Avoid Tilling Wet, Soggy Soil; Avoid Making Footprints; Suggested Tilling Patterns - Troy-Bilt 682 Operator's Manual

Avoid Tilling Wet, Soggy Soil

• Tilling wet soil often results in large, hard clumps of soil
that can interfere with planting. If time permits, wait
a day or two after heavy rains to allow the soil to dry
before tilling. Test the soil by squeezing it into a ball. If it
compresses too easily, it is too wet to till.

Avoid Making Footprints

• When possible, walk on the untilled side of the tiller to
avoid making footprints in the freshly tilled soil. See FIg.
4-3. Footprints cause soil compaction that can hamper root
penetration and contribute to soil erosion. They can also
"plant" unwanted weed seeds back into the newly tilled
soil.

Suggested Tilling Patterns

• When preparing a seedbed, go over the same path twice in
the first row, then overlap one-half the tiller width on the
rest of the passes. See Fig. 4-11.
Figure 4-11
• When finished in one direction, make a second pass at
a right angle . See Fig. 4-12. Overlap each pass for best
results. In very hard ground it may take three or four passes
to thoroughly pulverize the soil.
Figure 4-12
• If the garden size will not permit lengthwise and then
crosswise tilling, then overlap the first passes by onehalf a
tiller width, followed by successive passes at one-quarter
width. See Fig. 4-13.
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3
Figure 4-13
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