Protective Cage Improves Tiller Performance

Protective Cage Improves Tiller Performance TILLAGE EUIPMENT Miscellaneous 33-1-10 A Minnesota gardener who was tired of chewing up onion tops and green beans with his rototiller, headed out to his junk pile and came up with "skis", side shields, and a protective cover over the tines. He started with a metal refrigerator shelf. He knew that if he bent it to cover the tiller blades, added side shields and ski-like guides, the problem would be solved. He made the first one for himself and then a few others for friends. The screen and shield were "just perfect" on the first try. He's worked to perfect the skis on the front of each side, which slide under the plant tops and lift them out of the way of the rotating tiller tines. "They want to dig in and that's been the biggest problem." "It works best on small tillers. I made one for a bigger rear-tine tiller and it got bent," cautions Fred Ostendorf, of Sauk Centre, Minnesota. Fellow Sauk Centre gardener Brad Weishar loves the tiller cage contraption. "It swings up for easy access to the tines," says Weishar. Ostendorf hasn't met a design quandary that a can of pop and some thought can't fix. "Sometimes it takes two cans of pop," says the retired excavating contractor. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Fred Ostendorf, 23879 Blue Spruce Road, Sauk Centre, Minn. 56378 (ph 320 352-2870) or Fred says you can call his friend Brad Weishar (ph 320 352-6281).

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