Eradicating rocks before tilling

[jeff9366]

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Your LOCATION will tells us something about your climate (frost heaving) and soil.

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[nybirdman]

Just make sure your slip clutch is working and till away.Plow with a middle buster first.
My farm is 150 years old,I used to pick rocks,watse of time.I have miles of rock fences that previous owners picked(with horses).
We till ten acres of food plots a year.

 

[masseyrider]

If you put stone and gravel where you want it, a driveway, it will dissipate and disappear.
If you remove them from an area where you want to grow something they will come back every year.
I'm on sandy soil and when I bought the place the previous owner told me I'D never find any rocks.
After 10 seasons I hired a dump truck to haul away 3 full 25 ton loads. There's more left. Not to mention my driveway guards, 7 boulders, that took a backhoe to dig out and move.
One I discovered while plowing. Plowing along is kind of tedious and I was kinda daydreaming and suddenly I was almost on the hood of my Massey.
It was about 6" underground when the plow caught it. About 2 feet thick 3 foot wide and 5-6 long. Stopped my tractor dead in it's tracks.
Plowing along in 1st high at about 1800rpm I'm surprised it didn't rip the lift arms off my tractor.
If they tell you the stone age is over don't you believe them.

 

[Rockbadchild]

what type of soil ?

there is a “field rock picker” but probably not feasible for you

then there is a Rock Skeleton bucket

 

[Jstpssng]

It was about 6" underground when the plow caught it. About 2 feet thick 3 foot wide and 5-6 long. Stopped my tractor dead in it's tracks.

That’s one thing I like about my old Ford 101 plow; hit a rock and it trips. I’ve found a LOT of rocks with it. There’s still one out there someplace bigger than my harrow. I had it uncovered and had dug around it a bit but when the stumped the old field they either covered it or put it in one of the stump piles. Either way I’ll find it again someday.

 

[Rockbadchild]

I've plowed, harrowed, disced, and tilled. Picked rocks and done it all over again. I still have rocks every year... some big enough to trip the bottom on the plow.
If your climate has frost there will always be rocks working their way up. The potato fields north of me have been worked for 150 years yet they still are picking rocks.
I usually pick every spring, disc it and pick rocks again. Then as I'm tilling I stop and pick the bigger ones which work their way up through.

I agree, also crops ''eat'' soil so over the years there is less soil so the plow goes deeper exposing new rocks.

 

[dirttoys]

If you have a hoe for your tractor, claw it up a foot deep and pick up the obvious rocks, then till, lather rinse repeat. If you have or rent a skid, get a rockhound or harley rake. If you can get a plow through it, then till.

Honestly it is sometimes easier to haul in relatively clean dirt and top dress it 3 or 4 inches deep and seed.

Good luck, let us know how it goes,

ed

 

[Vigo327]

I have not used one but it seems like an old spring shank chisel (old because they're generally built way heavier!!) could probably be pulled through most soils by a <2000lb 4wd tractor, be safe from rock damage, and find a bunch of rocks. Just have to start shallow and work deeper on followup pass.

I don't totally agree that a small tractor with low hp can't pull a disc plow. My little bit of experience tells me that once you get the disc heavy enough to cut in, your small tractor won't be able to LIFT it. Which leads me to a slightly more nuanced conclusion of, if you have a small tractor and hard ground, you should either not use a disc until ground has been broken some other way first, or use pull-type disc. In my case i weighted the disc until the tractor would barely lift it, still had disappointing results, did a couple passes with my box blade with rippers down (for lack of having anything more appropriate) and then did the disc again afterwards and had somewhat better results. The disc is borrowed so my experiment cost me nothing but time.

I have a huge rock collection! About the volume/size of a 1 ton truck (whole truck, not a truck bed) worth of piled rocks, now. But it certainly does NOT freeze more than half an inch deep here, EVER, and i am making a whole lot of progress on my <3 acre area ive pulled these rocks from (rest is wooded). I actually think im 70-80% done.

Im with the others who say just use the tiller and start shallow. But i do think a good old spring chisel cultivator could work as well if you aren't willing to subject your tiller to it. The one below could be lifted by anything bigger than a garden tractor (and mostly height issues at that, just needs to raise enough) and could be pulled by anything assuming you started shallow and went deeper on followup passes.

I suspect the cheesy spring shanks of this style would not last long in unworked rocky soil:

 

[JasperFrank]

Good luck with that. I've been removing large rocks for twenty years. And really just now, is it workable to even mow the grass. First think of where are you going to put them, these rocks. And make sure that's where you want to put them.

 

[Red_Ranger]

Your LOCATION would be useful in replying to this thread.


Your LOCATION will tells us something about your climate (frost heaving) and soil.

Your LOCATION will allow your respondents to match implement recommendations to availability in your area.

I’m in central Kentucky and have clay soil.