Use a shovel to dig into the ground around the roots of existing plants or weeds. Start a few inches (several centimeters) away from the plant and dig in at a 45-degree angle toward the center of the roots. Sever the roots with the shovel and pull the plants out by hand. Wear gardening gloves to do this. To remove sod, you can use a shovel to dig out small patches at a time, use an herbicide to kill the lawn, use a sod cutter, or kill the lawn by depriving it of light. If there are dead plants, you can leave them in the area to be mulched up and add organic matter to your garden.
These objects are also obstructions for seedlings that are trying to grow, so your plants will have a better chance if the land is clear.
Take a hose and soak a small section of the soil in your garden. Grab a small handful of soil and squeeze it into a ball. Place the ball somewhere well-ventilated but protected from rain. Let the ball dry out for 24 hours. When dry, pick up the ball of soil. A tight ball indicates clay. A ball that crumbles or loses its shape is mostly sand. A crumbly ball that loosely holds its shape is loam, which is ideal. For a more accurate pH and soil type test, take a sample of your soil into your county extension office (in the US), and have them send it in for analysis. This is usually done for free or a small fee.
For a garden with a high pH and acidic soil, sprinkle lime or wood ash over the soil before tilling to balance the pH. [3] X Research source For a garden with a low pH and alkaline soil, sprinkle sawdust, peat moss, or compost. For a garden with sandy or clay-like soil, add 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) of aged compost, manure, peat moss, or shredded leaves. Nearly any soil will benefit from the addition of organic compost, leaf mold or composted manure.
For the first pass with the tiller, the depth adjustor should be all the way up, as you don’t want to go too deep on your first till. If the depth adjustor is up all the way, you don’t have to tip the tines down as far to get the pin off the ground, meaning your pass will be shallow.
Never wear sandals or open-toed shoes when operating a tiller, lawn mower, or other machine with blades.
Many tillers will have a rabbit and turtle on the throttle to indicate the position. When you’re starting your tiller, push the lever to the rabbit to open the throttle. [5] X Research source
If the engine gets too much air when it’s trying to start up, it won’t have enough fuel to get going.
As soon as the engine has started up, disengage the choke. [7] X Research source
On a tiller with the tines in front, the forward motion is controlled by you. To prevent the tiller from moving forward when the tines are engaged, you’ll have to pull back on the handles while pushing down to lift the tines out of the soil and hold the machine in place.
As the tiller pulls itself forward, the tines will continue breaking up all the soil they come into contact with.
Backyard tillers aren’t always easy to turn, and tilling every other row will make it easier to maneuver the machine. [9] X Research source
On the second pass, push the tines farther into the soil to till at a deeper depth. Changing your direction and making two passes with the tiller will ensure you fully till all the soil and blend in all the organic matter.
For a tiller with a bladed wheel, push the tiller forward while it’s in the ground. This will rotate the blades and till the soil. For a tiller without the wheel, twist the tiller as you pull it straight out of the ground. Move the tiller over to an adjacent patch of soil, insert the spikes and repeat.
