The best time to rotavate your garden will depend on your soil type. Rotavating at the wrong time will make the job more difficult and could damage the soil structure. The best time to rotavate your garden is:n
- Rotavating Clay Soils – Autumn is the best time to rotavate gardens with clay soils before it gets too cold. Cultivating soil in Autumn allows the soil to settle over winter, which improves the soil quality.
- Rotavating Light soils – You should Rotavate lighter soils in the spring when the winter rains have subsided. Lighter soils must be pretty dry to break up properly during rotavation.
The fundamental law of rotavating soil is not to rotavate any too-wet soil. Wet soil does not break up and will just become a muddy mess!
What is Rotavating?
Rotavating is the process that people commonly use when ’tilling the land’ in soil cultivation. For soil to be at its best for growing food or laying turf, it must be in the proper condition and breaking up the soil helps to do this.
Some soil can be compacted if neglected or lacking in nutrition after a year of growth and will need cultivating to help things grow.
To cultivate an area of ground, you need to:
- Clear the top vegetation and debris
- Turn over the soil with a rotavator or by hand
- Add fertiliser like a good manure
- Finally, turn over the soil again to mix in the fertiliser
Rotavating a garden
Using a rotavator to level a garden may be the only option if the soil is in bad condition or weeds have taken over. It would help if you did not use a rotavator to clear weeds and other debris like stones, as it may cause the rotavator to kick back, resulting in injury.
Will Rotavating Kill Weeds?
No, rotavating alone will not kill weeds completely. It may leave rhizomes of invasive species like Ground Elder in the soil that will regrow quickly.
It would help to weed the area as best as possible before tilling the soil.
You can use a Rotavator to break up compacted soil, which improves overall soil quality and allows you to introduce fertilisers or correct soil PH levels.
How long does it take to Rotavate a garden?
All gardens are of different sizes with different soils and obstacles. Therefore, each garden will take a different amount of time to rotavate. However, using a Rotavator will save you time, hard work and a sore back.
Carrying out the work of a Rotavator with a fork and spade is challenging. If you cannot afford a Rotavator, you can always hire one from your local tool hire.
Or have a big breakfast and get stuck in with the hand tools.
How to Rotavate a Lawn
As a gardener, I have to rotavate gardens and lawns regularly. I use this process and equipment when cultivating the soil for a new year or laying a new lawn.
Suppose it is your first time learning how to use a rotavator. In that case, it is essential to note that whilst it is not complicated, the machinery is heavy & safety always comes first.
If you need more confidence, ask a friend with experience to help you use a rotavator or watch as many videos as possible to educate yourself.
Most importantly, take your time and always double-check the setup before starting up a rotavator.
What will you need?
A Rotavator
There are many makes and models of rotavators on the market, and you may already have a personal preference for a brand of gardening tools. There are generally two categories of rotavators:
- Light Duty Rotavators – Mostly electric (Cord & Battery)
- Heavy Duty Rotavators – Mostly petrol motor
Light duty rotavator
A light-duty rotavator is more than adequate for small gardens or allotments for the job. Although powered by standard power mains or even battery, the power delivered is enough to turn over most soils, even compacted ones.
The main drawback of light-duty rotavators is the restriction of size and depth (not power), which could be better for large garden areas or fields.
When I am rotavating on a gardening job during spring or Autumn, I use my Einhell 36V Cordless Garden Rotavator. It is powerful and lightweight, making rotavating an effortless experience without worrying about tilling over the power lead!
Check out our Battery Garden Tools article if you still need to figure out cordless garden tools. Battery technology has come a long way recently, allowing more power tools like garden rotavators to become cordless.
Heavy Duty Rotavators
If the job is a big lawn area or field with weeds and deep roots, you may be in the market to buy or hire a heavy-duty rotavator. The motors in heavy-duty models tend to be petrol as they are more powerful, meaning they can churn up a more extensive and deeper area.
Farms or commercial ventures tend to use heavy-duty rotavators.
I hired one from a local tool hire company for the few gardening jobs requiring a heavy-duty rotavator. Out of the brands supplied to me, the Hyundai Petrol Rotavator was my favourite due to its simplicity of use and half-metre tilling width.
Safety first
As with any heavy machinery, you should always wear the correct safety gear to ensure no injuries. For Rotavating a garden, you want to have the following safety gear:
- Steel toe cap boots
- Gloves
- Safety glasses
- Ear protection
- High visibility vest
Summary
To summarise, the best time to rotavate a garden will depend on the soil:
- Clay soils – You should till in Autumn with a rotavator.
- Lighter soils – You should till in spring with a rotavator.
The overall rule for rotavating soil is:
- Do not till the soil if it is too wet
