Recently, cultivators are increasingly used to cultivate land. These units provide quick and high-quality pre-sowing preparation of the land, help care for crops and fight weeds. All cultivator models are divided into three categories, depending on the type of engine installed.
Hand cultivator
Thus, we can distinguish: manual, electric and gasoline options. The last two varieties have high productivity and are therefore suitable for cultivating large garden plots.
However, at any dacha there are hard-to-reach areas against which technology is powerless. Therefore, manual landscaping of a summer cottage still remains relevant.
It is worth noting that manual tillage does not imply the use of a shovel and hoe. A manual rotary cultivator can handle this task quite well.
What are the advantages of a manual cultivator?
Today, mechanical hand cultivators are poorly represented in advertising and on the Internet. The reason is their low cost. Much more emphasis is placed on motorized devices. However, the power and productivity of the latter is often excessive, especially for owners of small plots.
Getting by with a standard shovel is quite difficult and takes a long time: you need to have not just strength, but also excellent health, which is often lacking for pensioners, who are the most common owners of small summer cottages. The use of manual devices greatly simplifies the work, but at the same time does not hit the wallet as much as gasoline or diesel tools.
In addition, hand-held devices are very environmentally friendly. They use the simplest physical principles of force redistribution, such as a wheel, lever, gate, block, inclined plane and others. There is no noise, no exhaust gas emissions, and manual cultivators are much less prone to breakdowns. This is due to the minimum of components and simple connecting nodes.
The hand-held cultivator is always ready to work - it does not need an electrical outlet or fuel. Its storage conditions are an ordinary dry shed. For the minimum of problems and maintenance, it is loved by summer residents, gardeners and gardeners.
The most unusual solutions
To work in their summer cottage, some gardeners use a special metal attachment that fits on the finger. With its help, you can both loosen the soil and remove weeds - for example, between tiles.
In addition, using this homemade tip, you can make holes in the soil for planting seeds.
To remove grass and weeds, you can also use a disc cultivator made from scrap materials. In certain cases it is quite a convenient device.
A very useful homemade product is a hand-held “gun” for planting seeds in the ground. Using this tool, you can quickly plant seeds over a large area, spending a minimum of time and physical effort.
Useful country homemade products also include a device for quickly digging holes. This tool will come in handy when planting different plants on the site.
And finally, we want to share with you another interesting idea - how to make an attachment for a screwdriver to remove weeds in your summer cottage. Using this attachment, you can fight weeds without making unnecessary movements.
Now you know how to make a cultivator with your own hands, and what they generally are. All that remains is to choose a design that suits you, find the material and make it.
On our website you will also find a video with step-by-step instructions for making hand cultivators and detailed drawings, as well as useful tips. Be sure to check them out.
Kinds
The design of manual soil cultivators is often quite simple. The purpose of this garden tool is to loosen the soil to aerate it and facilitate root growth, as well as better access to water when watering. The second function is the removal of ubiquitous weeds. And here a manual cultivator will give a hundred points ahead to a gasoline device.
It is simply impossible to squeeze through narrow row spacing with bulky attachments of a motorized unit. A compact hand-held device can cope with the task, and your hands will not experience vibrations that are dangerous to the musculoskeletal system.
The simplest manual ripper
This is a very simple and accessible tool. It consists of a rod mounted on a handle of varying length, from which extend three or more round-shaped curved “claws” with small triangular attachments at the ends, like a hook. Despite the primitive design, this ripper is quite effective. With its help, you can easily and simply pick up pieces of soil that have dried on the surface, and by dragging the tool along the ground with slight pressure, you achieve shallow furrows sufficient for regular occasional loosening.
Among the standard rippers there are both nameless models and those produced under brands such as Gardena.
Star cultivator
The popular name perfectly reflects the essence of this simple garden tool. In stores and reference books it is most often called rotary, since its action is based on a block of rotating sprockets made of durable hardened metal. The sprockets are mounted on an axis, sharpened and slightly turned out in order to simultaneously easily penetrate the soil and slightly turn it out.
Often a movable rectangular bracket is installed behind the sprocket block. When the gun moves forward, it becomes at a right angle to the frame, and when it moves back, it folds, taking part of the earth with it. If you sharpen such a frame, it cuts weeds well. In general, the tool is excellent for combined loosening and weeding.
Cultivator GRINDA 8-421888
Classic rotary cultivator with six stars. To improve loosening, the rays of the rotating mechanism are made transverse - this way they capture more soil, turning it outward. Three holders have screws for securing the star bits, of which there are two per holder. The kit includes a plastic rubber-coated handle of a short format, but you can use a screw to attach the cultivator to a long handle.
Manual cultivator Wolf Garten DA-S
This cultivator has four stars, the beams are flat, longitudinal, converging into a cone - this makes the work easier and ensures a gentle effect on the soil. Behind the sprocket block there is a bracket for removing weeds and distributing soil masses. The tool is made of stainless steel, which ensures long service life and absence of corrosion.
Flat cutter (Fokina ripper)
The simplest device that you can either buy at a garden store or make with your own hands. In appearance, it is very reminiscent of the hoe (hoe) common in the southern regions of Russia, that is, a blade curved at a right angle to the handle. A distinctive feature is a narrow blade, the width of which is comparable to the thickness of the handle and is 3 - 5 cm, as well as an oblique cut of the blade.
Thanks to its specific shape, a flat cutter is very convenient for doing small work, for example, removing weeds in the root zone of adult tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, and also weeding narrow rows in a greenhouse.
Manual cultivator "Tornadika" (root digger)
The production of these tools is branded and is associated among summer residents with the name of the company. The device is very simple: a horizontal handle made of a perpendicular tube is mounted on a vertical handle on one side, and several (usually three) teeth spirally twisted counterclockwise on the other.
They work with a cultivator by placing it on the soil and rotating the handle. Thanks to this, two problems are solved at once: the compacted soil is loosened, and if there is a weed in the area where the tines move, it will be thrown to the surface, even if it has a very powerful root system.
The Tornadika cultivator is popular due to the fact that it is very easy to work with: the back remains straight, and the fairly long handles allow you to rotate the device with little effort, using the effect of a lever.
Ripper "Mole"
Sometimes this device is called a “miracle shovel” for its properties of simultaneously digging and breaking clods of earth. It consists of two parts connected in two places and rotating on a longitudinal axis relative to each other. One part resembles straight, wide views, and the second resembles a lattice with vertical bars.
During use, the “forks” are driven into the ground with a foot, like the bayonet of a shovel, and the lattice part rests on the surface of the soil. When you press on the cutting, the rods rise, pulling out a lump of soil. When passing through the grate, the lump breaks, leaving an effect similar to using a regular shovel complete with a rake.
Mini plow
The most advanced, heaviest and expensive type of hand cultivator. In fact, it is a miniature plow for working alone or with two people. There is a wheel installed in front, most often a steel one with a flat rim, on the axis of which a frame with two handles is mounted. By hanging various equipment on the frame - plows, moldboards, furrowers, flat cutters - you can significantly increase the pace of work.
Manual mini-plows are produced by small enterprises in Russia and Ukraine (trade names “Slobozhanka”, “Batrak”, “Vinnitsa”). It can be recommended for intermediate farms, where the area of land cultivation is not yet so large as to require the purchase of motorized equipment, but at the same time, processing with standard individual means is difficult and problematic.
Use of a garden auger
- For drilling holes for planting large plants.
- For installing support posts.
- When constructing fences, wickets and gates.
The advantages of the new cultivator are ease of use, ease of assembly and excellent efficiency. The drill copes excellently with any soil structure, has the function of adjusting the length of the handle (according to the user’s height) and drilling depth. The Tornado super drill has appealed to amateur
gardeners Judging by the reviews, this model is almost 4 times superior to plate drills and 2.5 times better than auger drills. We are pleased with the affordable prices for this tool - within a thousand rubles and the warranty period of use is over 10 years.
Tornado garden forks are a convenient tool for carrying out work in the garden, carrying grass, hay, for cultivating heavy soils, and during planting. The fairly light weight (a little more than half a kilogram) and the presence of durable forged teeth contribute to the application of significant effort when performing work. For greater resistance to loads, the fork handle was made of metal. For high-quality soil cultivation, the tool was equipped with a foot pad function, which helps to carry out the labor process in an accessible and convenient way.
The advantages of the forks are a long service life, use in all weather conditions and an affordable price (about 800 rubles).
The Tornado snow shovel removes snow, sand, and grain without effort or strain on the lower back. The shovel weighs less than two kilograms. To make the cutting, we used a special pipe with a small diameter, durable and easy to use. The scoop is made of plastic that is not afraid of low temperatures and is quite durable. The shovel is designed to make the work of a gardener easier. It should be light and practical, comfortable and ergonomic (safe) - these are the qualities that the Tornado shovel is endowed with. A shovel in an aesthetically designed beautiful package can make an excellent inexpensive gift that will always help create a good mood and delight among gardeners.
All garden tools with the “Tornado” logo are very popular and in demand among summer residents and owners of private houses. Reviews from gardeners emphasize the ease and simplicity of use, low prices for the cultivator and its modifications. There are practically no negative comments. Pensioners with low incomes who feed themselves with the fruits of their hard work on their plots of land say special thanks to the manufacturers of this wonderful gardening equipment. And in this they receive invaluable assistance from the Tornado cultivator models, which are affordable for everyone.
How to make it yourself
Considering that, compared to gasoline-powered equipment, hand cultivators are quite simple in design, many summer residents decide to make such a tool to facilitate field work with their own hands. Usually this is not so difficult, if you also make the most of various old things lying around idle in a barn or garage.
Of the specific tools that will be needed to make a homemade cultivator, the main one is a welding machine. Today, compact inverter devices are not so expensive and are quite widespread among the population.
What cultivator do you use?
PurchasedHomemade
Other tools can be found in almost every household:
- angle grinder (grinder) with cutting and sharpening disc;
- drill with a set of metal drills;
- a set of wrenches or socket heads with a wrench;
- pliers and hammer.
The material for a manual plow-cultivator can be a profile pipe - it is from this that the frame of the device will need to be welded. A wheel for moving on the ground can be taken from an old wheelbarrow or welded from reinforcement (spokes) and a steel strip rolled into a ring.
Parameters of motor cultivators
To buy a good self-propelled vehicle, you must first understand what it is, what characteristics the equipment has, and understand which device is most suitable for you.
Classification
Let's look at what types of units there are by engine type and power supply.
Gasoline
They work with an internal combustion engine and have different power levels. They are very popular due to their autonomy: to start, you just need to fill up with gasoline. This gives freedom of movement and allows you to use the device both in the garden and in the field.
This category of devices has good performance indicators and is suitable even for virgin soil. The advantages also include the high reliability of the mechanism.
Operating procedure
- First of all, we weld the frame. It is easiest to make from two durable profile pipes of sufficient length. At one end, holes are drilled in the metal through which the axle on which the wheel will be held can be passed and secured with nuts.
- Immediately behind the wheel, across two pipes, a jumper is welded - a stiffener. At least three such ribs are usually made so that the structure acquires the necessary strength. At the other end of the pipes, a crossbar is welded to them, which serves as handles.
- A holder for attachments is made approximately at a distance of 30 - 40 cm from the wheel. It can be made from a corrugated pipe or two steel angles. The attachments are secured with bolts through the provided holes.
- The blade itself, if it is small, can be made from the blade of an old garden hacksaw, giving it the shape of a triangle with an obtuse angle at the apex. If we are talking about a heavier plowshare, then it is welded from a steel sheet 2 - 3 mm thick, and then the joint is sharpened.
- To prevent the working part of the cultivator from becoming dull, it is advisable to harden the product. To do this, it is heated until it glows bright red with a gas or propane burner, and then dipped in water or mineral oil.
Expert opinion
Levin Dmitry Konstantinovich
An old bicycle can be an excellent basis for a small hand cultivator. The minimum that can be used is a fork with a front wheel. Some craftsmen skillfully cut an old but strong bike so that the rear wheel rides on the ground, instead of a pedal block, a mini-plow or flat cutter is welded, and the summer resident clasps the unfolded and fixed steering wheel in his hands while walking behind the cultivator.
