I am thinking about purchasing a small tiller - instead of renting a big one once in a while. Any brands or model suggestions?

The best advice I can give you is,, get a tiller with the blades in the back. I have had both kinds and the ones with the blades in the front bounce and pull you all over. the blades in the back push the tiller and you have less work to do. Mine has reverse on it also. If you are a female,and will be using it yourself, get one that you can handle, not too big. I bought mine at Farm and fleet. I love it.

I absolutely love my Mantis tiller. It does "buck" a bit, but ...

- Very light and easy to maneuver
- Good at peparing new ground ... it "spits" out rocks
- Great for cultivation
- Fantastic motor ... starts every time and runs like a champ

The Mantis is so simple and easy that it has become, for me, just another garden tool. A spade on steroids, perhaps.

Watch out if you get a tiller with the blades in back. If you are tilling close to a fence or barrier of any kind you can only get about 12 inches from the corners and they are a challenge to manipulate. Also they may not till as deeply as you might want. Check the depth carefully before buying. My husband rented one with the blades in back and he felt it was just as bumpy.

I agree with AceHybrid!! I bought my Mantis last summer and recently moved. Starting a new gardening spot was a changellage but with the Mantis it was easy. Yes it does buck some but does a good job at making seed beds. For small tillers it is diffently a good investment.

I have a mantis tiller too.. it works great at preparing new beds.. havent really used it for much else.. it tilled like a 10 x 4 area in 45-60 minutes and a larger area about 15 x 5, in about 80 minutes.. about 10 inches deep!

I am also looking forward to reversing the tines to cultivate my soil where i will plant some grass seed in front of my house and in parts of my yard just to lossen the top layers a little bit.. a great tool.. 300$..

I have the Gardener's Supply version of the Mantis tiller. Great size for little old me. The larger tiller I used at my parents just about shook my arms off. Makes a nice seed bed, tills in compost, digs new beds if there's no sod on top. My only complaint is that it's hard to start. Now my arms fall off pulling that darn cord!

kaytee

My husband surprised me with a huge rear-tined Husquevana tiller as a birthday gift, cost a couple grand. I used it once, scared me to death, MUCH too much machine for me to handle myself & I'm pretty strong for such a scrawney old lady. Now it only decorates my tool shed; I hand-dig EVERYthing. If you have raised beds, you need a tiller that you can lift in yourself. & if you grow perennials, you'll never be able to get a big tiller in between your plants. & if you keep adding manure to your veggie bed annually & keep it mulched heavily over winter, you probably don't REALLY need a tiller at all. I wish the money spent on my nig tiller would have gone to a chipper/shredder: now THAT's a power tool I lust for!

I used to have a Mantis and really liked it. Finally wore it out. Then got a Troy-Bilt Tuffy. It is a little bigger and better for my garden spot. About a 30x40 foot area with 14 raised beds plus a place for corn. The Troy-Bilt Tuffy does a great job in less time, and is not as big as some of the other Troy-Bilt models.

>I used to have a Mantis and really liked it.
>Finally wore it out. Then got a Troy-Bilt Tuffy.
>It is a little bigger and better for my garden
>spot. About a 30x40 foot area with 14 raised
>beds plus a place for corn. The Troy-Bilt
>t Tuffy does a great job in less time, and is not
>as big as some of the other Troy-Bilt models.
i got the tuffy too,i love it! 1 of they few things that works as good as advertized

I have a Troy Built Horse. Probably to big for lots of people. But it was bought new in 1981 by my dad and still going strong. I even still use it in my business. Its about the easiest tiller to use. I started using it at age 10.