Your landscape needs air, water, and essential nutrients to thrive. Sure, you could go by the old-school way and use the manual handheld tiller, but why work harder when you can work smarter? If you can invest in a good tiller, you'll get the job done in half the amount of time a manual handheld tiller would take! Lucky for you, we went ahead and did the dirty work ourselves. We’ve put together a list of the best garden tillers of 2024, with the Sun Joe Electric Tiller as our top pick on the list!
Our Top Picks For Garden Tillers
- Garden Tillers: A Buying Guide
- People Also Asked
- Are there any disadvantages to tilling?
- Can I plant my garden without tilling?
- When is it the best time to till your garden?
- What are the benefits to using a garden tiller?
- What types of soil can be tilled with a garden tiller?
- How often should I use my garden tiller?
- Are there any special accessories available for garden tillers?
- Related Articles
The Best Garden Tillers
Best Overall
The Sun Joe Electric Tiller is a heavy, strong, and effective garden tiller, and at the same time, it’s very easy to maneuver and adjust! It digs up a storm and is ‘the’ perfect tool to put together a seedbed for planting, ensuring maximum aeration! With its overall capabilities, it’s no wonder it’s at the top of the list.
Pros
- Great for very dry and grass-free grounds
- Easy to stash away when it’s not in use
- Slices through the soil at 370 RPM
Cons
- Works flawlessly on dry ground but a bit clumsy on moist grounds
Key Features
This dirty little secret of the most jaw-dropping gardens effortlessly slices through the soil at 370 RPM. It cultivates an area 16-inches wide and up to 8-inches deep, and it does so within seconds! It comes with 3-options height adjustability so it’s super easy to maneuver and it has a collapsible handle, enabling you to store this tool without a hassle! Although the TJ604E Garden Tiller has a two-year warranty and is great to use overall, it still has its limitations on moist soil.
Easy to Use
For successful and effective aeration, you need a powerful tool that can really mash up that soil, allowing water and nutrients to reach plant roots. The Black Decker Garden Tiller hall of that and more. With its dual tines and powerful transmission, it’s one of the ideal tools to get the job done!
Pros
- Weighs 8 pounds, making it an easy-to-use tool
- Soft-grip, adjustable handle and telescoping tube
- Comes with a 2-year limited warranty
Cons
- Comes with a lithium-ion battery so that may need changing depending on the frequency of use
Key Features
This Garden Tiller is powered with a 20-volt MAX Lithium-ion battery and cultivates up to 325 square feet per charge! You can choose to buy the tool individually as well as go for the whole kit that includes the cordless tiller, battery, energy-star qualified charger and installation instructions. Not only is it cordless but the tiller’s counter-oscillating tines prevent weeds from tangling as well. The lightweight upright design lessens arm fatigue while getting the job done! The best part? The tiller only weighs 8 pounds! However, battery replacement is inevitable, sooner or later – so keep that in mind.
Most Low Maintenance
While you may not be a fan of corded tillers, the Earthwise Corded Electric Tiller is still very smartly designed and an easy-to-operate electric tiller! Not only does it come with adjustable tines, but its compact design and lightweight also make it super easy to maneuver.
Pros
- Powerful 13.5-amp motor gives you gas-like power when you’re cultivating the soil
- Very low-maintenance tiller since it doesn’t need oil, gas, or battery to function
- 6 tines are adjustable, hassle-free, and designed for seamless and effective cultivation
Cons
- No throttle control, making it difficult for some people to handle the vibrations
Key Features
This Earthwise Garden Tiller comes with a 13.5-amp motor that allows up to 16-inch cultivating width and 8-inch depth. It has 6 adjustable tines that can help you get your work done without a hassle! While we wish that it weighed a bit less, it’s still one of the best-corded tillers out there to cultivate your garden beds and weeds! Each tine length is around 16-inches, the ergonomic handle is very comfortable. Nonetheless, it’s a great tiller to have in your garage.
Most Versatile
This garden tiller is a great choice to build up some loose soil and get your plants growing. It works rather simply – just push the start button, squeeze the lever, and get grinding. Once you let the lever go, the tiller will simply power off. We believe it’s a great tool to have in your state-of-the-art gardening hall of fame gadgets.
Pros
- Foldable design that provides compact storage
- Safety buttons and break switches for an extra layer of protection
- Powerful 13.5-amp copper motor generates speed up to 380RPM
Cons
- Must not be used in a soil-bed with hard rocks
Key Features
This TACKLIFE Garden Tiller is an economical yet valuable gadget with up to 8-inch tilling depth. While it’s a bit noisy, it slices through the soil at 380RPM which is great. The plowing width you can achieve with it is around 13 – 18 inches. However, since the tiller is very bouncy and high-efficiency, the manufacturers should offer some sort of solution to hold the cord.
Garden Tillers: A Buying Guide
What Is a Garden Tiller?
Your lawn, farm, or garden needs adequate preparation and regular maintenance to flourish well. A tiller, also known as a rototiller, is used to effectively prepare the soil bed, scratching it open and paving the way for water and nutrients. A tiller has tines, or sharp rotating metal blades, similar to that of a fork or rake. You can purchase either an electric tiller or a manual one.
Regardless of the type, however, there are 4 curved tines in opposing directions; blades 1 and 3 are curved towards the tiller, while blades 2 and 4 are curved away from the tiller. This design prevents debris from accumulating between the tines. Since blades 2 and 4 are heavy cutters, they dig into the soil aggressively. A tiller’s function is to break up the soil into smaller pieces so that it is easier to throw seeds or plants in there, as well as pave the way for water so it’s reaching the roots (making this a must-have tool for your vegetable garden or even your flower beds). Another function of a garden tiller is to mulch and evenly distribute organic matter. You can think of a garden tiller as a tool that helps to blend organic matter and fertilizer with the existing soil, ultimately helping to prevent weeds from growing and improving drainage and water retention.
The Pre-tilling Preparations: How Do You Prepare for Tilling?
Debris such as stones, weeds, grass, and shrubs should be completely removed from the soil before using a tiller. Make sure the soil is semi-dry so it’s easier for you to till. Check for water and other utility lines for safety purposes and make sure there’s nothing below – it’ll be useless to cry over spilled milk once your tiller ends up blowing up the waterline.
Evaluating the soil
In order for plants to thrive properly, soil type and pH should be tested. In order to test soil type, soak a small section of the soil with water. Form handfuls of soil into balls and let it dry overnight. If the ball is tight and well-formed, the soil is clay. And if the ball crumbles, the soil is sand. What you should be looking for is loam and you can identify it if the ball is crumbly but still able to hold its shape. Loam provides for effective drainage and retention of moisture and nutrients due to its compact yet crumbly state.
When it comes to pH, the ideal pH of the soil should be between 6.2 and 7.2 pH. Values below 6.2 are acidic soils, while values beyond 7.2 are alkaline soil. In order to lower the alkalinity of the soil, pine needles, composted leaves, and peat moss may be added. For soil below 6.2 pH, limestone may be added in tiny doses. Plants require different pH levels, so it is best to do the research beforehand. For a pH test, a local sample may be taken and submitted to the nearby agricultural office for thorough testing. The unit may also test for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium levels. Several testing kits or strips are also readily available.
Proper attire
Proper attire should be observed while using a tiller. Protective clothing such as goggles, pants, boots, and gloves is required. It’s always better to be on the safe side of things, doesn’t matter how skilled you are.
Finally, let’s get you tilling
An average of two passes should be made on the desired section to dig and agitate the soil well. Try to use a medium-speed setting for a soil bed that has been tilled before. For hard and compact soil, use a shallower setting, and for soft ground, the speed should be slow to medium. And how do you find out you’re done? The ideal depth at the end of your session should be around 8 inches.
To learn more about how to use a tiller, check out this video from the Youtube channel Helpful DIY.
What Are the Primary Types of Tillers?
Before you go out and choose a garden tiller, it’s important that you have the required information about the primary types of tillers or you’ll just end up getting confused. Let’s get you hooked up!
Rear tine tiller
Ideal for large gardens, this type of tiller has a gas engine and is the most powerful. It is ideal for land that hasn’t been tilled before. Because of its power, the machine is heavy, which is good for minimizing vibrations. Certain brands also have a rear shield to protect your feet and legs. They’re often cord-ignited so you may have to struggle a bit with the start. A rear tine tiller has front wheels that let you maneuver this tiller easily!
Front tine tiller
For this type of tiller, the wheels are in front of the machine, similar to that of a car. The front tine tiller is usually more budget-friendly, has a smaller gas engine, and the width of the tines is adjustable if you want to till smaller rows. The tines are often self-sharpening, decreasing the need for regular maintenance.
Cultivator
A cultivator is the smallest option and is usually motor-powered. It can only work for a small space in the garden and is the least expensive option compared to the other two. Even though it can dig up to 8 inches deep, it cannot penetrate hard compacted soil, so the topsoil has to be disturbed first.
What You Need to Know About Garden Tiller Maintenance
Be sure to regularly inspect your tiller to ensure that all the debris has been removed from the tines. When the tines stop slicing through the dirt at its maximum depth, then perhaps it’s time to sharpen your tines or get them replaced. Sharpening tines may be done by washing the blade carefully with mild detergent and water and then using a mill file to sharpen each individually. Depending on the brand, the oil and air filter should also be changed at the start of each gardening season – usually in spring.
People Also Asked
Are there any disadvantages to tilling?
Well, in theory, tilling helps you get rid of unnecessary weeds as well as pave way for water and nutrients to quickly reach the plants and enhance growth. However, it's also true that tilling doesn't play the long game. Unless it is done with calculated intervals, tilling can destroy soil life; soil life directly correlates to long-term fertility. As a result, your land becomes prone to wind and water erosion. Therefore, it's important to do your homework on tilling before you decide to begin the practice.
Can I plant my garden without tilling?
The no-till method is ideal if you want to take the long route to seeing your garden flourish. If the land is not tilled, it'll become spongy over time, eventually leading the plants and grass to grow and flourish well. So, to answer your question, yes you can plant your garden without tilling and the results will be better. But you'll have to work harder and be patient.
When is it the best time to till your garden?
The best time would be right during the spring when the soil warms up (around 60°F). Ideally, you should be going about the tilling when the soil is semi-dry. If the soil crumbles when you squeeze it, that's a good indication for you to begin.
What are the benefits to using a garden tiller?
The use of a garden tiller offers multiple benefits for those who want to create a successful and attractive garden. Tillers break up hardened soil and make it easier for plants to grow healthily and quickly. They also help prevent compaction of the soil, aerate it, enable better water penetration, and provide an ideal environment for faster root development. Additionally, they reduce the need to do backbreaking manual labor, making gardening more enjoyable and efficient.
What types of soil can be tilled with a garden tiller?
Garden tillers can be used on various soil types, including clay, silt, sand, loam, or gravel-based soils.
How often should I use my garden tiller?
It depends on your individual usage requirements as well as the size of your garden or landscaping area; however, generally speaking, it’s best practice to not use your garden tiller more than once per season. This will help prevent damage to your soil due to overworking it with the machine’s blades or other parts.
Are there any special accessories available for garden tillers?
Yes! Several accessories are available that can help make working with your garden tiller easier such as wheel kits that make the machine easier to maneuver around tight corners or raised beds; wheel weights that allow you to use heavier weights on wetter or softer soils; depth adjusting kits which allow you to adjust the cutting depth on different types of soil; as well as snowblower kits that let you attach specialized blades so that you can maneuver through snow banks during winter months when gardening isn't an option!
