Rock removal

[CMV]

Getting some areas ready for planting. Tearing up sod and just getting started. My land is FULL of rocks. I had it to where all the ones that got in way of mowing were gone, but zillions of them at ground level or slightly buried. I'm ripping up the ground using my box blade with 6 teeth all the way down, angled to not collect dirt. Smaller ones about size of a softball just get brought up. But larger ones - size of a football or bigger, the get caught under a tooth or front of BB and then make it ride high. What I did was go back in forth in long rows a bunch of times, then across with front bucket w/ toothbar level and tried to push as much to one side. When a tooth/bucket caught a rock, dug it out and pushed away. Some larger ones with flat surface still there at ground level.

I have a little ground cover to still get out of this area and am then ready to till. Kind of nervous running the 3pt rotary tiller because I have no idea what its going to do when it finds even more rocks. Don't want to break it. Will it just climb over (forward tine, 72" Hush Hog RT72G w/ slip clutch) something to big to dislodge? Some of these aren't "rocks" at all - pieces of concrete about 24"x24"x4"

I don't have a rock bucket or anything that would be really good at getting these up. Attached is a poor picture from last night, but you can see some of what I'm dealing with. I'm hoping I can run the tiller without hurting it because I really want to get some sand and compost mixed in with this clay. Will spend a day just walking around and picking up what I see before trying the tiller, but I'm sure it's going to be a whole lot better at finding more than the BB or front bucket.


Also - just using what i have. I don't have a plow, rake, scrape blade, harrow, rock bucket, etc. Kind of limited to box blade, tiller, & front bucket. If there is something I can get relatively inexpensive used from clist like a grading blade, tillage tool, or landscape rake that would work well I'm not opposed to that. But $1500+ for a rock bucket isn't something I'm willing to do. And if not obvious.....I have no idea what I'm doing....

 

[TomIre]

Might need to break it open with a plow and then rock take. Be careful with the sand. I know it seems intuitive that it would help clay drain better but I've seen clay just form a ball around clay and pack in tight. Organic material may work better. I've always used chopped up leaf litter to improve clay.

 

[donaldj]

Many places rent rock buckets. check local rental places. Else, a landscaping rake will help.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

You're in NC; I'm in VA. Welcome to being a rock farmer. I'm assuming this a family garden plot or small hobby farm plot. The more you dig, scrape and plow, the more rocks you will turn up. Then, when you have finally, with great labor, removed all the rocks from, say the first foot of soil. Next winter's freeze/thaw will heave more up. You will never get rid of them. Tillers are real hard to use in this type of soil. Just remove the bigger rocks from the surface, then order up a load of topsoil (I can get a long dump truck full of good brown topsoil for $300; random "dirt" is just $100) or use your tractor to transport some from elsewhere on your property. Dig out a pond! Also start a big compost pile for next year. Even if you don't have animals, grass clippings and fall leaves make great compost (for next year's garden). Just keep adding stuff on.

I've been experimenting with covering half the garden with about 12" of compost for a year, then scraping it onto the other half. So only half the garden is planted each year. This has pretty much eliminated grass/weeds by smothering them out. Also insulates the ground against frost heave. When you scrape that compost off in the spring you've got good, soft, black, earthworm-filled soil ready to plant in and not a single weed. No need to till at all really. (I also plant things real close together, not in "rows," to shade out weeds.)

Hope this helps!

 

[sixdogs]

Don't pick most of them up. Bury them and I've done it for decades. Drive by one of my high dollar lawns and you'll never know what's beneath. I've done this in New England glacial till and around Ohio with just moderate rocks. I realize you have limited equipment and $$ so this is what I do.

1. You do have to pick up the big ones first. Size of a small half of a football. You drive slow in a loader tractor and a kid hustles the big ones in the bucket.

2. Then chisel plow the ground deep, maybe on the order of 7". I use a 90HP tractor and an IH Vibrashank cultivator with 1 3/4" wide points and 16 shanks to 8 ft implement. 70HP might do it. Work the ground a lot so the tiller can bury the rocks easily.

3. Pick any big rocks out like you did previously. Get a HD rototiller and till s-l-o-w (1 MPH) with the lid down in the back. Might need to till twice. Go slow and it will bury all but the big ones.

4. The next part needs a special tool and you need to do it before it rains or you'll have to rototill again.. You need to pack the ground to press any other rocks down and not leave tracks. I use a "cultimulcher" and you can search my prior posts for pics and description. It's an implement with a packer up front, adjustable cultivators in the middle and a packer in the rear. I only put the tines in the ground maybe 1/2" or so. Rent one. Smooth ground, rocks gone. Pick up any errant rocks while packing.

5. Seed with a Brillion or other seeder with tine track eradicators.

6. Miller time.


I've done many acres like this and posted this a number of times here if you want to search for more. I've tried all the other methods and none work unless you have an army of kids to pick rocks and then as soon as you break the ground to work it you have rocks again. Good luck and rent, borrow or scrounge what you don't have. Buy later when you know what works for you. Hope this helps.

 

[Jstpssng]

Don't pick most of them up. Bury them and I've done it for decades. Drive by one of my high dollar lawns and you'll never know what's beneath. I've done this in New England glacial till and around Ohio with just moderate rocks. I realize you have limited equipment and $$ so this is what I do.

1. You do have to pick up the big ones first. Size of a small half of a football. You drive slow in a loader tractor and a kid hustles the big ones in the bucket.

2. Then chisel plow the ground deep, maybe on the order of 7". I use a 90HP tractor and an IH Vibrashank cultivator with 1 3/4" wide points and 16 shanks to 8 ft implement. 70HP might do it. Work the ground a lot so the tiller can bury the rocks easily.

3. Pick any big rocks out like you did previously. Get a HD rototiller and till s-l-o-w (1 MPH) with the lid down in the back. Might need to till twice. Go slow and it will bury all but the big ones.

4. The next part needs a special tool and you need to do it before it rains or you'll have to rototill again.. You need to pack the ground to press any other rocks down and not leave tracks. I use a "cultimulcher" and you can search my prior posts for pics and description. It's an implement with a packer up front, adjustable cultivators in the middle and a packer in the rear. I only put the tines in the ground maybe 1/2" or so. Rent one. Smooth ground, rocks gone. Pick up any errant rocks while packing.

5. Seed with a Brillion or other seeder with tine track eradicators.

6. Miller time.


I've done many acres like this and posted this a number of times here if you want to search for more. I've tried all the other methods and none work unless you have an army of kids to pick rocks and then as soon as you break the ground to work it you have rocks again. Good luck and rent, borrow or scrounge what you don't have. Buy later when you know what works for you. Hope this helps.

He's putting in a garden, not a lawn. Rototillers don't like rocks. He will need to pick the rocks, turn the soil, and pick it again. For 8 years I've been turning my soil with a Ford 101 plow, disking, picking again, hilling up raised beds then finishing up with my Troybilt. This year I borrowed a 5 foot County Line tiller and still found rocks that I can't lift; I dug most out with the bucket, but a couple are waiting for when I can put the backhoe on.
GirlWWT has one suggestion; otherwise, the OP will need to keep picking, turning, and picking again. Remember that our ancesters did it all without hydraulics; just strong backs and several sons. They've been picking rocks out of the potato fields in northern Maine for 150+ years, yet they still keep finding more. Frost action is pretty amazing.

 

[CMV]

It seems the more I go, I just keep uncovering new ones <sigh>

This is what I'm dealing with giving me grief


The softball and smaller sized ones - they're easy. Bucket and/or box blade catches them and takes them along. Football and larger - esp buried or half buried - just make everything come to a halt. Reposition, dig it out, scoop it up, dump it, ...oh look...another bigger one right next to it.... I thought pushing with BB in reverse would be good way to move all the loose ones, but that just skims off an inch of dirt which exposes even more.

The area I've done so far is about 30' x 250'. I want to do at least 2 more areas this size for our pumpkin growing project. Since the soil is so bad I did consider a few triaxle loads of "black dirt", but those are $500+ ea delivered for about 18 cu yds. And 1 load wouldn't even cover an area that size 1" deep. Of course the whole area probably wouldn't need covering....just make mounds where the seeds will start might suffice. Mulch remainder to keep weeds down? No idea, but think that would just delay the problem since at end of season would have same issue needing to till the topsoil mounds and dead vines into the ground?

 

[stuckmotor]

My grandfather was a tobacco farmer below the fall line. He had twelve kids and not a rock on the place in thousands of years. What a waste of kid power.

I've tried all the other methods and none work unless you have an army of kids to pick rocks and then as soon as you break the ground to work it you have rocks again.

 

[kthompson]

Had very little experience with rocks but little helping brother in law in Texas. He was using fel and land plane and had some success, bought like you. He had bought a used I call them roll over rear blade that was only about four feet which for his 40 something tractor was fine. He had not tried it as had no idea how to use it. It has really heavy shanks on it, much heavier than normal box blade that would really hold to pull a rock with a single shank, we pull the rocks up with that and then roll to the blade to pull a load out. Think the brand of blade is Gannon.

Saying all that to say look for used implement built heavy in width your tractor will handle. I think you will need much heavier shanks than you think. But you probably can find more than one style of implement you can do this work with. A single shank subsoiler may pull the rocks up but a two shank close together would be better as not as likely to slip around a rock. Good time to meet neighbors, visit and ask for suggestions on implements and who may have old one for sale. Old, not been used in long time in the way may translate into low price.

On mulch, no idea there but our county recycling center sells ground up trees and such for cheap and would be good to mix with clay. Patience is your friend. Oh, you may should find out what someone would charge to run heavy equipment through there, might be less than getting implement that will work for you and then wear and tear on you and your tractor.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

It seems the more I go, I just keep uncovering new ones <sigh>

This is what I'm dealing with giving me grief
View attachment 555405

The softball and smaller sized ones - they're easy. Bucket and/or box blade catches them and takes them along. Football and larger - esp buried or half buried - just make everything come to a halt. Reposition, dig it out, scoop it up, dump it, ...oh look...another bigger one right next to it.... I thought pushing with BB in reverse would be good way to move all the loose ones, but that just skims off an inch of dirt which exposes even more.

The area I've done so far is about 30' x 250'. I want to do at least 2 more areas this size for our pumpkin growing project. Since the soil is so bad I did consider a few triaxle loads of "black dirt", but those are $500+ ea delivered for about 18 cu yds. And 1 load wouldn't even cover an area that size 1" deep. Of course the whole area probably wouldn't need covering....just make mounds where the seeds will start might suffice. Mulch remainder to keep weeds down? No idea, but think that would just delay the problem since at end of season would have same issue needing to till the topsoil mounds and dead vines into the ground?

I think we're all in agreement: In our rocky soil you will never get rid of the rocks. Besides you don't need to till to grow a garden. Just pick out the big rocks on the surface and plant your pumpkins. The roots will grow around the rocks just fine. Now, root crops on the other hand.....

Your main problem is not the rocks, but your (our) red clay soil. Now, clay soil actually isn't that bad in terms of nutrients. The problem is that it holds moisture very poorly. Concentrate your efforts on adding organic matter to the soil.