 3 pt tiller won't do everything the walk behind will do (like cultivating between rows). 2) IMO if you are buying a tiller with unidirectional tines, buy one with FRT because it's more versatile (if you don't try to go too deep in one pass, FRT will bust sod just fine plus FRT mulches crop residue better than CRT). However, a dual rotation tiller would be much better as it has CRT for sod busting (still don't go too deep in 1 pass) and FRT for cultivating and mulching crop residue.

CRT only tillers are basically good for sod busting and don't really excel at much else. They want to dig too deep for proper cultivating, and CRT just pushes mulch/crop residue forward and piles it up behind the drive wheels.

Tilling gardens isn't the only thing a tiller can do.
Here I am using it to do lansscaping/grading task.

PS
I have never used this tiller to till a garden with.

 

[Baucom]

Tilling gardens isn't the only thing a tiller can do.
Here I am using it to do lansscaping/grading task.

PS
I have never used this tiller to till a garden with.

Tilling gardens isn't all a tiller can be used for, however the OP's question specifically pertained to use in a garden. Your situation is different since you have never used your tiller to till a garden (unlike the OP's situation). I stand by my statement 100% that if someone only has 1 tiller they are better off with a walk behind since you can't shrink a 3 pt tiller to fit in small spaces (like between rows in a garden).

In time the OP will likely add a 3 pt tiller for his tractor, and then will have the best of both worlds. Until then, he has the most versatile option.

Congrats to the OP on your purchase. That Craftsman is made by AYP (makes Husqvarna) and used and maintained properly will give you many years of service. Enjoy, you got the machine that best fit your needs.

 

[2manyrocks]

Congratulations. Give us a rundown on how you like your tiller after you use it.

 

[1972SprintConvertible]

I have a 80' by 80' garden and I use three tillers and love all three. A 48" bush hog 3 point a craftsman 17" dual rotation and a 10" and they all work great.