MTD 250 Series - Manual (Page 11)

Cultivating
For cultivating, a two to three inch depth is desirable. With the
outer tines installed, the working width of the machine is 22 or
24 inches.
For cultivation, the tine width can be reduced to 13 inches by
removing the outer tines, refer to the Adjustment Section. When
laying out plant rows, be sure to allow enough width to permit
cultivation between the rows. In growing corn or similar crops,
check-row planting will permit cross cultivation and practically
eliminate hand hoeing, Fig. 5-2.
The tiller has many uses other than tilling and cultivating a
garden. One of these is the preparation of lawn area for seeding.
The tiller will prepare a deep seed bed which will be free of hard
untilled spots, allowing a better stand of grass to grow. The tiller
is very useful for loosening hard soil for excavation with a shovel;
No tedious handwork will be necessary. Your tiller may be used
for mixing compost in the pile or for mixing it with the soil in
your garden. This should be done after the soil has been broken
to the full working depth. The compost should be worked in
to a depth of six to seven inches. This may be done by working
the length of the garden and then by making separate passes
across its width. The addition of decayed organic matter will
substantially increase the fertility of your garden. For proper
decaying action, fertilizer should be applied and worked in with
the mulch materials. Breaking up leaves and straw and mixing
it with several inches of soil allows proper aeration of the plant
root system and retards the growth of weeds.
Figure 5-2
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