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I'm sure you've seen the commercials for those small size tillers that they claim you can use with one finger. Doubtful at best. I was thinking about getting something small to run between narrow garden rows and would like suggestions on what to look for.

Humpty, my buddie uses a Mantis,It seems to work pretty good. russ

Depends on how big an area you have to do. I tried a mantis years ago, and unless the soil has already been broken up, that thing bounces around like crazy. I didn't really like the job it did either. Most of the time the weeds just wrapped around the blades. It didn't really chop them up and bury them in the soil like your front/rear tine tiller would do. I use a front tine tiller and just use 2 of the 4 tines if I have narrow spaces. Does a much better job.

If you want to try one out, check out a rental place. Sometimes they have them. Otherwise, see if they have a return policy in case you don't like it.

The little Mantis is the cat's meow..
Works great for weeding and hoeing the garden.
It's great, unless you like to hand weed and manual labor...

Humpty - check out the previous string on small tillers. Last input was on the 6th. Title is Small Tillers Like the Mantis. http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/threads/334-Small-Tillers-Like-the-Mantis

That would never work on the soil we have. I'm sure it's good for some peoples' yards, but certainly not for ours. We have too many rocks.

I just got a small trimmer at a garage sale for 20 bucks and had my dad repair it. I thought it wouldn't work on my yard but I am very impressed already.

The small tillers work especially well on ground that has already been worked, like an established garden. If you are working new soil you may need to rent / borrow something with a little more power.