it depends on both the soil type and how much work you are will/able to do. if the soil is clay you may just want to rent a CRT rear tine tiller for teh initial breaking of teh soil.

personally i prefer a rear tine for ease of use. but a front tine has it's place.

A front tine is definitely good enough. I have a front tine and I tilled at least 2000 to 3000 sqft of hard soil. Don't pay a lot to get a rear tine, After the first time, even a Mantis is good enough if you till it once or twice a year to keep up. You only have 400 sqft!!! Test the soil to see how hard it is, you almost can get away with a Mantis tiller!!!!

The problem of renting a big rear tine is it is very heavy ( can be up to 200lbs!! Even my small front tine is about 120lbs!!!) and you need a truck to transport. The rent is not cheap and you are under the gun to finish tilling and return it the same day!!!

I only use my front tine two to three times a year just to keep it alive!!! It is really not very useful. Hack if I were you, I'll buy a Mantis, wet the soil a little and run it, might take you long time, but after the first time, it would be easy. You can do some manual digging for exercise!!!! 20X20 is very small!! A Mantis is very useful for cultivating and dethatching. It is useful all year round, not like the real tiller....just sit and collect dust in your case. For pros, a big tiller is a must, for home owner, not really!!!

Check local ads and craigslist for a good quality, rear tine tiller. IMO, and with no disrespect to yungman, you'll regret getting a front tine model for clay soil.

There are some excellent buys (relative to what they cost new) on older, Troy-Bilt tillers. If taken care of by POs, they'll last almost indefinitely . . . at least for your stewardship. Stay vigilant - the economy is forcing some people to sell at some great prices.

I just roto-tilled a 800 sf new garden with my 1993 Troy-Bilt Pony. Bought it last month on CL for $350 (listed for $500) after searching for several weeks. The beast cut right through the sod and after three passes, tilled the soil 8" deep - will be tilling in compost + aged manure next weekend, in prep for early Spring planting.

It was previously bought new by an elderly lady who used it once a year and looks like it just left the showroom; bolo tines are barely scratched. Came with all original manuals, brochures, hiller/furrower attachment, electric start, guard rails, etc. - even the original receipt for $1,460.00. Point being, there are excellent pre-owned tillers available for short money.

Resisted temptation to buy the few Horse models I saw listed, which are too big for my needs. Also missed a couple other newer Ponies (pre 2001 is what you want) - the good ones sell very quickly. Passed on several others with some issues. I'm glad I waited for this one - can't imagine ever needing anything bigger, or finding one of better quality at a lower price.

As justification for owning my own machine - I'm certain my wife will want me to cut new flower beds, and the vegetable gardens will be expanding as well. It's great to own one for maintaining existing beds, adding soil amendments regularly and controlling weeds between rows.

I've also designed a custom greenhouse I'll build in the near future - the Pony will be a backsaver when breaking through compacted soil and sod to prepare for the stone floor.

turtleescape,

I agree with yungman. A 20x20 garden is very small, and that would be a very doable project for a spade and/or spading fork. Many years ago, I "double dug" a site about that size (20x30) and the project took several days (a couple of hours per day), but it was good exercise. Get good work gloves to avoid blisters. The double-digging technique inverts the soil in two stages or layers, so that you have gone about 16 inches or more deep. The heavy expensive rear-tined tillers are hard put to till 6 inches deep. Front tined tillers can till deeper and the little Mantis can till 10 inches deep. My Merry Tiller can till 16 inches deep on a second pass, which is the equivalent of double digging.

You could skip the tilling/digging altogether and just spread black plastic over the grass and set your plants into slits in the plastic. Or you could use clear plastic and let the accumulated heat from the sun kill the grass. I am not personally attracted to no-till gardening, but some people are. Whatever you do, it is important to kill the grass where your plants will be, or the grass will be a serious weed for your plants, stealing water and nutrients from your them.

But if your grass is not a spreading kind, you could leave it in the walkways and just dig out spots or rows for your plants. As another approach, you could leave the grass in place, and install raised beds on top of it. The buried grass in the raised beds will also rot beneficially. The cost of a tiller will buy quite a bit of raised bed boarding. Of course, you will have the additional expense and effort of filling the raised beds. But plants in raised beds are easier to tend.

Where you want to eliminate the grass, just a single dig, in which you use a spade or fork to turn the upper 8 inches upside down, would do the trick of killing your grass, and the rotting buried grass will provide nutrients for your garden.

ZM

I am not knocking rear tine. I am just based on the lot size of 20X20 and also I assume he/she is a home owner. After getting the big rear tine, finishing tilling the ground, then you have a piece of nice equipment to store, keep alive. Rear tine is a lot bigger. Storage can become an issue for home owner with small yard. You really don't need a big tiller if you till once a year.

I dug a 8X8 in about one hour or so and I was 55 at the time!! The time you spent shopping, buying and transporting would be more than just dig the 20X20!!! I think the money is much better spent on a Mantis with dethatcher tine. That you can use many times a year for different thing. The Mantis will definitely do the re-tilling after the first digging and turn the soil over.

But of cause, if the poster is a gear head that like toys like me. Then you really need a nice rear tine tiller, then a Mantis for maintenance!!!

Ask friend whether they have a tiller and borrow it. I'll be se glad to lend my front tine to friends if they need it.....to help me keeping it alive instead of rotting away.

yungman said: "But of cause, if the poster is a gear head that like toys like me. Then you really need a nice rear tine tiller, then a Mantis for maintenance!!!"

Funny you mentioned that yungman, and we do have something in common :) My friends and family call me tool-man - have hundreds of specialized tools for everything I do . . . and then some. I'll look into that Mantis.

I've also been accused of "generalizing" (on another forum in gardenweb). So, my apologies to turtleescape for grouping him into the gear-head category. ;)

BTW ZM - from the early 70s to mid 80s. I also double-tilled my large gardens - was very hard work, but rewarding. Today, I prefer to use machines to do the grunt-work.

I am a home owner, BUT I have enough equipments for a two to three men crew!!!! I love toys!!! My main thing is to convince my wife that I need the toy.....And the excuses are getting very thin now!!!!

I love my Mantis. It is a tool I can use all year round. I particular like the dethatch tine. You might want to consider te Stihl Yard Boss too, I like the brush tine that Mantis don't offer for scrubing concrete floor. These little cultivator can really break up the soil that the big ones cannot do, it make to soil fluffy!!!

Digging 20X20 is not too bad. Keep the poster in shape!!!

I have some neck problems so hand digging is not an option for me.
Price is not a huge deal as I could go with a used one. I am an auto mechanic so even repairs are not a big deal.
Storage is probably the biggest problem. If I go with a rear tine I would have to store it at a family members barn. It would be a pain to get it every year. I could store a front tine tiller at my house.
I do live in northern Ohio so clay is somewhat of an issue. My house is 15 years old and the land was farm land before the development was built. I would think the soil should not be to bad.
thanks for the help

Hey Turtle,

You have yet another option - Me! Or at least someone like me near you.

I have a BCS 850 with 30 inch tiller and I custom till gardens for others for $35 an hour. You can't rent a rear tine tiller for that price. A 20 by 20 garden double tilled would take me less than 20 minutes. Look on your local craigslist services section and find an enterprising young man like myself to do it for you!

If you gotta own the machine, money is not limited, and have other types of jobs around your place like chipping, snow removal, and mowing, you should look into BCS. My 850 tills my garden in the spring, mows my lawn through the summer, chips my brush all the time, digs my potatoes in the fall, and pushes my snow in the winter. They're rarely found used, but deals are out there. New prices hurt.

Pay some one to help you dig the first time, buy a small cultivator and till it ones or twice a year!!! That would be the cheapest way. 20X20 is really really small!!!

I have the Poulan front tine tiller which was the same as the old Craftsman front tine tiller until Creaftsman change to a cheaper Chinese engine tiller and raise the price this year!!!

I really think the front tine is the biggest you ever need, might take a little longer than the big rear tine but for 20X20, it is going to be less than 2 hours!!! I still say look for someone to dig it for you and get the small Cultivator. Stihl Yardboss has the Brush tine that Mantis don't have which is good for washing and scrubbing concrete driveway and porch. Other than that, Mantis is a very good one. I have the Mantis bought directly from Mantis. Their service is second to none. Do a search on my post about Mantis to see the detail.

As I said, if you are a gear head, get whatever fancy tiller you want, but if you just want to till the 20X20, find a digger!!!! I am sure I can finish digging in 3 hours and I am not a pro!!! You just need to turn the soil over, then buy your toy....Mantis or the Yard Boss and whip it fluffy!!!