Tilling Gardens

Unless you've got some immense gardens around there, travel time's pretty much everything. Even for my compact tractor I figure minimum charge. Used to travel for 4 hrs billing, but quit that last year. Now it's 8 hrs minimum (7 on the ground). No chance I'd ever get any garden work, but landscape is where I get my calls for the small tractor. Real busy in the spring.

You need to figure how long you'll likely spend tilling a spot, how long it takes to get there and back, and how much you want for your time, tractor, and truck. That's assuming you aren't going the professional route of including insurance and looking seriously at your overhead.

Not anything I'd put hrs on my tractor over.

A suggestion if you try it: either work for full fare or free. Discounting your rate almost never works.

Which is certainly not a recommendation for you. My financial situation is likely different from yours. I turn down more work every year than I accept. Must not be over-charging. I get very good referrals.

The real question is how much do you want/need the work?

What we do share in common is that I only buy machinery for my use, then see if anybody wants to pay for it. I also have a reputation of being a good operator. Being polite, I don't argue the point. There are undoubtedly better, but I sell the job.