Rock Hound (removing field rocks)

[century3045]

Does anyone have a better idea on removing rocks, pebble size to fist size from a garden? I borrowed a rock hound and it didn't work well in the plowed soil. It worked good on hard ground, in fact it removed sticks, rocks and everything. I tried a york rake and it just kept getting the rocks stuck between the teeth. The most effective way I have found so far is removing them by hand but then as the ground is plowed there will be twice as many as I started with. I think my garden grows rocks.

 

[1948berg]

Growing rocks.
My wife has an interesting theory; as it seems that rocks dissappear when you dump them in a muddy spot on the road, but in the fields they keep coming up, year after year. Can it be the same rocks, just making a sort of circular movement in the ground, from the roads, down, and up again in the fields? Just a theory, not scientifically proved.

 

[RonMar]

Scrape the topsoil with rocks into piles with a box scraper. Build a seperator screen out of expanded metal or chainlink. The mesh is held at a 45-60 degree angle on a tractor moveable steel or wood frame. Scoop the piles with a front end loader and dump them onto the top edge of the screen. As the soil tumbles down the screen, Gravity filters the soil through the screen while rocks and debis slide down the topside and fall off the low end. Scoop and remove the rocks and debris pile, spread the topsoil pile with the box scraper. Move onto the next pile and do it again. I have made small versions of these that fit on a wheelbarrow and the dirt is filtered a shovel at a time. They work great and leave a pile of rock in front of the wheelbarrow.

There are several posts on this forum about people who made their own rock/trash separators. Many of these could probably be made portable, maybe even as a trailer with the debris falling into a bin on the trailer for removal. I attached a bitmap of one such idea I was toying with. The highest point is just below what the FEL's max lift/dump height is. the screen is wider than the FEL bucket or has side panels to keep soil from falling off the sides. The area below the screen in between the tires is open to allow the filtered soil to fall to the ground. The rock/debris bin in front of the low end of the angled screen has removeable sides and is just a little wider than the FEL bucket to allow the material to be either scooped or pushed off the other side of the trailer with the FEL bucket. When done in an area, just tow the thing away and leave a pile of clean dirt.

 

[LarryD]

RonMar, can I borrow that screen your going to build? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I have one that fits across a 1.5cy wagon made from expanded steel. It does a very nice job screening small amounts of earth, about 4/5 shovels at a time.

It really surprises me that no one has built a small, portable screener that one could rent from an equipment yard. I think there's a huge market for such a unit on this rock.

1948berg, I think you wife is onto something. I'm going to mark several rocks and wait to see where they pop up. I've got several large piles of rocks I've collected on my property and there is just no way there is an ifinite number available. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[century3045]

Thats an interesting approach. My garden is about 2 acres though, sounds like it may take awhile. I thought I might just turn about half of it into pasture so it might make it a little easier. I grew some 41/2 lb. turnips in those rocks a couple years ago but man they are brutal on my Woods tiller.

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

Larry (and all), check this out: Harley mobile screeners

I came across this while doing some research for someone else (Timahhhh) was just looking for an attachment that would remove rocks from his horse pavilion. It's made by the same people who make the Harley rake.

Cheap they are not - they range from 13K to 21K, depending on dumping height and whether or not the unit has its own hydraulics or uses the tractor's. I talked to a rep and he said that the absolute most productive method would be to windrow the rocks with a Harley rake and then pick up the rocks with this baby, but it would probably work just fine all by itself - just might take a little longer.

The machine comes with 4 screens; the larger the screen, the faster you can go. It might be nearly impossible to find a rental yard who has one of these, but they sure look nice - and a lot easier than hand-picking. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

John

 

[LarryD]

That's exactly the type unit I was looking for.

I rented a rock hound several years ago for an area about 2 acres in size that had been dozed level. It did a fair job but only picked up the surface rocks, which were replaced with the ones below after a couple seasons.

The brochure indicates a screen depth of 4" which could probably be increased if the area was disced prior. This seems to go deeper than rock hound or harley rake. It also took me all day to do two acres and Harley claims this unit will do 1.5 to 2 acres an hour. My neck would sure like that. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Looks like I'll be visiting the local rental yard to discuss equipment inventory with Mike.

 

[sandman2234]

My Dad used a pair of teenage boys to do all of his rock picking up. Worked sometimes, sometimes it didn't. Never did get all the rocks, but got enough to build a dam on the pond, so water level could be raised.
Building a rock screen would be cheaper than feeding those two teenager's.
David from jax

 

[LarryD]

I offered a BBQ to my friends and a prize to the kids of $25 for the biggest pile of rocks, no takers.

I can remember when I was young, my father purchased the 1/2 acre next to us and there was no reward for picking rocks. You want to eat, rake the rocks in the yard. Times have changed.

I have talked the neighbor boy into splitting wood for $25 a cord. I drag the trees up to the wood shed, cut them into rounds, and he splits and stacks the wood. I think I get the better end of the deal, I actually feel that I should pay more.

I took the cut-sheet for the Harley screener to my local rental yard and he was very interested. He has a landscape rake that he won't rent out anymore because people think it will get rid of the rocks, then they complain when they see the result. The first thing he asked me was I going to buy one, I said "no, but if you buy one, I be the first to rent it". I'll stop by next week to see when it will be delivered. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif