The only problem with that is, I try to avoid chemicals. Although I do use 10-10-10, I have only used RoundUp once, and had most of the gallon left that I gave away.
Rock removal
- Thread starter CMV
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The only problem with that is, I try to avoid chemicals. Although I do use 10-10-10, I have only used RoundUp once, and had most of the gallon left that I gave away.
Creamer
Elite Member
Good - you can no-till and no chemical. I do.
GirlWhoWantsTractor
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Yep, for sure!
N2DFire
Platinum Member
Fellow Rock farmers I feel your pain.
I had a roughly half acre patch that was dozer cleared several years ago and the stump holes had settled enough that it made for some pretty bumpy mowing so about 3 years ago I worked it over pretty good with a 7 tine (5') harrow (never heard this thing called anything but a tiller till I came to TBN), followed that up with a disk to break everything up, borroed a landscape rake & worked it over pretty good, and finally used a homemade drag (from old phone poles) to smooth everything over. Then I sewed the entire area back with a grass / clover mixture for deer plots and life was grand . . .
Till it rained . . .
Hard . . .
Every day . . .
For a week . . .
And washed every bit of seed & loose earth away back down to the dry red clay.
I have spent the last three years letting that patch go fallow on it's own trying to reclaim it.
Last month I spent 2 weekends (only half days - I'm fat & lazy) picking up rocks & sticks so I can bush hog it this year. My rule was anything big enough I wouldn't want to kick it, then pick it up.
I moved 4 loader buckets like this one in the first shot (note the blue ribbon prize winner in the front left) all picked up by hand.
And 3 trailer loads of limbs. sticks, roots, and branches like the second shot.
3/4 was hand loaded (the rest I did manage to get with the grapple) and all hand unloaded. (Which reminds me, I REALLY want a dump trailer)
I am loving all the tidbits about the use of organic matter & the "no til" concept and am already contemplating some things to try on the remaining portion of this mess that's still not growing anything (except more rocks).
So back to the OP
I have used a root grapple, landscape rakes, floating the box blade, and several other tricks to get up rock faster & easier over the years (and I'm the 3rd generation "rock picker" on this land). My advice is get yourself a "Mulch Fork" with a long handle and use that to pick up the rock so you don't have to bend over as far/much. Aside from that, there just isn't an easy way to do it.
I had a roughly half acre patch that was dozer cleared several years ago and the stump holes had settled enough that it made for some pretty bumpy mowing so about 3 years ago I worked it over pretty good with a 7 tine (5') harrow (never heard this thing called anything but a tiller till I came to TBN), followed that up with a disk to break everything up, borroed a landscape rake & worked it over pretty good, and finally used a homemade drag (from old phone poles) to smooth everything over. Then I sewed the entire area back with a grass / clover mixture for deer plots and life was grand . . .
Till it rained . . .
Hard . . .
Every day . . .
For a week . . .
And washed every bit of seed & loose earth away back down to the dry red clay.
I have spent the last three years letting that patch go fallow on it's own trying to reclaim it.
Last month I spent 2 weekends (only half days - I'm fat & lazy) picking up rocks & sticks so I can bush hog it this year. My rule was anything big enough I wouldn't want to kick it, then pick it up.
I moved 4 loader buckets like this one in the first shot (note the blue ribbon prize winner in the front left) all picked up by hand.
And 3 trailer loads of limbs. sticks, roots, and branches like the second shot.
3/4 was hand loaded (the rest I did manage to get with the grapple) and all hand unloaded. (Which reminds me, I REALLY want a dump trailer)
I am loving all the tidbits about the use of organic matter & the "no til" concept and am already contemplating some things to try on the remaining portion of this mess that's still not growing anything (except more rocks).
So back to the OP
I have used a root grapple, landscape rakes, floating the box blade, and several other tricks to get up rock faster & easier over the years (and I'm the 3rd generation "rock picker" on this land). My advice is get yourself a "Mulch Fork" with a long handle and use that to pick up the rock so you don't have to bend over as far/much. Aside from that, there just isn't an easy way to do it.
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What I always interpreted no till was planting ground cover, mowing it, killing with RoundUp, and planting the crop with a seed drill. To do it the way that you folks suggest would require 111 yards of compost for my existing garden, to cover it 6" deep. I have to drive at least 30 miles to get that volume, and hauling it in my little pickup one yard at a time just isn't feasible.
I am planting my squash in last year's pig pen, hopefully they will thrive there.
52wej
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N2, I am about 50 miles east of you and know exactly what you are dealing with. Red dirt + hard rain= ground on which nothing but weeds and gullies will grow. Even if you had a good cover of straw it would have been hard to keep that from washing down the hill. About the only thing that will stay put is the erosion matting and that is so expensive.
I do have a dump trailer, but the main difficulty is still making the rocks and limbs go from the ground into it. A grapple is good (I have one) but it does not do everything as you accurately noted.
You have probably noticed that when you are bushogging you will build up a lot of chaff and seed on it on the cutter. At the end of the day, drive over to your red ground and take a leaf blower and blow off all of the chaff on to the ground. I guarantee that within six week s if you get any rain at all you will get a nice green cover. Of course it will all be weeds, but any vegetative cover is better than none.
. Good Luck. W. Jones
I do have a dump trailer, but the main difficulty is still making the rocks and limbs go from the ground into it. A grapple is good (I have one) but it does not do everything as you accurately noted.
You have probably noticed that when you are bushogging you will build up a lot of chaff and seed on it on the cutter. At the end of the day, drive over to your red ground and take a leaf blower and blow off all of the chaff on to the ground. I guarantee that within six week s if you get any rain at all you will get a nice green cover. Of course it will all be weeds, but any vegetative cover is better than none.
. Good Luck. W. JonesMidTn Mark
Bronze Member
Make some friends with local tree services. Tell them you will take all the chipped wood they've got. Spread it out and keep adding to it. If you want put cardboard down first. It will help withvweed suppression.
Give it a bit and plant in to it. Keep doing that and in a year or so you will have nice loamy soil.
Give it a bit and plant in to it. Keep doing that and in a year or so you will have nice loamy soil.
A year? You're rather optimistic. I think that I will keep planting in the ground.
Creamer
Elite Member
You can either plant ground cover like a clover and plant right into it or use mulch. I prefer seed free hay or straw for mulch as it will break down quicker. Until you get the system going though you will need to add a little nitrogen or the break down of the organic matter will retain the nitrogen and it will not be available for your plants. Nitrogen can be either chemical or from manure.
BrokenTrack
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I clear a lot of land, so I built a rock and root rake to help window rocks and sticks. I just built it, and so far my only test has been removing sticks from an existing hay field that logging messed up with scattered limbs everywhere. It worked well for that, but I see no reason why it would not work well for plowed ground and rocks too.
