Rocks in the hayfield

[flusher]

I'm planning to turn my 7 acre weed patch into a hayfield later this year. The South half is infested with a lot of gravel (mostly 1-2" rocks with occasional potato-size stones). Most of the rocks are in an East-West swale that drains the field.

Question: will a rock rake (aka landscape rake) be of any use to remove rocks from say the top 4-5 inches of soil? Does adding a hydraulic cylinder to the rake to give downforce make sense?

I assume it's better to remove as much of the rock nuisance as possible prior to tilling the soil.

Suggestions appreciated and thanks.

 

[ToadHill]

It will drag the rocks but it takes a lot of soil with it. I tried it in my garden several years ago and ended up with a 50/50 mix of stones and soil.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Try renting one of these critters!


Rock Picker Features - Rite Way Farm equipment.


PFM Series 500 Rock Picker

 

[flusher]

Try renting one of these critters!


Rock Picker Features - Rite Way Farm equipment.


PFM Series 500 Rock Picker

FWJ: thanks for the input. Those rock pickers will do the job fine.

 

[BarryinMN]

Rite-way works best if the rocks are larger (grapefruit sized) and windrowed first. If your rocks are 1-2" why bother? Simply use a roller & push them below surface after seeding.

A skidloader & rock bucket is fastest but it will take topsoil along with the rocks.

 

[slowzuki]

We leave anything under 4". If you disc it instead of harrowing it will tend to drive rocks in instead of pulling them out.

 

[flusher]

We leave anything under 4". If you disc it instead of harrowing it will tend to drive rocks in instead of pulling them out.

Thanks. You've pointed me in the right direction. All the jumbo rocks (4" or larger) have been removed by hand. Fairly easy since that bad part only covers about 2 acres. It's the smaller stuff I'm after.

Since this pasture hasn't been used in decades, I plan to fertilize (per the soil test results I have in hand), plow, disc, level with a harrow, seed (either broadcast or grain drill) and finish with a cultipacker. My intention is to remove as much of the 2" and larger rock infestation as possible before starting this process. In this rocky part the stand of native foliage (aka weeds) is pretty thin compared to the better parts of my hayfield. I figure removing those smaller rocks would improve the hay yield.