Going to use Tiller - Any precaution?

Hi There,

I am a beginner, and I am going to use tiller (small one for front yard garden) for the first time.

I want to plant few annuals/perennials in our front yard. Since its all clay underneath, I thought its better to till before planting these plants.

I am concerned that it might rupture any cable/sewage etc underneath the yard.

Is there any precaution I need to take? Your suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

Most of your cables, pipes etc, are buried more than a foot or two underground. A small tiller will not till more than 3 to 6 inches when set properly. You shouldn't have to worry about the major lines.

However, do take care where you have your light post. Usually there is a place on the exterior of your house where you may have a electrical box, with a conduit heading underground. That may not have been buried as deep as you would like, so I would do anything around your light post very carefully.

 

Thank you very much Neil.

 

Good luck getting a tiller into this clay. I tried one of those mantis tillers and it just would not dig into the ground at all. You really need one of those heavy duty tillers that have a lot of weight on top to dig in. I had even soaked the ground well before attempting it. The tiller would just not go into the clay and not to mention the Rocks that it was kicking up. I recommend getting some shin guards like you would use for soccer

The larger the tiller you can find the better.

 

Throw some gypsum down first before you start tilling, it'll make things easier (not a quick fix).

 

I like "the claw" it breaks it up pretty well. But, it's not a power tool.

 

If you have cable, watch for the coax. It is usually, just underneath the sod. No real danger, other than from family members who will be without TV until it is repaired.

On another note, I've had great success using a Mantas Tiller. Even with this ground. A very impressive piece of equipment.

 

FWIW ... in Broadlands North (at least on Marsh Creek), they brought in coax along with the phone, electric and gas lines. So it should be buried deep enough.

 

Tillers can be tough to control. Even the mid-size versions you rent at Home Depot will bounce around a lot (because of the clay as stated above).

I recommend playing it safe by calling Miss Utility ahead of time--you'll never know where your phone and cable lines are without it.

 

I didn't know there is such a service called "Miss Utility"...

Also its free. I will call them right away.

Thank you all.