WILL A RIPPER REPLACE DIGGING WITH A SPADE?

Garden work can be not only hard, but also time-consuming. For this reason, more and more tools are being developed to automate certain activities. One of them is a soil tiller, a device that allows m.in. preparing the ground for sowing or establishing a lawn. Many people, however, ask themselves whether a soil compactor can replace manual digging with a spade. You can find the answer in this article!

What is a soiler?

In a nutshell, a soil tiller is a a device that allows loosening and preparing soil for sowing. It will also work well in a home garden, on an allotment, for establishing a lawn or flower bed. This device, thanks to the fact that it is equipped with sharp blades, can also be used for weeding, getting rid of roots and aerating the soil. You can also find models that allow you to spread compost and peat.

The main component of the soil tiller is special blades, for digging up soil. The blades are placed on discs that rotate around their axis. They are curved and act like miniature spades, biting into the soil and turning it inside out. The disc axis rotates very quickly, so no air gaps or lumps remain in the loosened soil. As a result, the land is immediately prepared for sowing grass or vegetables.

What kind of gardening work can be done by a soil tiller?

Just by the description of the operation, it can be concluded that the soil tiller is a device that is definitely useful in garden work. Great for loosening the soil and preparing it for subsequent activities, such as seeding. Many soilers can be used with other gardening and farming accessories, such as a plow, plowshare (e.g., for potatoes), seed drill, weeder, aerator, scarifier or string roller. The attachments listed here are mounted using a special connector. What's more, it is also possible to replace the wheels with metal or rubber ones (this depends on the version of the machine, as well as the soil conditions on which we have to work). Soil conditioners can be divided into 3 types depending on the application.

Types of soilers

You can distinguish 3 types of soilers (they are available in our Cedrus online store):

• Cultivators whose working device is also used for propulsion

A great example is available in the store cEDRUS GL01 ripper. This type of equipment is great for working in home gardens and moderately sized areas. The model we offer has an adjustable width of the working system, so this device will find its use in inter-rows of different widths. In addition, this soil tiller can be retrofitted with additional attachments, making it good for plowing or even digging up potatoes, for example.

• Tillers that have a separate wheel drive and a separate drive for the working device

Such a device is cEDRUS GL03PRO-LC soil planter also available in our store. This model is perfect for working especially on hard, compacted or wet soil. This is an excellent choice especially during spring and autumn, when the soil is moist from frequent rainfall. Thanks to the fact that the tiller has a separate wheel drive and a separate one for the working device, it is possible to operate it in all conditions. It is also possible to guide the machine to another location without turning on the working device, so you can avoid damage to the rotating blades when you overcome bumps.

• CEDRUS TJ01 and CEDRUS TJ02 single-axle tractors

They are not soilers per se, although they can carry a number of passive (e.g., a plow and a seed drill) and active tools (driven by a power take-off shaft, known as a PTO, or "PTO"). PTO can be distinguished among them active harrow, seeder, tiller, mower, snowblower, etc.).

Can a soil compactor handle the roots?

Sometimes we have difficult soil to loosen and dig up - hard, rocky or containing many weeds and roots. The only question is whether the soil tiller can also cope with working on such terrain? As we mentioned earlier, this device is equipped with sharp, curved knives. Blades have the ability to shred and flip roots, that are stuck in the ground. However, it is worth knowing that an ordinary rotovator will cope with rather thin roots of grasses and crops. We do not recommend using this equipment to work on the ground where there are thick roots of trees, shrubs or other plants. Blades will slide on them or roots will block them, and this can end up with the failure of the device.

In what kind of weather can you use a soil tiller?

Due to its features, the ripper can be used all year round and not just for soil work!

• In winter, it is possible to use the device to remove snow from the sidewalk or driveway.
• In the summer, the soil tiller will be used to remove weeds.
• In autumn, it allows you to improve the condition of the soil and prepare it for winter.
• In spring, thanks to the soil tiller, you can loosen the soil and prepare it for sowing.

It is worth remembering to use soilers in good weather.

Should you mow your lawn before using a soil conditioner?

Not all devices of this type can cope with digging up old turf. Therefore, before using them, mow the lawn to minimize the risk of damage to this tool. Only after mowing can you go to work with a tiller to prepare the soil for sowing new turf.

To what depth does the soil tiller dig??

It all depends on the model purchased. In our offer there are combustion soilers with a maximum working depth of 100 mm to 360 mm. Thus, it is difficult to say unequivocally to what depth a soil tiller digs, it depends on what blades the purchased model of the device is equipped with. Other factors that affect the depth of a soil tiller are its design, weight, as well as the quality and species of soil, soil moisture, quality of blades and their wear condition. This may be influenced by many other factors. Nevertheless, a well-chosen Cedrus soil planter will handle the task assigned to it. We invite you to visit our business partners to choose the right device.

See a selection of CEDRUS soilers available in our online store:

• Cedrus GL1000N-3 petrol soil cultivator
• CEDRUS GL05 soil cultivator
• CEDRUS GL01 soil cultivator

Can a soil compactor fully replace digging with a spade?

Undoubtedly, it is a device with high functionality. The soil tiller makes it possible not only to dig the soil thoroughly, but also quickly. In the event that a spade is used for this, the work would definitely be more time-consuming. So with a soil tiller, you will spend far less time loosening the soil and preparing it for further gardening. Owners of these devices definitely appreciate their regular use.

So it can be concluded that yes - soilers can replace manual digging with a spade. However, it is worth remembering that many models have a limited maximum working depth. Thus, we will not dig a deep hole with a soil tiller, nevertheless, this device is great for preparing soil for sowing vegetables, grass or for other gardening work.