One Saturday morning last spring I needed a rototiller for an area about 15 by 30 feet. It was a section of my back yard I had filled and wanted to level and prepare for a seedbed.
There’s a lot of power behind this little tiller.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Mantis
I don’t have enough need for a tiller to own one, so I drove to Jackson’s Hardware, our local hardware store and rental center. Because it was a Saturday morning in spring, all Jackson’s had left to rent that day was a Mantis® tiller – a piece of equipment I’ve always considered to be “a toy.” I’ve been in the nursery and landscaping business all my life and have used tillers as big as 6 feet across that would literally grind up pavement. I’m sorry, but this little Mantis just looked like more of a plaything. Alas, I had no choice. And since I wanted to beat a coming rain shower, I rented the tiny tiller.
Boy was I surprised! I’ve never seen a tool that small do so much work since I first laid down an axe for a chain saw.
The Mantis Website states, “The Mantis Tiller is the incredible lightweight tiller that has made gardening easier for more than a million people. Originally designed to help landscapers get their jobs done quicker, the 20-pound tiller is a favorite of home gardeners all over the world.”
Believe it.
Some of the soil I had filled my planting area with was a little wet, and it had dried like bricks. The little Mantis ground it up so it looked like coffee grounds. By pulling the tiller backward, I could even move soil to do enough leveling that a little hand-raking in the end made the ground look as flat as a pool table.
I finished so fast, I started looking for bare places in my 2-acre lawn to till. And sometimes when something works that well you just want to start going down the block looking for spots in neighbor’s yards to “show off.” Okay, I didn’t do that, but truly, I was impressed.
I’m sure there are other mini tillers out there that are comparable, but I’ve always seen the television ads for Mantis, and since that’s what I rented, I think it should be featured. I’ve noticed the company has an edging attachment, and I’d like to hear from you if you’ve had experience using the Mantis as an edger.
Your comments – pro and con – are welcome (much like the Mantis Tiller is welcome in my yard).
