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If you're thinking 'market garden' a rototiller is probably right.. If you're thinking 'truck farm' or 'cornfield' then plowing is likely the way to go... (but for truck farming you may want a tiller along with the plow for seedbed work). More that 4 or 5 acres = Plowing usually cheaper... Rototilling's prime virtue is the ability to produce a light fluffy seedbed after just 2 or three passes (depending on soil). The other virtue of a rototiller is that it may be used in a smaller area confined by fencelines where swinging a plow would be impractical or waste too much space. This also allows you to re-enter an area with mixed crops and selectively till an area without taking out the surrounding crops. Historically, Howard was one of the best tillers made.. mine is 30 years old and stil kicking... if they are still the best, I don't know. JD makes a pretty good one I hear. Also looked at a 'Rhino' that seemed to be pretty heavily built. In heavier soils, you need about 1 hp per inch of tilling width. The last used Howard tiller I saw on the market here went for about $900 (60" model). I didn't look at it, but the advertisement reported it to be in 'excellent' condition. How much can you till ? Forward speed for tilling is pretty low.. (as slow as you can go). Look at your tractor gearing, take the lowest speed and multiply by tiller width to get your area/hour. Throw in a little extra time for turns. Biggest thing... don't try to till when the soil's too wet. You will make dirt clods and destroy the soil structure. -- bb
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