Customer Reviews

TrimmerPlus GC720 Add-On Cultivator

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I never thought that a small tiller attachment for a weed trimmer could hold up to my expectations, but I was definitely not disappointed with this unit.

I was amazed at how much I could do with this cultivator. Entire flower beds and even large planters can be worked without the effort of hand-tilling, and the compact size of this attachment allows it to get into corners a full-size tiller couldn't go.

There is plenty of torque to go through pretty compacted soil. Large, solid chunks of clay or stone will get stuck, but a little patience and common sense on the part of the operator will prevent that problem.

Well worth the money, definitely a must-have attachment for the Ryobi trimmer!

I own the electric Ryobi TrimmerPlus 132r and wanted to go with all non-gas for the power tools in my small yard. I planted a vegetable garden two years ago and rented a 5hp tiller to chew through the grass that was in place then. I decided to buy the cultivator attachment for the trimmer and have been extremely pleased.

I was concerned the electric motor would not be adequate for even minimal tasks but I was shocked (sorry) to find I could till through heavy dirt -- I even had to push on the back of the cultivator with my foot to get it to labor and eventually stall in the soil. I even tilled some moist but hard packed dirt without any trouble.

As other people have mentioned, the head on the unit was small enough to effectively turn over the dirt in a 30-inch wide planter.

If you're looking for a cultivator to handle a small garden, I would be surprised if you were disappointed by this product.

I really like the concept of the TrimmerPlus accessory system. I own the 875r trimmer motor (4 cycle), most of the other accessories, but I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about buying this particular attachment. I didn't think the engine on my trimmer would be strong enough to power a tiller through my neglected & hard-packed beds.
None of the local stores which carried the TrimmerPlus line carried this accessory, so I thought I'd have to buy it online and didn't want the hassle of boxing it back up and shipping it if it turned out to be a disappointment. I finally saw it in a local store and decided to take a chance -- figuring it would be easy enough to return if it didn't work out.
Was I ever surprised.
The gear ratio in this little guy apparently gives the engine quite a mechanical advantage over hard soil. I just let the weight rest on the ground (I don't lift it up or push it down as I till) and let gravity and the tines do all the work as they till their way into the ground. Rock it back & forth slowly like you would a vacuum cleaner.
I use it in the spring to prepare my beds for planting, but I also use it in the fall. I don't throw out my leaves with the yard waste, I run over them a few times with the mulching mower to break them up, then let the mower bag them, then dump them all throughout my beds. I use this tiller to work them into the soil and enrich it. The soil quality of my beds was rather poor when I moved into this house, but has been improving year over year ever since I started doing this.
And now for the durability comment: I have run into burried stones and thick tree roots with it (another good reason to just let it "rest" on the ground -- it will just bounce up if I hit something) and was convinced I must have bent a few tines. I don't know what metal they use for the tines, but these things have yet to bend or dent. It's extremely rugged.
Even if I had a full size garden roto-tiller I think I'd still prefer to use this unit in the beds around the house. It's small compact size helps me prepare & enrich my soil for planting even in narrow spaces between my shrubs where larger tillers would never fit. It's lighter and easier to handle than a full-size tiller as well.
Finally, it hangs on the garage wall when not in use, so it takes up no floor space (I don't have much storage space in my garage). Since I already own the engine to power all my other accessories, this was definitely the way to go. If I had a large vegetable garden as I did growing up in the country, I'd want a large garden tiller, but for urban and suburban planting gardens this is the better tool for the job.
It's a great value and it really does work as claimed.

I was never enthusiastic about a vegatable garden, mainly because of all the preparation that is involved. Our new TrimmerPlus Cultivator has made it fun, fast, and easy. I was suprised at how well it handled our hard clay soil. We are now talking about expanding the garden.

We bought this with the Ryobi 875R 4-cycle trimmer. There are a lot of good reviews, so my wife and I thought we should check it out. This attachment is worth every penny we spent on it. Being that this is the first spring in our home, a lot of landscaping was needed in our yard. Our planting beds are too small to rent a big tiller, and since we needed a trimmer anyway, this seemed like a good choice. Other reviewers have commented on how tough this is, and the mechanical advantage it offers. These reviews speak the truth. I spent about two hours tearing up a section about 20' x 5'. My yard is terrible, rocks (averaging about half the size of my palm) were plentiful, roots everywhere (from small little bits to about 3/8" thick), and very hard packed soil throughout. This cultivator tore through it all, only being stopped once by a big root. Like was mentioned before, just set the thing down, full throttle, and walk backwards, letting the (somewhat considerable) weight of the cultivator do the work. I say walk because if you try to lean or push, you will quickly develop a sore back. Also, you may want to get the shoulder strap, or make one of your own from luggage straps, as after a while it all begins to wear on your arms and back. At the end of my cultivation session, I pulled the blades off and removed some tangled roots, and it looks good as new. Again, it is quite strong and very worth it if you need to start and maintain smallish soil areas. I don't know how well it will work with an electric or 2-cycle trimmer, but the 4-cycle is relatively quiet and quite powerful. Get it.

I have a small raised garden (6x24) and this is a great tool for the job. It gives your arms a workout trying to keep it down, but after you go over the garden once it is not too bad, plus I just put the plug on the end and hang it on the wall when not in use. The cost and size make it well worth the money!!

You can't hurt this thing. It tears through ANY soil, roots etc and does so as well as the big tillers that don't fit in a household garden. This is useful for small vegetable gardens, but the best use is refreshing the soil around shrubs in your foundation beds. Its litle head gets in tight spaces, and you can drop it straight down into a spot you couldn't wheel a big tiller into. It gets roots tangled around it, but clears easily. The tines are indestructible, as is all the rest. I'm glad I got the 4-cycle 875R trimmer, because this thing uses all the torque it puts out. A very good investment. Saves a whale of a lot of storage in the garage, too!!!

I recently got a great GoldBox deal (combined with a coupon) on the 4 cycle curved shaft trimmer. I have an old Red Max commercial grade trimmer that blows smoke, makes a racket but tears the hell out of anything. I wanted a smaller trimmer for my wife to use. The 4 cycle is nice and torquier. What makes the deal is this tiller attachment. I chewed up my garden in 5-10 minutes. Then I laid out the peat and the compost, and turned it all in. Beautifully tilled soil and all chunks ground to a nice size. Don't plan on tearing up sod with it, but if you have a yearly garden turnover/break-up chore, this is the ticket. Great idea and functions far better than you might imagine.

This thing has been the most useful attachment for my Ryobi thus far. I was a bit skeptical that the motor would be able to generate enough gusto to break through my clay laden beds, but she dug in and went to town. My only "comment" would be that when I used it to till up some weed infested beds the long stalks (14" high) became wrapped around the tines and it took some delicate hand work to remove them...ie: trying to get my sausage fingers in between the tines to remove the cotter pins. Overall I have been VERY happy and have been showing it off at evenry chance i get. Start the engine and hold on tight, cause this baby's ready to roll....

This attachment is just right for someone who doesn't want to have a huge rototiller or bother with renting one. I have two raised beds and I use it yearly to till in new compost. I have also used it on our hard clay soil to mix in soil ammendment. Highly recommended! I think it works better than the electric trimmer. The trimmer seems to be underpowered for heavy weeds.