About 10-12 years ago I bought a Mantis tiller, and I absolutely loved it. It was without a doubt the best gardening purchase I've ever made.

Then last year the thing just wouldn't start. I had several mechanics look at it and bought a few replacement parts (very spendy with shipping) but the mechanics still couldn't fix it.

So I bought a new Mantis and it's okay, but not anywhere near as good as my old one. I plan to send my old one back to the Mantis company to see if they can repair it.

Last year my sister bought a little Sears tiller, but didn't like it. She returned it to the store and bought a new Mantis, which absolutely loves. (She didn't have an old Mantis to compare it to).

So that's my best digging advice. :)

I also have a mantis and love it, but for tilling up large areas it's a little deficient. My mom uses a rear tine self propelled troy-built that works pretty darn nice for her 1/2 acre garden. It's no good for working up compacted ground or lawn though. You'd want a front/center tine for that, but while those center/front tine tillers are good at tearing up ground they also take a strong back and muscle to do what you want. Could you maybe rent a tractor with a rototiller attachment? You could till up all of your beds with just a couple house worth of work. My dad got one a couple years ago and they work very well. I bet you could rent a piece of equipment like that a for a few hours once a year for 15-20 years for the cost of a descent tiller.

Can you find someone to till it for you? I usually till my neighbors garden while I have my tiller attached to my tractor. Like Jeremy said, using a tiller on a tractor is quick and easy work. If there is a farmer in the area that has a tiller he/she would probably not charge you much. The added benefit is that a good tractor tiller can go down >12" and breaks up dirt and mixes it very well.

Since your soil is now in fairly decent condition there should be no good reason that you need to till anymore. Just plunk yor orgnaic matter on the soils surface as a mulch and the soil bacteria should work it in for you,and far better than you ever could mechanically.
One thing I don't understand is while you find tilling soil difficult apparently digging a trench is not a problem?

Hmmm, I would start researching lasagna gardening;

http://ourgardengang.tripod.com/lasagna_gardening.htm

The Ruth Stout method;

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2004-02-01/Ruth-Stouts-System.aspx

(You may be able to find her books at your local library)

And check out an earlier thread called BUG JUICE on this forum. See link below. In that thread are other links you might want to follow..on beneficial organisms, feeding the soil, etc.

Hope this helps!

I never want to use a tiller again...thus my interest.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bug juice

I agree 100% with Pennymca. I have fibromyalgia & can NOT dig at all. Sheet mulching(Ruth Stout style) & lasagna gardening are the way to go. Let the worms and bugs do it for you. I don't know what kinds of organic material are available to you, but get all you can, dump it, and kick it around. (I can't rake it out)Much easier on the old body.

You apparently have that gene that makes you need to till the soil. I don't have that one. I'm with kimmsr. Cover it with mulch and it will take care of itself.

We don't have your wind or dry air but we have not had any rain since about Sept of 07. We have to water the pile. I have some misting "sprinklers" that do a great job of keeping the pile moist but you can't have ANY wind when those are on. They make fog. You should be able to find those in your area. They would be used to cool large outdoor areas. There was a restaurant in Palm Desert years ago that used them on the sidewalk out front. In the summer it was easily 20 degrees cooler in front of that restaurant - felt like 20 degrees anyway. So you mount a few of those on your pile and they will keep it moist. Let them run for several days at a time.

In a previous garden I also dug in compost and let the worms do the work - they were very successful in turning heavy clay into good soil.

I'm too old (and hopefully too wise) to dig much with a shovel or a fork so am planning on doing a lot of sheet mulching this year on my new yard. Sure hoping it works well. I know the worms have been doing a fine job on the old part of the yard so maybe some of them will move over when I get all the goodies laid out for them.

I agree with finding someone to till this for you. Every year around here someone advertises they will til for a price. My clay soil is too rocky and full of tree roots to til, hence my plan to sheet mulch.

If the soil needs to be worked to loosen it, I would hire it out if I were in your situation. After the soil has been tilled, I would strive to keep the soil covered with mulch year-round to help it regain some life.

You'll need to so something about the caliche. Perhaps a lot of humic acid will loosen that. And you might want to plant a wind break to block the drying effect of the wind.

If I get the chance, I'm going to hunt up some burlap bags so that I can make a 'blanket' to use over 'interbay mulch'. This last year, I left my beds pretty much uncovered and I'd like to find a wind-proof way to keep them healthy through the winter. Sewing a bunch of burlap bags into a large blanket that I can use to cover raw compost and uncomposted OM over the winter ought to bring my beds to the next level.

idaho gardener,
You should be able to buy burlap by the roll at your local garden center or or by the yard at the fabric store. Watch for a coupon at the fabric store.

Thank you all for the many ideas. I do love to work the soil especially if I've seen an improvement by planting my little treasures of tea bags, celery trimmings, coffee grounds and filters. I have seen a pretty good amount of my soil turning healthier finally. I do think that I'm going to lay down some good stuff for the soil and indeed mulch it and let it do it's thing.

At Christmas kimmsr, I ran out planting all my treasures just before we were going to get rain. I throw caution to the wind when I want to get something done and just dig in an do it. Then I hobble back into the house, take my anti-inflammatory, step into a hot bath with epsom salts and don't move for an hour. Sometimes this will keep me out of pain and stiffness but not necessaryly. Yes I pay for any amount of outside work I do. I've also been caring for my male dalmatian who has lost the use of his back legs. I've had to do a lot of lifting of him which has been 65 lbs several times a day. I finally had to put him down in Jan. but now my female dal is having her problems with her legs and joints and relys on me to lift her rear to get her up on her legs or up on the couch. I'm continually having to bend over so much, it's really taking a toll.

David was the restuarant in Palm Desert the one that has the original 50's front? I think that one is called Birdies, it's the place to go for brunch on Sunday. The misting set ups are everywhere now and there are several DIY kits available and yup they do work.

I'm not on the end of town where people are growing crops. I have no farmers near by but there is a good supply of handymen for just about any chore. Of course I'm trying to do it all myself and not spend the money. Hopefully I can start building up the muscles in the back and knees. Since I put down the one dog, I'm beginning to realize greater freedom of time. I've been functioning as a caregiver since August and have not done a whole lot in the house either. I gotta put some time in on me now, it's time.

David was the restuarant in Palm Desert the one that has the original 50's front? I think that one is called Birdies,
Too long ago. It was on El Paseo on the south side of the street.