Rock Dilemma

[OkieKubota]

OP and others ...what does a rock rake do in a salvageable (meaning not paved like a driveway) piece of ground ...I am sure one can be rented somewhere near you

Bear

Rock Rake is of no use when everything under the rock is more rock...best thing to do is get something growing to hold the soil. I throw N Mow red clover, WR, and PTT into mine and it grows pretty well. pretty good slope on this hill and no way to incorporate lime or fertilizer but it still grows well...

 

[Jeff H]

I've got areas that look the same but most of mine are in timber. One south facing ridge in particular was logged 2 years ago and you cant walk that area today and keep your hat on it's so thick with undergrowth. There are some descent red and white oaks coming up through it as well.

 

[OkieKubota]

I've got areas that look the same but most of mine are in timber. One south facing ridge in particular was logged 2 years ago and you cant walk that area today and keep your hat on it's so thick with undergrowth. There are some descent red and white oaks coming up through it as well.

All of our was timber before we ran a dozer over it. The pictures I post are of an area we dozed last August...it's the only way to get a plot up in the ridges...

 

[dgallow]

You do not have a rock dilemma.....you have a lack of topsoil building issue. Tillage and picking rocks doesn't address the true issue!

Think about what you see carefully from a different perspective!

Do you have exposed rocks due to topsoil erosion?

And/or do you have exposed rocks because current management isn't building topsoil to cover the rocks!

Likely the answer to both is yes.....so the true issue is one of soil erosion and soil accumulation....exposed rocks are a symptom of bigger issues!

Yes...we have rocks too....some you can see due to erosion and poor soil cover. Pick them if you want.....


....but the situation will never improve because there are many more below those awaiting exposure by soil erosion.


Change landscape management to promote tall forage and you won't be looking at rocks. The deer and the cow will walk around or over rocks or stand on side and eat on the other. Over time, you can build enough topsoil to cover exposed rocks making them invisible! You won't see any rocks in this pic frame unless we burn that area...thus there is no impetus to pick rocks!

 

[OkieKubota]

You do not have a rock dilemma.....you have a lack of topsoil building issue. Tillage and picking rocks doesn't address the true issue!

Think about what you see carefully from a different perspective!

Do you have exposed rocks due to topsoil erosion?

And/or do you have exposed rocks because current management isn't building topsoil to cover the rocks!

Likely the answer to both is yes.....so the true issue is one of soil erosion and soil accumulation....exposed rocks are a symptom of bigger issues!

Yes...we have rocks too....some you can see due to erosion and poor soil cover. Pick them if you want.....


....but the situation will never improve because there are many more below those awaiting exposure by soil erosion.


Change landscape management to promote tall forage and you won't be looking at rocks. The deer and the cow will walk around or over rocks or stand on side and eat on the other. Over time, you can build enough topsoil to cover exposed rocks making them invisible! You won't see any rocks in this pic frame unless we burn that area...thus there is no impetus to pick rocks!

Pretty sure in our case that we are taking care of this, we don't have any problem growing in rock...

 

[massey]

Don't bother picking them, cuz they multiply like rabbits. As soon as you pick them, the frost heave brings out the next batch. I've hand picked enough 10-15 lb rocks to raise my pond by an inch or two ( or lower the depth) but I've never made a dent. Cover them with new soil like Dgallow said.

 

[srmtrap]

You'll need to grow some thatch for later use. Are you familiar with the throw and mow method? Look at the standing thatch in Okiekubota's picture. Spread seed into that thatch and mow it down over your seed to protect it from birds and to hold moisture. It works very well. There are several threads that CNC has started.

Yes I'm learning about that on here for sure. It's the mow part I don't get with bad rocks. They would destroy a mower I would think

 

[OkieKubota]

Yes I'm learning about that on here for sure. It's the mow part I don't get with bad rocks. They would destroy a mower I would think

Brushhog...

 

[Btaylor]

We have rocks like okie the others in places and some plots are not quite that bad. A couple plots and both orchard areas are maintained with a weedeater. The plots we broadcast seed and weedeater it down spring and fall. Orchards are mowed with weedeater every 2-3 weeks through the growing season. Really helps with grasshopper pressure on the young trees. I will weedeat right at 3 acres tomorrow, one acre is no big deal at all.

 

[OkieKubota]

We have rocks like okie the others in places and some plots are not quite that bad. A couple plots and both orchard areas are maintained with a weedeater. The plots we broadcast seed and weedeater it down spring and fall. Orchards are mowed with weedeater every 2-3 weeks through the growing season. Really helps with grasshopper pressure on the young trees. I will weedeat right at 3 acres tomorrow, one acre is no big deal at all.

Do you have a tractor? Brushhog?

 

[dgallow]

Keep the FEL bucket low and mow high and slow in rocky area.....bucket will let you know when to lift the mower deck or go around a rock. Preferred method in rocky areas is to broadcast seed with ATV then bring in the cow herd to graze/trample....much easier on equipment.

 

[Jason Broom]

I promise I will never complain about super-sandy-soil again!

 

[JFK52]

Forget about a food plot and plant pine trees in this field.

 

[mike hunt]

Has anyone tried a harley rake to clean up the rocks?

 

[farmhunter]

I'm glad I'm not alone with rocks, and Seeing some of you guy's plots - I'm feeling rock lucky!! We don't harvest any crops we plant for deer - we generally pick anything bigger than a Frisbee - and we also use a very heavy set of double rollers to push them in as much as possible. Especially when I plant clover knowing I will mow. Like this -

when I plant corn or beans, and I know I'm not mowing - I've been known to leave some bigger rocks behind, I just cannot pick them all most springs. I just go slow with the disks and the corn planter which I use for corn and beans both.

 

[Btaylor]

Do you have a tractor? Brushhog?

Yes we have 3 tractors, a 10' and a 5' brush hog. Just can't get a tractor into those places.

 

[Goldentriangle]

Wow, I guess a rock problem here in farm country in the Midwest is nothing compared to what you guys have going on. Never again will I complain about pitching a half dozen rocks before I fire up the tiller.


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[Chainsaw]

We remove the larger boulders and live with the softball size and under. We used to decide where we planted food plots based on where the best soil conditions were;that was pretty simple but did not make for effective hunting. Now we put the plots in the best locations to help define deer movement and improve hunting and just work to improve whatever soil conditions are there. As someone mentioned an acre can easily be mowed with a weed wacker if needed.
It's really important not to exceed your equipment's ability- and when you do push it proceed extremely slow with great caution.
Do what you can and work within the limits of your ground. For example the acre of rocks shown can grow rye, oats, winter wheat, with clover mixed in using thro and mow and the like but it would be a losing battle to plow it and plant corn or beans in it.

Also if and when you have the property logged it is great to design the skidder roads to later be used for tractor access to your plots where possible.

 

[blumsden]

As chainsaw said, remove the big rocks. I just left anything softball size and under. You don't have to lower the bushhog all the way to the ground, keep it raised up a little.

 

[dgallow]

Has anyone tried a harley rake to clean up the rocks?

Neighbor use a rock picker attachment for skid steer and tore it up in about a week. He ended up hiring a few kids to pick and pile rocks.