I used this today for the first time and am very pleased with it. I have a small densely planted garden bed and turning over the soil has been awkward for me. The Yard Butler really made it much easier, and it was actually fun. Got my whole bed loosened up and then top dressed with compost and used the YB to work the compost in a bit. The tines are only 4" or 5" long, so if you want to loosen soil deeper, you're gonna have to do some more work, but for me, this is a lot better than what I've been doing previously. Note: We don't have clay soil, so that would be a much bigger chore, but I think this tool would still be a good help. The YB seems very sturdy and solid, and for $25, a great deal. Very happy with this purchase. I'm only taking off a star because it came with the California lead warning and the advice that you wash your hands after using.
Works great for me. I am 76 years old, 4' 10" tall and weigh 85 pounds, so I need something I could handle and this was works for me. I would highly recommend it for somebody doing light, small space gardening. I had tried two others and they just were too much for me to handle. This one does the job and does not over-power me. I am glad I found it.
Cleaned out old dry grass in a yard in an hour when it would have taken at least 4 hours without it.
How it worked with people of varying heights: Worked well for people 5.3 to 5.10. At 6.0, person was too tall for it & had to stoop.
A summary of some of the tips on using it:
1. If the soil is compacted, don't drive the tool down all the way initially (it will be hard to twist). Do a little at a time: Go down, then twist. Then, increase depth, twist again, etc.
2. Or, if the soil is too compacted: water soil and wait 10 minutes, or wait a day or two after it rains.
3. Several reviewers said it is best to wear gloves.
Overall:
Worked well and loosened up 500 sf of dirt to prep for lawn seeding.
Actual Field Conditions: Desert SW hard packed clay soil, watered for several days prior to tilling.
Pros:
All metal construction, place to put foot is centered over the top of the tines.
Cons:
Handle needs to be more ergonomically positioned with handles angled to a more natural hand position. (Positioned as if you were gripping a steering wheel at 9 and 3, it would not force your wrists into the unnatural angle like when gripping the straight bar.)
Tips:
Used rocking motion while stepping on it to get the tines down farther before twisting.
Bottom Line:
I like it and would buy it again and recommend it to others.
I have always used the Garden Claw. But, the one i had on my watch list sold out right when I was ready to order. So, I ordered this instead. When I got it, I stood it up and it was the perfect height for me (I am 5ft 6in). it was a few days before I could use it due to other obligations. But, we had let our flowerbeds grow up over the last 5 years. This year, we decided to put them back in. So, I went out and started by my side porch because my husband had bought me a Knockout rose. I put it in the ground and twisted and it pulled up everything underneath it as well as to each side. I have not experienced what others have experienced with the handle grips sliding off. They have stayed put and I have used this extensively. Today was able to clear out a large section of the flowerbeds in a mater of a couple of hours. This thing is much better than the Garden Claw. Good quality, great price, awesome tool!
Feature Product
- ERGONOMIC DESIGN 38" tall with a step plate that centers you over the tool, a solid ½" powder coated steel shaft and a wide 12" T handle that reduces the effort of twisting, using the force of your body to easily rotate sharp angled claw tines into hard compacted soil.
- LOOSENS, TURNS, TILLS AND AERATES soil promoting the free flow of water, air, and fertilizer for a healthier and more beautiful yard and garden.
- PERFECT SIZE FOR RAISED BEDS, flower boxes, around shrubs or bushes and other hard to reach areas. Ideal for mixing fertilizer or peat moss amendments and preparing a bed for planting. Makes weeding easy.
- EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY AND VALUE, this is the best garden hand tiller cultivator available
Description
The extra wide high leverage handle and weight centering middle step plate of the Yard Butler Twist Tiller drives six claw spikes deep into the ground breaking up the hard compacted top layer of soil. This allows for easy weeding and planting and promotes the free flow of water, air and fertilizer for a healthier and more beautiful garden. The Twist Tiller can also be used for mixing compost adding soil amendments and digging holes for planting. It is perfect for preparing raised bed gardens for vegetables or flowers and does a better job with a fraction of the effort of other tools. The heavy duty all steel design is built for a lifetime of use. Yard Butler offers a full No Risk 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee so you know you are getting the product you need.
I'm pleased with this little tiller. It's well built. If you are buying this to work hard ground that's never been tilled before, I mean, why? It says right in the description that it's for raised beds and flower boxes. Think of the power and effort it takes even push/pulling a heavy duty gas tiller to break new ground, and then look at this thing. It seems pretty obvious that if you choose to use it to break a substantial amount of hard ground, you will be working very, very hard. Unless you figure out a way to power yourself with gasoline. So I'm not understanding the bad reviews based on the fact that it's not great at doing something it, or common sense, never claimed it should do. What I did was rent a real gas powered tiller initially to break ground and till my vegetable garden bed (a few years back). Then, with that out of the way, I use this each year to re-break and loosen the soil. It's still a bit of a workout, because the ground does compact over winter, but still it works very well for this. It's much less hassle than renting and hauling a tiller every year. And I find it's much better NOT to deep till every year...that just disturbs the whole balance/ecosystem that's forming underground and chops up all of the big fat worms down there. This tool loosens and turns and works the soil just as much and as deeply as you choose to. I love it. Probably there is something to the suggestions made that the handles could be more ergonomic or efficient - better designed handles would prob help to maximize effort needed to plunge and twist. And yes, blisters happen. But I love the footplate, and the twisted tines help a LOT. It does sometimes clump in wet ground because you are stepping it down into the ground, which compacts the dirt before you twist. But I find that if you step, then tilt, then twist, this helps to reduce the clumping. When it has clumped, usually I can just kick it loose - I didn't find that I had to bend down to un-clump very often at all.
I have used this on a small area that is used for a few tomatoes and the ground laid idle for over a year and it worked great. I will admit it does take a bit of upper body strength to twist and turn but, it does as described. It up rooted the weeds and helped to loosen up the soil and does help in turning the soil over and help in aerating the soil. I will admit I was a bit sore from using it but, it saved me from flipping the soil with a shovel. Not willing to or spend the money to buy a small tiller, instead used this and had the same results.
Got this for my vegetable gardening dad who had an old rusty hand tiller, but didn’t want a gas tiller. He’s already used it to get a winter garden going and he said it’s SOOOO much easier to use than his old one. Which is good since he’s 72.
Makes fast work of tilling your garden. I did a fairly large patch in about an hour. It's a bit of a work out, but it was easy going. The grips on the handles slid off a couple of times but slid back on with ease. Tool seems very sturdy and built to last. I love my new garden tiller.
I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!!!! I use when fertilizing my roses as it allows me to work it into the ground in between my rose bushes . It is great to use in flower beds as well. It is heavy duty and well made and works great!!! I have a few favorites when working in my rose bed and this is one of them. I would buy another in a heartbeat to give away as a gift for my rose growing friends
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