The job of cultivating and weeding the garden is one of the hardest parts of gardening. In the hot summer months this can be one of the least attractive parts of gardening. Because of this, one of the most popular garden tools is a small mini tiller.

Putting some motorized power to work is great when you can do it. Nut the typical tiller is a relatively large machine, and can often be a hassle to get out and fire up for just a small patch of garden that needs to be refreshed or weeded. But a mini tiller can be taken out to the garden much more easily, and will work in areas that a normal tiller can’t be taken like in elevated flower beds or raised gardens. This is especially true for a garden built from a raised garden kit that has wooden or plastic sidewalls that can’t be easily jumped with a large tiller.

The lighter weight of these smaller tillers is an advantage, and the flexibility in power choices is another. Let’s look a the choices in powering these mini tillers.

Gas powered tillers – Just like their larger siblings, you can find tillers powered by gasoline. Like the larger tillers you will find many gas powered mini tillers. Gas powered tillers have a lot of power, are not limited in their range by the need to have a cord. The larger tillers are usually four cycle engines, and it’s becoming more common to find these engines on mini tillers as well. Four cycle engines also have better power at low speeds, and will tend to have fewer emissions when running, and are often easier to start. Two cycle engines are less expensive to buy, require a fuel oil mix instead of gas, but don’t need oil changes.

Electric tillers have a few advantages of their own. They are easy to start, have no emissions (ignoring the power plant) and are much quieter. They are limited in power, however, either from the battery pack or the fact that you can only get so much power out of a 120 volt line through an extension cord. The cord also limits the range that you can use a electric mini tiller. The rechargeable battery option eliminates the tethering of a cord, but limits the use to the time that the battery will hold its charge. Some tillers will have a spare battery that can be charged while the other is working.

Generally you will find that a mini tiller is a good choice for cultivating an area that has been worked before, or for weeding an area that’s been planted previously. It’s a nice option if you are just refreshing an area that has played out from the spring garden and is ready to be planted for the fall garden. If you want to bust sod for a new garden of a few hundred square feet, you probably need a full sized tiller. Renting a tiller may be a better option in that case.

Of course there are many other features to consider when buying a mini tiller, like the type of tines, the handle types, and the wheel choices, to name a few. And for those on a budget, another choice is to buy one of the tiller attachments for a string trimmer. These can often be had for around $99, and will fit on either electric powered or gas powered trimmers. These tend to be less balanced, and so are more tiring to use, but if your need is for just small area at a time they can be quite effective.