Subsoiler for Yanking Rocks?

[Suburban Plowboy]

My farm has rocks. They are annoying, especially when I hit them with the lawnmower. Yesterday I dug a suitcase-sized rock mostly loose and then tried to pop it out of the ground with the tractor, but I drove it under a root, so I'm going to have to cut the root and start over.

I have read that subsoilers are good for yanking rocks out of the ground. Good idea? I have a 37-HP tractor.

I have a front end loader, but I keep brush forks on it, and they're a royal pain to remove, so I prefer to leave them in place. I use them every week.

 

[CincyFlyer]

Sub-soilers will pull up rocks. And roots. And buried wires and pipes.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I figured I would leave the wires and pipes in place until I get bored.

 

[Oldoak]

I figured I would leave the wires and pipes in place until I get bored.

As long as you don't choose the main feeder coming in from the electric utility pole. :shocked:

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Scarifiers on a box blade will pop all the rocks and if you set the blade so it just brushes the dirt, it will collect them too. Size of rocks will depend on your tractor. This is most useful if you have a lot of rocks in your soil of various sizes, versus just a few big ones.

 

[Mainahs70]

I figured I would leave the wires and pipes in place until I get bored.

Too funny.

 

[Lelandwelds]

Scarifiers on a box blade will pop all the rocks and if you set the blade so it just brushes the dirt, it will collect them too. Size of rocks will depend on your tractor. This is most useful if you have a lot of rocks in your soil of various sizes, versus just a few big ones.

Really? I have never used one. How heavy a tractor is needed?

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Really? I have never used one. How heavy a tractor is needed?

Well my Max26XL handles rocks up to the size of a chicken (so far). Before I had the Max, used my garden tractor pulling a tiny 36" box blade w/ scarifiers to clear the rocks off a large newly graded area--rocks up to around 8". That's when I figured out the technique as I got really tired of bending over and picking up hundred of rocks by hand. So bigger tractor, bigger rocks I guess.

My clay soil is so rocky, any time you do some grading or digging you expose a gazillion rocks of all sizes. This method removes most of the rocks from the top 5" of soil (and collects them). Takes a few passes. Important to go slow. Sure beats picking them up by hand. Not sure if it will work on sandy soil.

 

[Lelandwelds]

Well my Max26XL handles rocks up to the size of a chicken (so far).

Barred Rocks or Bantams?

I have been using a 6 ft digging bar and a wheel barrow. I get the Bobcat for the ones I can't lift. That machine sure leaves a mark.

My dirt is rocks with silt in between. If I draw a 50 mile circle, I find sand, Blackland Prairie clay, many flavors of limestone, pink granite, green silica, and red dirt with some clay in it. Five different regions meet here.

You should see the aquifer map. Texas.

Everybody has a box blade for a reason I guess.

 

[donaldj]

I'm currently taming some new ground in areas I want to be 'yard'. What's worked for me is using the scarifiers in my box blade at full extension to dig stuff loose, set the box blade just right to gather high spots and fill in low spots (this takes time to learn to do well, especially with the tractor going over these things).

Basically, I am going over the yard in two directions (N-S, then E-W) to dig stuff up then smooth it out.

Once I have this all loosened up, I'm using my landscaping rake at an angle to 'sweep' all the larger rocks in one direction (away from the house). I've found extending the top link out a ways works well here and lets the tines make more of a 'tube' when connected with the ground. Go slowly enough so the rocks move to the rake's side (remember the angle...) rather than try to submarine under the tines. Do this in a few directions as well.

When I hit big rocks, then the FEL and dedicated subsoiler rip them out.

When finished, there is still a fair amount of small rocks that fit through the tines, but no real "that's a problem..." rocks.