Gardeners often use the two words as if they mean the same thing, but they are actually different tools. The machines look similar, although tillers are usually larger than cultivators, but each is built to perform a unique function in the garden, and they aren’t really interchangeable.

“Tillers are better used on farms or when starting a new, larger garden,” she says. “But for the work a home gardener needs to accomplish, a cultivator is all you need.” A cultivator breaks apart arid winter soil. It also keeps weeds at bay by churning them up so their seeds dry out.

Small toothed cultivators pushed or pulled by a single person are used as garden tools for small-scale gardening, such as for the household's own use or for small market gardens. Similarly sized rotary tillers combine the functions of a harrow and cultivator into one multipurpose machine.