How to best use your rotary hoe

The rotary hoe is the go to tool when it comes to turning bare land into garden beds, or turning soil over for fresh grass or crops. Perfect for when you've got a lot of hard, impacted soil to turn over and you need a powerful tool to get the job done. If you’re dealing with softer, sandier soil though, you’ll want to look at a rotary tiller.

The rotary hoe works with powerful tine blades that pull through the soil, aided by large traction-grabbing tyres, ensuring the soil is turned to the appropriate depth, be it for gardening, cultivation or construction purposes. This makes for a powerful and fast way to get those big jobs done in an hour or two. Sounds like a great tool, right? So how do you use a rotary hoe?

The good news is that not only is a rotary hoe a powerful and helpful tool, it can be very simple to use once set-up, and thanks to being self-driving it doesn’t require a lot of effort to operate. 

What to know before using a rotary hoe

1. Safety is paramount with all of our equipment. For safe operation, place the rear safety guard down so it’s covering the tines, and that you’re wearing appropriate PPE.

2. Then, you’ll set the level of depth required on the machine depending on what you’re using it for. Smaller jobs like laying new turf need a light turn-over, while cultivation requires a deeper dig. Speak to our experts in branch to make sure you’re set-up perfectly for your needs.

3. Disengage the tines and wheels to position the rotary hoe in the exact starting position you need. Once you’re all set-up you can engage the tines again, ready to turn over soil.

4. Now turn the rotary hoe on and use the powerful 9HP Honda engine, to do this flick both ignition switches on the machine and the motor.

5. Open up the fuel line, turn the throttle to full and (as this will be a cold start) have the choke open. Now you’re ready to pull the cord and start up the machine.

6. The rotary hoe is now up and running, the controls are incredibly simple - with two control levers, forward and reverse for both driving and the tines. Set the levers to your desired output, and when you want to engage the self-driving engine simply pull the clutch lever on the handle.

7. As long as you pull that lever the rotary hoe will move forward and turn over soil, all you have to do is hold the handlebars and steer it along its path.

Once you’ve covered off safety and set-up, the rotary hoe is an incredibly easy and powerful tool to use. You’ll only need a rotary once or twice a year, which makes it the perfect piece of equipment to hire - leave the servicing, repairs and updating of latest models to us. 

If you need to hire a rotary hoe or other landscaping equipment, call 13 15 52 and speak with our friendly staff or send us a message.