Removing rocks from pasture

[Rob Riggen]

Hi, im looking for info on how to remove some nice sized landscape rocks from my pasture. When we bought our property there was a big pile of dirt and rock that the previous owner spread out in our pasture area. there is nothing really huge but something you would use to build a retaining wall. Im looking into getting a landscape rake or a box blade. im afraid the rocks will bend the tines on the rake and not sure if the box blade will work to drag them into a pile like im wanting to do. any one used one of these two for this or should i be looking for something different?

 

[magicheater]

How big are the rocks? Are you looking to put them in a pile or load them in a truck/trailer?

 

[Rob Riggen]

The rocks arent to big. Probably about 12"x12" maybe alittle bigger. Im wanting to drag them into a pile and then toss them into a trailer. i dont have a fel so if i can get them in somewhat of a pile it will make them alot easier to get loaded (by hand).

 

[magicheater]

A front end loader would be my first choice. You can do it with a box blade but it will be clumsy at best. Maybe a stone boat (old car hood) and a crow bar will work for you. How hard do you want to work?

 

[RPW]

I think for what you want to do is use a rock bucket. This isn't the landscapers rake you might think of. It's a replacement for your FEL. The one I've got is a Bradco rock bucket. It's a harden steel bucket made up of 1" bars. You scoop up the rocks and dirt, shake it abit to have the dirt drop out and move the rocks to your pile.

 

[Rob Riggen]

I do not have a front end loader so the rock bucket is out of the question. i guess im leaning towards the box blade. any other input on this?

 

[beenthere]

Make a stone boat out of some heavy wood boards, maybe a short piece of angle iron to place at the front to pull, and then just roll these small rocks onto the stone boat (say 2-3' wide, and 5-6' long. Some shallow sides to keep them from rolling off and away you go. Hauled many a rock off this glacial hilltop that way (had to dig them out with shovel and stone bar first). Some were 2' diameter.

Now have forks on the bucket to dig them out and haul them away. Every 4-5 years have to grub more out. Prolly have neighborhood of 350-400 boulders picked off this glacial-till top. :laughing:

 

[magicheater]

The only other tractor mounted tool since you don't have an FEL is perhaps a set of 3PT forks with a longer top cylinder. Many here have used forks on a FEL for rocks but they can work on a 3PH also. I have a set on my tractor and you can use them for rocks to a point. Just set the forks about 4-6" apart and the 12" size rocks will cradle in between. You will be able to use them on pallets as well.

 

[dangerdoc]

Hi, im looking for info on how to remove some nice sized landscape rocks from my pasture. When we bought our property there was a big pile of dirt and rock that the previous owner spread out in our pasture area. there is nothing really huge but something you would use to build a retaining wall. Im looking into getting a landscape rake or a box blade. im afraid the rocks will bend the tines on the rake and not sure if the box blade will work to drag them into a pile like im wanting to do. any one used one of these two for this or should i be looking for something different?

A FEL would be my first choice.

I have not found a better way to remove rocks than to pick them up. A loader is nice because you can take it directly to the rocks and lower it to limit lift height.

A close second is a little tilting trailer you pull with a lawn tractor. The lift height is not bad. You can take it directly to the rocks and it is easier to get on and off a lawn tractor. The you just tip the trailer to unload. I have moved a lot of rocks this way.

 

[sweettractors]

Hi, im looking for info on how to remove some nice sized landscape rocks from my pasture. When we bought our property there was a big pile of dirt and rock that the previous owner spread out in our pasture area. there is nothing really huge but something you would use to build a retaining wall. Im looking into getting a landscape rake or a box blade. im afraid the rocks will bend the tines on the rake and not sure if the box blade will work to drag them into a pile like im wanting to do. any one used one of these two for this or should i be looking for something different?

One way I got my work ethic was by picking these babies up by hand when I was growing up on my Granddads farm. I am talking a 150 acre farm. You may be keeping some kids in the neighborhood from a great work experience. Seriously, with 1 person on each side of a wagon or trailer or pickup truck, you would be surprised how fast manual pickup is. Heck, I still cut thistles with a grubbing hoe instead of spraying. Ken Sweet

 

[beenthere]

....... Heck, I still cut thistles with a grubbing hoe instead of spraying.

I spray them. Then they don't seem to come back so fast.

Grubbing them seems like an exercise akin to getting on a treadmill.

 

[sweettractors]

I spray them. Then they don't seem to come back so fast.

Grubbing them seems like an exercise akin to getting on a treadmill.

When you grubb them in the root zone, that is all she wrote. Learned that 50 years ago. Ken Sweet

 

[Gordon Gould]

If the rocks are only 12" around or so you can make a dirt cheap
stone boat out of an old sheet of plywood like CDX.
Drill a couple holes in it attach a chain, roll on the rocks and away you go.
keep the chain short so the front curls up a little for better dragging.

 

[Stonehaller]

Check out a dirt scoop for the 3 point hitch like this

CountyLine Dirt/Soil Scoop, 30 in. - 2131514 | Tractor Supply Company

I used to use one of these on a 53 Ford Golden Jubilee. Very handy if you do not have a FEL.

 

[sparkyaber]

I don't want to hijack, but I have a similar issue. My mother has 40 acres with about half wooded, the other half field and homestead. She wants to cut trails in the woods to ski and walk on. She hired a guy to cut the trail 10 years ago, but he left all of the rocks. Is the FEL still the way to go? There is not a ton of room to move around, and I just want the rocks off of the trail, really don't need to pile them, but I may if I get bored. I was thinking of using a box blade to pop them up from the ground, and then using the loader to move them around? Same size as above- maybe even a little bigger.

 

[studor]

I start out with a blade to pull them out, then put the big ones on a stone boat (there are plans for one on here somewhere)When they get to fist size or so' I use a landscape rake and sweep them into piles.

 

[Ken45101]

If you are going to drag them into a pile and then manually load them into a trailer, when not just pull the trailer around to the rocks and pick them up at that point?

I don't want to hijack, but I have a similar issue. My mother has 40 acres with about half wooded, the other half field and homestead. She wants to cut trails in the woods to ski and walk on. She hired a guy to cut the trail 10 years ago, but he left all of the rocks. Is the FEL still the way to go? There is not a ton of room to move around, and I just want the rocks off of the trail, really don't need to pile them, but I may if I get bored. I was thinking of using a box blade to pop them up from the ground, and then using the loader to move them around? Same size as above- maybe even a little bigger.

If you just want to get the rocks OFF the trail, use a scraper blade set at an angle. That will drag them along until the slide off the the side.

Ken

 

[dieselscout80]

We dragged our pasture with a harrow and then stacked the rocks in piles (kids did most of the stacking) and then loaded them on the trailer by hand. We ended up with two loads and these pics are of the 2nd on that was a smaller load.

 

[magicheater]

I don't want to hijack, but I have a similar issue. My mother has 40 acres with about half wooded, the other half field and homestead. She wants to cut trails in the woods to ski and walk on. She hired a guy to cut the trail 10 years ago, but he left all of the rocks. Is the FEL still the way to go? There is not a ton of room to move around, and I just want the rocks off of the trail, really don't need to pile them, but I may if I get bored. I was thinking of using a box blade to pop them up from the ground, and then using the loader to move them around? Same size as above- maybe even a little bigger.

I would go with the FEL. YouTube - Loader Buddy vs Rocks.mp4

 

[Ken45101]

The "Loader Buddy" (or some other method of digging them out) works well when you have buried rocks. Here, most of mine are flat ones laying on the surface (you know, they grew during the winter, even without fertilizer ).

It's rare to have a rounded shaped rock here.

Ken