Farm Candy:The Mantis Tiller

My mom prays the rosary and watches late late night TV, sometimes sci fi and sometimes infomercials where she discovers brilliant inventions like the Mantis Tiller. Thanks Mom! I just got the gift that keeps on giving, cause unlike most after midnight inventions (not speaking of the snuggie of course) the mantis tiller is completely totally perfectly awesome in every way a tiller should be. My neighbor Cody came over and put the whole thing together in about 15 minutes... continuely chanting mantras such as "bad ass", "sweet", and "thank your mom for me personally"!

Everyone wanted a piece of dat' mantis...everyone! It's like the opiate of small farming, the best thing since sliced bread, the yummiest candy in the barrel, the ultimate adult toy.

I, of course, am scared to use it. I have to warm up to machinary, I have to watch others be tossed around, I have to build up the nerve - I am terrified the vibrating will give me a seizure. In the meantime the bonus is I am now the most popula' girl on da' farm with the best tiller on da' block ;) ----> Ehem... but oh the thing can till! Ya'll it was busting through grass like it ain't no thang but a chicken wang, it was making chunky soil turn smooth and well ground like sand. It turns an all day job into a 30 minute job and if you hold it right it can even make furrows (rows) for you! Tillin' in a free world!

PS- For those with chemical sensitivities, there is a mantis tiller that is electric with no emissions! ! !

GO Mantis Go!!! xoxo

Jus' Tillin'

Here's my gardening theory about tilling versus hoeing: I think if ya have a huge space go ahead and till it the very first time, and then maintain with a ho from then on. If ya' pay the ho enough, she'll probably even use your gardening tool and keep the weeds down for ya. ;)
Just teasing. I am pretty sure that my theory is backed up by those studying organic agriculture- who also suggest various cover crops to keep the soil healthy. My style of gardening is usually companion planting in order to keep the soil from being drained of nutrients while stuff is growing - just like in nature certain plants work together really well.
The rain has been boggling us here in Western North Carolina and tilling was put off the very day it could be put off no longer, the one magical sunny weekend! We tilled into the black of night, which is kind of a hysterical thing to do. Bort wore a head lamp like a miner and I ran around in the dark grabbing big rocks and throwing them out of the way, screaming into the loud noise of the tiller "watch out for those spiders, they aren't running fast enough!"... the tiller is not only loud but it also stinks like a freakin' go-cart track at a shitty school fair. By the time it was all over I felt like I had just given a pint of blood and was happy to think about all the beans, squash and potatoes I am gonna grow.

xoxo