How big is the tiller, maybe you are going to fast. There are alot of variables to consider, maybe more info would help us to help you.

Dale

it is a yard machines 5 hp ohv. i borrowed it from my boss... some parts of the soil (i guess the soft parts) it just dug itself in and i couldnt get it to go anywhere.

Clay soils have been discussed in the Soil forum a few times, and you may find useful information there, or you may consider posting your question over there.

With my limited knowledge of clay, I'd say put the tiller up, and instead put down mulch, water it in well, and keep it moist to attract earthworms and other soil organisms. Eventually the soil will loosen up by the action of the soil critters. Not instantly, but given some time. However, I'm not at all familiar with desert conditions, so my advice may not be pertinent to your conditions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soil, compost, mulch forum

It's a front tine light weight model - hard to use on less than ideal soil and primarily intended for light weight tilling chores like weed control. You'll find discussions about it over on the Tool Shed Forum.

It is not intended for ground breaking. But it does have a depth adjustment on it so once the ground is well-broken you'll have to make several passes with it set on the shallow setting and then adjust the tines to go deeper on each subsequent pass.

Wetting the ground doesn't really help - just makes it muddy work and jams up the blades. Plus you end up with big hard clods of dirt once the soil dries.

So if you are breaking new ground this one will kill you before you get it done. Hire someone with a tractor to plow first and then polish the place up with this.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Tool Shed Forum

I agree with the tractor and plow. A tractor with a 3pt tiller would work as well. My garden was originally an old field that was mostly clay. After tilling to about 12" and adding a lot of composted manure I have some pretty good soil. It took 3 passes at different depths to get through my clay. I first tried it in the middle of the summer when the ground was very dry. That was a mistake. I found it to be a lot easier when the ground was somewhat damp, not wet, but damp. With this tiller I was able to turn it into some nice garden soil. I think it would have killed me to use a small tiller. Find a friend with a tractor!

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If you have rocky clay soil, it may not be the best for growing either vegetables or plants. Have you considered raised beds filled with good soil and compost? Making the raised beds should be easier than trying to break up hardpan with a small tiller! Also, the soil under the beds will benefit from the compost, and in a few years if you want to remove the beds, you will have a ready-made area for your plants.

sdshoars,

I think that you have been given two good options....plowing or tractor tilling and raised beds. Those who put down layers right off the bat seem very good intentioned but perhaps you are not ready yet to go whole hog in that direction as that requires a supply of organic materials and a bit of knowledge plus the desire to go that way.

How big is the garden you are tilling?

Macheske, you've got some big angles in that PTO shaft. It will take a heck of a beating driving a tiller. Hopefully it's a lot straighter when you're actually at tilling depth.

Sdshoars, some clay just can't be used for crops. Do weeds grow well in your clay? If so, you should be able to grow crops in it, especially if you improve it. If not, you probably need to import some good dirt and pile it on top, as marlingardener said. I've dealt with clay where the only thing that would cut through it was a tractor-mount ditch witch, very slowly. There is no point in trying to amend that stuff.

my area is only 18 ft by 14ft. i cant hire anyone, there is no one, i live in a town of 900 people. weeds grow well in the soil where there is water, i live in the desert. everyone around here grow a garden with minimal amendment to the soil, it is just rocky. i got a whole bunch o horse crap to till in there. i think my hubby is going to take a shot at it with the tiller when he gets back to town, he is much more inclined to do stuff like this, and much more stubborn than i am. i just hope he doesnt break the thing, i really dont want to buy a new one, haha. basically it is just a matter of aerating the soil as far as what everyone around here has told me.

Front tines? Sounds like you've got a "shake n bake" tiller. I've got one similar. It has some good advantages and some real disadvantages, especially the front tine part that shakes you to pieces.

First of all, don't try to till dry, hard ground, and second, don't try to till wet ground. Dry ground will get you nowhere, wet ground will make huge clods worse than not tilling at all.

If the ground is dry, sprinkle it a bit, then let it dry a couple days so that the ground is moist but not wet and the water you added has soaked down into the ground--you don't want a wet surface with dry underneath, just a dryish crust, then moist going down. This will be the best consistency to get the tiller into the ground. Then, you may have to make several passes. When the soil is tough, a real strong person can hold the tiller back and kind of let it slowly bounce forwards across the garden. Then go over a second time, but don't follow your tracks exactly as the tines will not have cut the soil down evenly and there will be underground ridges to loosen. If you haven't gotten very deep after 3 or 4 passes, you probably won't get any deeper with 50.

If the ground is really hard and you can get down 3 or 4 inches, stop with that. Work your composted manure into this and plant your garden. Even if the soil is loose later, you really don't need to till over 4 to 6 inches, and add organic matter--it isn't truly necessary, but it sure is helpful in keeping the ground loose and tillable in the future. Cover the walk rows with grass clippings in the summer, add well rotted manure when you work the ground each year. This will help keep the soil soft in the future so tilling won't be such a chore. As to the rocks, just pick and toss the large ones that the tiller bounces off of. Smaller, gravel sized ones can stay put. Good luck!

One last thought--depending where you are in Nevada, make sure the ground isn't still frozen--that is like trying to till cement. If you find ice crystals in the ground, wait another few days to a week.

its got rear tines. and the ground isnt frozen, we have a little weather station in town (about a mile away) that says the ground is steady around 50 degrees.

sdhoars, I also have a rear tine tiller, 17" width, 5.5 hp.
The ads you see on t.v. showing the person walking along behind or beside the tiller smiling with just one hand on it are misleading. You can do this IF your soil is soft and already been tilled well and you are only cultivating (the shallow settings). If you are tilling deep, trust me, you gotta push this baby along as the tires turn one way and the tines the opposite and you have to help the tires even things up.

Shot

Lilydude,
The picture must be misleading. The PTO shaft is almost perfectly horizontal when tilling. I have a hydraulic top link on it so I can easily adjust the depth as well. When tilling in hard clay it's like taking a Sunday drive, hardly any bumps. I've tilled a couple acres with it, without any problems. Cuts like warm butter. :)

Mac, nice setup... esp like the hydraulic top link. Mine is manual and if I do it from the seat, I always manage to pull a muscle... it's heck getting old :( - but considering the alternative...

Shot

It sounded like you had a front tine tiller. The rear tine ones are much easier on the driver--though you can't get as close to the edges with them and usually end up with a bit of a divet in each corner & have to level the soil back out with a rake.

To break the soil up, which can still be tough, you still need moist, not wet, soil. Run the tines backwards. If the tines are turning the same direction as the wheels, you will have the tines throwing the tiller and you all over the place. With the tines running backwards, the machine will go slower and not jump around as much. Still, the only thing is a couple passes on moist ground, and on hard ground you will still have to steer.

i till mine north to south the first pass, then east to west the second, then if needed north to south again. year before last we had to till the garden 6 times before breaking up the clay. my tiller does about 8" max, but after several passes i can work it deeper. let the tiller do the work, the more you try to influence it or help it along, the harder it will be on you.

the first time i used mine i tried to speed it up a little and all i did was wear myself out. after i quit fighting it i found out that letting it do the work was quicker and less tiresome. i can now do 3 passes in the time it used to take me to do one, and end up less worn out!

i now use a plow behind my GT to bust it up, then till that. MUCH easier on me since the tiller will drive itself and all i do is steer.