MTD 250 Series User Manual

For cultivating, a two to three inch depth is desirable. With the 

outer tines installed, the working width of the machine is 22 or 

24 inches.
For cultivation, the tine width can be reduced to 13 inches by 

removing the outer tines, refer to the Adjustment Section. When 

laying out plant rows, be sure to allow enough width to permit 

cultivation between the rows. In growing corn or similar crops, 

check-row planting will permit cross cultivation and practically 

eliminate hand hoeing, Fig. 5-2.

The tiller has many uses other than tilling and cultivating a 

garden. One of these is the preparation of lawn area for seeding. 

The tiller will prepare a deep seed bed which will be free of hard 

untilled spots, allowing a better stand of grass to grow. The tiller 

is very useful for loosening hard soil for excavation with a shovel; 

No tedious handwork will be necessary. Your tiller may be used 

for mixing compost in the pile or for mixing it with the soil in 

your garden. This should be done after the soil has been broken 

to the full working depth. The compost should be worked in 

to a depth of six to seven inches. This may be done by working 

the length of the garden and then by making separate passes 

across its width. The addition of decayed organic matter will 

substantially increase the fertility of your garden. For proper 

decaying action, fertilizer should be applied and worked in with 

the mulch materials. Breaking up leaves and straw and mixing 

it with several inches of soil allows proper aeration of the plant 

root system and retards the growth of weeds.