Hey Roe,

I think the price answers your question. You're not gonna come close to a new tiller that will till a plot 100 by 200 (nearly a half acre) feet on a yearly basis and will last past three years for 900 bucks, especially in hard clay. The 3 year warranty is only for homeowner use and will go right out the window as soon as you mention commercial use, which is what you're asking of it.

Besides, after a warranty nightmare with Sears on a riding lawn mower, I'll not buy so much as a wrench from them. But that's another story.

I'd be looking at a "walk behind tractor" like a Grillo, BCS, Ferrari, Goldoni. My machine is a BCS 850 and I love it. That, or a garden tractor with 36 inch rear tiller. Either way, you're looking at a price range of $2500 to $10k. It's a lot of money, but it'll save you a LOT of aggravation in the long run. If the price holds you back and your or someone you know is mechanically inclined, prowl Craigslist for a good, used machine.

Good luck. I think community gardens are great and wish there were a lot more out there.

Bill

I'd consider contracting out the beginning of season till and then using a good tiller for maintenance type work. You might want to consider amending the soil with the next till to get the earth in better shape. You may spend a couple grand amending but all will be better off in the end.

A heavy tiller like the ones farmerboybill lists would be nice but I imagine it would be well out of the price range for community gardeners.

To me, this isn't a difficult decision. If every plot user had to go and rent a tiller in the spring, he'd spend $40.00 for the "one-time" privilage. So....how about having each plot owner throw that $40.00 into the hat so the group can buy one of the machines that farmerboybill suggested?

That's a one-time expenditure to buy a machine that will last many years. From that point, every plot owner should pay another $10.00 per year to use this tiller. The group keeps the tiller for two seasons and then trades it in on a new one. The annual $10.00 fee will more than make up the cost difference between the trade-in value and the new machine price. The above fees are a small cost in order to have access to a first-class rototiller whenever you need it. The people running the garden should just make the fee a mandatory condition for everyone wishing to have the use of a plot. End of story.

Machines in the $1000.00 and under category are meant for light duty use by the average homeowner that will put less than ten hours on it per season. Buying one of those would be a huge mistake. When planting time comes around, everyone is going to want to break ground and that means the community needs to have a machine that is built to withstand constant use in tough conditions. If you're the one that recommends buying a light-duty unit and it constantly breaks down, then I pity you.

Having 100 very annoyed plot users making nasty comments because they can't get their gardens started won't be a lot of fun. You also want a machine that will walk into a plot and get the job done very quickly with the least amount of stress and strain on whomever is operating it.

Find yourself a dealer that sells one of the machines that farmerboybill suggested and then get yourself over there to discover how heavy-duty tillers are constructed and why they're the cheapest choice in the long-haul. You might want to consider one with a diesel engine on it.

Hey Roe,

Masiman has a good idea in contracting it done and having a cheaper machine for use throughout the year, but I would still get a BCS, just a smaller one like a 722. For $2500, you'll have a machine capable of running an 20 to 26 inch tiller (The 26 inch changes to a 20 inch with 18 bolts). You can buy extra attachments as you go along to make it a better value - sickle mower, brush mower, snow blower, and chipper. It won't be as capable as a $4000 853 with tiller, but it will work circles around any MTD model, including the current offerings from Troy-bilt.

The only thing I worry about is how much it's gonna cost for the contract tilling work. If it costs 500 bucks to have someone come in with a tractor and tiller, that money could be a big down payment on a bigger BCS. In 5 years, you've payed for a 722 (in 6 1/2, a 732, in 10, an 853) and you have no equipment to show for it.

I agree with most of what Kompressor says as well, except the trade-in every two years. These machines are made to last forever. You can expect at least 5 years of hard use maintenance-free (only oil changes). If it's kept out of the weather and well maintained, it'll last decades with little maintenance costs and little depreciation in value. I bought my 15 year old BCS 850 from a rental fleet. It lasted 15 years in a RENTAL fleet and will still last me the rest of my life. If you do want to trade to eliminate maintenance costs altogether or keep up with the Joneses, a better time would be after you wear out the third or fourth set of tines (which might be two years in hard, rocky clay on a half acre).

A lot of choices, all of which have big costs and potential downfalls. The worst of it is that if the costs to the members get too high, you start to lose them. You could buy everyone a shovel and tell them to double-dig :-) 'Course then you'll lose 'em for another reason, "Work? you want me to work?!?"

Good luck. In the end, the hard decisions are worth making when the harvest comes.

farmerboybill and I are essentially on the same page. I know that these machines will last many years but here's my reasoning behind my two-year turnover suggestion.

No matter how well made something is, sooner or later something will break. In this instance, you have 100 different potential users of this machine. Some will be more skilled with machinery than others. The warranty period on a BCS tiller is not mentioned but I'm sure that it would be at least one year.

A two-year old machine that is looked after should have a very high trade-in value at the dealer. The annual fee of $10.00 per plot user is chump change to have the use of a high quality tiller like the BCS. Anyone who refuses to pay such a paltry sum isn't really into gardening all that much and certainly doesn't realize what a bargain they are getting.

Flipping the machine every two years gives the members a new machine that is totally under warranty. If something bad happened during planting season, then a good dealer would provide a loaner unit while the tiller was being repaired. Parts availability would never be a problem because the machine is always current. Those that use the machine are more likely to be more respectful of new equipment than they would be of older, well-used tillers.
The whole purpose behind having a community-owned tiller is one of convenience. Buying a new tiller every second year is one way of insuring that the community has a trouble-free tiller that is always available for use for the next two years along with full dealer support.

Bottom line... the annual $10.00 fee gives the community the luxury of being able to flip this tiller every two years without even discussing it. Any surplus of funds could be used to buy a larger model or one with electric start. Perhaps other attachments would be beneficial. Aside from BCS tillers, the community might also desire a Mantis tiller to control weeds and do "spot tilling" of small areas.

Creating this separate pool of money that is strictly for outdoor power equipment will allow the community to have everything they need, on hand, and in first-class condition at all times.

You guys have given me some great ideas to think about but...if the gardeners have already tilled and amended plots, wouldn't seasonal maintenance be very easy? We live in zone 23/24 so we can garden and maintain plots year round. I'm thinking of how some of the elderly gardeners and petite gardeners can't handle a rear tine monster. More comments please-I'm glad to be learning.

Front tine tillers will give any able-bodied person a real workout in tough soil conditions. Even in loose soil it takes a fair bit of muscle to control it because they are light in weight compared to a rear tine and whatever weight they do have is concentrated on the spinning tines.

Therefore, you have to put a lot of body input into a front-tine unit and I wouldn't recommend one of those for your operation. There are a few mid-tine tillers around. Honda makes a great mid-tine unit but that too takes a certain amount of muscle to control it.

The beauty of the rear-tine models is the power driven tractor wheels and the multi-speed transmission. The tiller is pretty much balanced over the wheels, therefore you don't have to fight with the tiller to move it from location to location. I'm not going to tell you that any one of these tillers can be handled by some 90 pound woman or someone who is frail. Just so you know, I'll be 65 shortly and I have no problem running and controlling my rear-tine Honda tiller. I've owned front tine and mid-tine models and I would never go back to either of them, especially the front-tine.

If some of the plot owners are incapable of handling a rear-tine tiller, then they're incapable of handling ANY tiller. Therefore, they're going to have to depend on the generosity of fellow gardeners to supply the needed labour to till their plot. A tiller is essential no matter what the soil conditions are. A gardener who is not adding compost or other organic matter to their garden every year is making a huge mistake.

You cannot keep pulling nutrient from the earth year after year and not put nutrient back in. Sheep, cow, horse, pig, duck, chicken manures, dead leaves, grass clippings, shredded newsprint, straw, old hay etc are all items that can be added whenever the current crop has been harvested. Any of these items can be laid down two inches thick and then thoroughly tilled in before repeating the process with any of the other ammendments.

The fact that you live in an area where year-round gardening is possible is all the more reason to have a tiller because unlike northern gardens, your garden never gets a rest nor does it see snow that can add nitrogen to the soil. BCS makes several sizes of tillers. You need to go and talk to a dealer and get his advice as to which model would best suit the size of plots.

There is a bit of a learning curve to using any piece of outdoor power equipment and tillers are no exception. Most people have no problem mastering tiller use but everyone needs to be TRAINED in advance on how to use the tiller safely. IMHO, the rear tine models are the safest to use because they have the powered wheels. If you haven't been exposed to one, then find a dealer and get a demonstration.