Troy-Bilt 12087 Owner's/Operator's Manual page 39

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Operation
SPECIAL TROY-BILT GARDENING TECHNIQUE- Making Raised Beds For Planting
If you have wet soil or heavy
clay soil, most crops won't grow
well due to a lack of air and nutri-
ents. Raised beds can help solve
these problems. In addition, they
provide a good irrigation system,
give more sun to the plants, and
foster good root growth. Raised
beds are easily made too with the
optional Hiller-Furrower attach-
ment.
You can even try wide-row
planting on raised beds. Wide
rows can be spaced from 30 inches
to 36 inches apart, and from 8
inches to 10 inches high.
Photos 4-30 through 4-33 at
right show you the steps to take to
create raised beds. After working
the soil to a fine seedbed, attach
your Hiller-Furrower and use it to
make your rows. The hiller wings
will raise up the soil, creating the
foundation for the raised beds.
After you plant seeds on the ridges
of each row, rake the ridges flat.
Then use the tiller with the fur-
rower to make irrigation trenches
at the end of each row.
Photo 4-30: Step 1 - Work soil to
a
deep, smooth, loose seedbed.
Photo 4-32: Step 3 - After planting
seeds on the ridges, rake loose soil
over the top. Firm the soil per seed
directions.
Photo 4-31: Step 2 - Put row mark-
er stakes at proper intervals. At-
tach Hiller-Furrower to make rows.
Photo 4-33: Step 4 - Use furrower
blade attachment to make irrigation
trenches at the ends of each row.
SPECIAL TROY-BILT GARDENING TECHNIQUE- Wide-Row Planting
Wide-row planting is a very productive gardening
technique we suggest you try. As the name implies,
seeds are broadcast in bands anywhere from 10 inches
to 2 feet wide or more, rather than in traditional, nar-
row single rows. As a result, you'll typically grow
anywhere from 3 to 4 times (or more) produce in the
same space normally set aside for an area that has nar-
row, single rows.
Wide-row planting (see photos at right) automati-
cally shades the ground which keeps weed growth
down and also holds moisture in the soil. And of
course, harvesting is much easier - everything is right
at hand to be picked. Preparing wide rows is easy -
after you prepare the seedbed and mark off the rows
with string, just hand-broadcast the seeds as seeding a
lawn (not quite as much as lawn seed). Cover with
soil and tamp the area firmly with a hoe.
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Photo 4-34:
Wide-row
, planting on
the right com-
pared to sin-
gle-row plant-
ing on the left.
Photo 4-35:
After prepar-
ing seedbed,
mark off the
row area as
wide as you
want, up to 4-
feet across.