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Check the level of the oil in your engine after every one-half hour of operation. . C- -- ■ Photo 4-27: Tilling on a moderate slope. (Don’t till on steep ground.) 37 »©ration Terrace Gardening If a slope is too steep or not long enough for vertical tilling, it may be necessary to till across the slope and create terraced rows. Terraces are rows that are cut into the side of a slope, creating a narrow, but flat area on which to plant. On a long slope, you can make several terraces, one below the other on the slope. IMPORTANT: Do not till across a slope without creating terraces. Simply tilling across the slope and leaving unterraced rows on the slope creates hazardous footing for you, and invites soil erosion. When you will be making rows across a slope, be sure they are terraced rows. Terraces should be made about two-to-three feet wide. This will allow one or two rows of plants on the terrace, and allow enough room to till under crop residues. However, with a terrace this wide there may not be enough room for cultivating. Hint: If you make terraces too wide, you’ll be digging far into the hillside, exposing poor subsoil in which plants will not be their most productive. Move the belt into LOW belt range and the Wheel Speed Gear Lever to SLOW position. Start to terrace at the top of the slope. Go all the way across the slope several times until the first terrace is made. See Figure 4-28 and Photo 4-29. As you work down the slope, always keep the uphill wheel in the soft, newly tilled soil. Each suc- UPHILl LEAVE 12 INCHES UNTILLED 4 REPEAT PROCEDURE i DOWNHILL Figure 4-28: How to make a terrace in just 4 or 5 passes with the tiller. ceeding terraced area is started by walking below the terrace you are preparing. In four or five passes, the tiller can carve out a flat and wide enough terrace for planting. Don’t till the last 12-inches (leave at least that much soil untilled ) of the downhill outside edge of each terrace. Keeping this strip untilled helps prevents your terraces from breaking apart and washing downhill. This untilled strip also gives you a walking path between terraces. Photo 4-29: Make a terrace in just 4 or 5 passes with the tiller. Soil Enrichment Idea Trench Composting — Trench composting is easy with the optional Hiller-Furrower Attachment (see Section 5). Just dig a trench, put in all kinds of organic matter, and cover with soil. Earthworms and microbes will break it down quickly. Tilling Across Slopes Without Terraces Tilling across a slope without forming terraces is not recommended. Of course it can be done, but do study your terrain carefully and try to avoid going across a slope without making terraces. See if it isn’t possible to till vertically up and down the slope or, as a second option, to create terraces. Again, you should make certain that the slope is not too steep to till on at all. If it’s safe, you can begin making unterraced passes across the slope by starting at the very top of the slope. Make your second pass by overlapping half the width of the first pass. Always keep the uphill wheel in the soft, newly tilled soil. This will increase the stability of the tiller. For best results, move the belt into LOW belt range and the Wheel Speed Gear Lever into the SLOW position. 38 SPECIAL TROY-BILT GARDENING TECHNIQUE— Making Raised Beds For Planting If you have wet soil or heavy clay soil, most crops won’t grow well due to a lack of air and nutrients. Raised beds can help solve these problems. In addition, they provide a good irrigation system, give more sun to the plants, and foster good root growth. Raised beds are easily made too with the optional Hiller-Furrower attachment. You can even try wide-row planting on raised beds. Wide rows can be spaced from 30 inches to 36 inches apart, and from 8 inches to 10 inches high. Photos 4-30 through 4-33 at right show you the steps to take to create raised beds. After working the soil to a fine seedbed, attach your Hiller-Furrower and use it to make your rows. The hiller wings will raise up the soil, creating the foundation for the raised beds. After you plant seeds on the ridges of each row, rake the ridges flat. Then use the tiller with the fur-rower to make irrigation trenches at the end of each row. Photo 4-30: Step 1 — Work soil to a deep, smooth, loose seedbed. *7 Photo 4-32: Step 3 — After planting seeds on the ridges, rake loose soil over the top. Firm the soil per seed directions. Photo 4-31: Step 2 — Put row marker stakes at proper intervals. Attach Hiller-Furrower to make rows. «¿¡y**** fee 'X-Ji Photo 4-33: Step 4 — Use furrower blade attachment to make irrigation trenches at the ends of each row. SPECIAL TROY-BILT GARDENING TECHNIQUE— Wide-Row Planting Wide-row planting is a very productive gardening technique we suggest you try. As the name implies, seeds are broadcast in bands anywhere from 10 inches to 2 feet wide or more, rather than in traditional, narrow single rows. As a result...

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