What is a soil cultivator?
If you’re in an industry where some kind of site-prep is necessary you’re probably familiar with the term “soil cultivator.” They could also fall under the description “Soil renovator”, “Soil conditioner attachment”, “Rotavator”, “Stone burier”, or “Finishing tool.” Perhaps a bit redundant to mention all the associated terms but in a world where google rewards relevant content, it behooves one to cover one’s base’s *cough* soil renovator.
This class of implement wouldn’t fall under the category of rock picker in that a rock picker will only gather rocks and place them in a bin. Nor would it fall under the category of soil preparator as these implements gather or windrow rocks to the side for later pickup. Think power rake. Also think slipped disk because it’s coming if you keep it up (here’s a side by side comparison of a soil cultivator vs a power rake). Neither would they fall into the category of tiller as a conventional tiller just tills.
A soil cultivator occupies its own category as a finishing tool and those who use them are looking for a very distinct outcome. Primarily eliminating unnecessary labor and multiple machines to put the finishing touches on a seedbed.
So how does a soil cultivator work exactly?
Well the name is a bit ambiguous to the uninitiated into landscape or agricultural work so a general description is required. A soil cultivator pulverizes and tills the soil and buries stones and debris at the tilling depth leaving a fine layer of soil (up to several inches in some cases) which has been sifted through some kind of selection grid for a somewhat even granulometric sorting. That’s fancy talk for saying that the big debris is separated from the small debris. The leveling plate then smooths the surface of the top layer of soil which is then compacted and / or formatted with an attached cultipacker. The general idea is to bypass the traditionally tedious tasks of ground prep with fewer steps and leave a few inches of compacted soil ready to seed or sod via a “one pass” ground preparation.
What are soil cultivators used for?
The applications however are much more nuanced. Some cultivators are used in “bed forming” for specific crops, some are used for orchard or vineyard floor management, others are used to mix amendments, some to produce a uniform and compacted seedbed, and still others are used in agricultural applications to till as deep as possible and to cover as much surface area as possible all while seeding at the same time. Think turf farmer.
Some models speed through the site putting on a good show of tilling, pulverizing, and burying but whether the debris is actually buried as opposed to just below the surface is questionable. Others have attached cultipackers but the lack dimples or teeth to grip the soil and are liable to skid along the surface instead of actually rolling. Others may lack the type of blades necessary to avoid the detrimental impact of soil glazing, which really defeats the purpose of producing a level, compacted, well drained seedbed for vegetation. And some cultivators may have grater bars and / or cultipackers welded in a fixed position thereby limiting your ability to adjust the grading depth or cover your tire tracks.
From mini-skids to skid steers to compact tractors to heavy agricultural tractors you’ll find a soil cultivator for your power unit and the prices range anywhere from $2,000 to a hefty five digit number. There are numerous options to choose from in the soil renovator world but suffice it to say, you get what you pay for. As a Swedish fashionista once told me “Buy nice or buy twice.”
Which cultivator do I choose?
So with so many options the next logical question is “Which machine is right for me?” And the answer to that lies in your budget and intended application. Are you an onion farmer and you need perfectly formed and elevated seedbed? What about forming multiple formatted rows? There are machines for those applications. But they’re not in our inventory.
If you’re goal is to eliminate unnecessary labor and hours on a rake, the arduous tasks of rock picking, hauling debris off site, sod cutting, etc and you’re planning on using a machine to create a level and debris free seed bed for, say, a lawn, football field, baseball infield (even just the diamond), any ball field, golf courses, equestrian arenas, dirt race tracks, backyards with limited access, specialized sports turf, etc then RotaDairon is the machine for you. Yes, we’re a little bias. But as landscape professionals of 70+ years we’ve learned a few things. There is a reason we became distributors of the Rotadairon and no other machine. In our opinion (and the opinion of at least a couple engineers at the trade shows we have attended) Rotadairon is the bar by which all other commercial grade cultivators are measured. Properly cared for, a Rotadairon will last decades. So the next time someone highlights the benefits of a soil renovator, say “Nice machine. But is it a Rotadairon?”
Okay so which Rotadairon do I choose?
Are you a sod farmer wanting to cover as much area as possible while seeding at the same time and burying debris as deep as possible in order to avoid damage to your sod cutters? The RD400 is probably a unit you’ll want to look at. Are you a landscape contractor and you want to eliminate unnecessary labor and steps to a graded and compacted seedbed? The STH36 or the the RD200 are solid choices depending on whether you’re mostly installing back yards or large fields. Do you have expendable income, a large swath of property, a lot of time on your hands and you just like having top of the line equipment? Then may I suggest an RD150 for its utility. Really, the only determinant to making a purchase is your preferred power unit and its HP and lift capacity. Here’s a spec sheet to help pinpoint the machine for you.