troy bilt question?

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I found used hiller-furow maker for $20 at a small engine repair shop. I put it on the tiller and tried it and it did not seem to do the great things everyone says it does. Should i take it off until the garden is really tilled and loose? Do you really like it to make the raised beds? My tiller is really old and used. How do i know when the tines need to be replaced?

-- randy in central missouri (rwybrant@coin.org), March 14, 2002

Answers

Randy,

You do need to have the garden worked up pretty well before the hiller-furrower will do the best job. I use mine mainly for potatoes. I take off the hiller wings to make the trench to plant them in and then put the wings back on to hill them as needed. It takes a bit of practice to learn how far from the plants to run the tiller to hill them properly, but once you get used to it it works great. Lots faster than doing it by hand. I find that the attachment works best with the wings adjusted to their highest position. I haven't used it to make raised beds but I don't see why it wouldn't work. It doesn't move enough soil to make a really high or wide bed, but I'm guessing you could probably move enough soil to make a 2 - 2 1/2 foot wide bed 4-5 inches high after the top is raked level.

If the tines on your Troy-built are worn so that they are pointed on the ends instead of squared off, they need to be replaced. A new set of tines will cost you roughly $100. It'n not a really hard job to replace them. It's covered quite well in the owner's manual.

-- Murray in ME (lkdmfarm@megalink.net), March 14, 2002.


I use mine to make raised beds and as mentioned it doesn't really make them that high, but high enough to do the job needed. The best thing I like about it is when you make rows(with a little practice), it really makes a straight row. I usually pass over my rows two or three times to make perfect looking rows, and then I plant in the raised beds in between the rows.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), March 14, 2002.

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