I just recently attempted Corona’s DiscCULTIVATOR with ComfortGel ® handle. The lightweight tool did some heavyweight loosening of our garden soil.
In past years, we’ve typically dug about 6 to 7 inches down with a shovel and carefully tuned our soil, which solidifies from the mix of dry air, wind that blows off the topsoil and difficult water from our well. After turning the ground, we’ve utilized a battery-powered handheld farmer (that is no longer holding its charge) to loosen up the leading layer and mix in the garden compost we add each year. After that, we level the area with a bow rake.
This year, we utilized the Corona DiscCULTIVATOR as a replacement for the battery-powered farmer.
What is the DiscCULTIVATOR?
The DiscCULTIVATOR is generally a 60 ″ pole with 3 detachable, rotating steel branches at the end and is planned for use in weeding, cultivating, loosening and turning the top layer of soil.
The tines screw into a metal footplate that you can step on to drive the tines deeper into the ground, if required. In regular use, the branches will reach about 2 inches below grade so the tool isn’t a replacement for a tiller or anything else that goes much deeper than 2 inches.
It has a ComfortGel manage to dampen vibrations and a bent shaft to make it simpler on your back, especially when putting pressure on the cultivator’s head to separate tough clumps.
Evaluating the Cultivator’s Uses
When I headed to the garden with the Corona DiscCULTIVATOR, I anticipated much of the exact same routine as in previous years, without the battery power of the tiller. But I was incorrect. The DiscCULTIVATOR did almost all the jobs of a number of tools assembled.
Breaking Up Clumps & Loosening Soil– With all 3 tines on, I was able to roll the farmer backward and forward over clods of dirt and break them up. This was available in helpful not just in my vegetable and flower beds, but also when preparing an area for wildflower seeding.
Spreading Amendments & Leveling the Garden Bed– After loosening up the soil, I included mushroom garden compost in stacks and then spread it with the DiscCULTIVATOR. It did a good task of mixing the garden compost into the first couple of inches of the soil surface.
The tines also assisted collect a few of the leaf mulch still on the bed from fall. The great part is that the leaves didn’t adhere to the branches so the tool didn’t end up being clogged up. In previous years of bed prep, the battery-powered cultivator did a great job but would in some cases congest from particles or weeds.
Even much better, I was able to change the previous requirement for a bow rake by “leveling” the dirt with the DiscCultivator. I might make additional passes or alter direction to get the bed more even after all the clod busting.
Making Planting Rows or Furrows– By taking off the two outdoors tines, you can easily create a planting row. If just took one pass with the cultivator to make a nice shallow row for planting cucumber and bean seeds. I likewise saw that I could make small “furrows” if needed. So, a good bonus offer.
Cultivating Around Plants– After cucumber seedlings turned up in that prepped bed (yay!), I checked the DiscCULTIVATOR’s ability to cultivate around plants and eliminate little weeds. By getting rid of the center tine, I could run the tool over the seedlings without chopping them to pieces. It was easy to navigate and really assisted loosen the soil, which already is hardening somewhat from the watering.