Rocks!

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mass_burner

mass_burner

Minister of Fire
Sep 24, 2013
2,645
SE Mass
So I made the dumb mistake of putting a bunch of stones in an area just to the side of my planting beds. I did this originally because I unearthed a large pillow size outcropping at the end of one of the beds. (This could be the tip of a car size rock for all I know. )

So yesterday I dug them all out to start over. Now I have 20 cu ft if stones. Some we brought home from the beach, so there nice smooth river. I'll use them somewhere in the yard.

My question. What do you folks do with a large amount of unwanted rocks?
 
My solution probable won't work for you as we live on a farm
all the rocks pulled from the fields go on the fence line. Mind you
here in Lanark County Ontario Canada we grow the best rocks
Big uns and little uns
 
Great question. I too have a lot of rocks in my garden areas. I live with them. When I go to plant something new, I just dig a 2' x 2' hole about 2' feet deep, set all the stones aside, fill the hole with organic based soil and plant. What I do with the rocks depends on how tired I am. Usually I just leave them there until dirt gathers on top and grass and weeds cover them. Hides them real well. I used to pile them up in a specific place thinking I would never need to use that space, until I needed to use it. Doh!
 
vinny11950 said:
Great question. I too have a lot of rocks in my garden areas. I live with them. When I go to plant something new, I just dig a 2' x 2' hole about 2' feet deep, set all the stones aside, fill the hole with organic based soil and plant. What I do with the rocks depends on how tired I am. Usually I just leave them there until dirt gathers on top and grass and weeds cover them. Hides them real well. I used to pile them up in a specific place thinking I would never need to use that space, until I needed to use it. Doh!
Click to expand...
So do you put the stones in before you plant something or you just bury some when you happen to plant something?
 
mass_burner said:
So do you put the stones in before you plant something or you just bury some when you happen to plant something?
Click to expand...

Don't put the stones in and then plant on top of them. The former owner of my house planted everything on a bed of stones and all the plants hit a mid way size and stopped growing or doing anything productive. As I started digging them up to replace / replant / move them I found piles of rocks at the bottom of every hole infused with dry roots. I since have dug up nearly every plant, bush, shrub etc.. removed the stone and re-set them in fresh soil, they're all doing much better.
That said, some plants do like stones, like grape vines, but for the most part, get rid of them...

I've started a rock garden with my unwanted stones. Then, since I found a use for them, I started running low on the bigger ones (100# and up) now I actually bring rocks home from jobs when we find them. NEVER thought I'd be bringing them home, I live in the granite state, but it keeps the wife happy....
 
mass_burner said:
So do you put the stones in before you plant something or you just bury some when you happen to plant something?
Click to expand...

Sorry, I meant the stones/rocks are deep in the ground so I have to dig them out to make room when planting something. After getting dug up, I just leave them on top of the ground. Eventually they get covered by earth and grass and weeds.
 
Warm...how did you make a rock garden? I have all the area dug up now. I would like to put the rocks back, but I'm afraid dirt will get between them and start weeds/invasives.
 
We don't have curbs or sidewalks where I live. The soil just kinda stops and the paved road begins. every time it rains it washes the soil out and makes a ditch. the town filled it with more soil and it washed right out again. I started putting all my rocks in this ditch along the roadside. It looks much better and there is a lot less erosion. I still need some more rocks. I suppose I will find them in the spring when I do some more planting. The rain cant wash the rocks away.
 
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I decided to look into making a small Japanese type rock garden. I think I'll bury what I can and then throw some pea gravel over the top, leave the main boulder and few others exposed.
 
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I just used them as borders to the woods / lawn / planting bed areas. Having a defined edge to work to really helped with expanding the lawn, adding landscaping bushes and ground cover, and keeping the maintenance of each to a minimum.
 
I remove rocks from gardens too.
DSC_11.jpg

I have a cliff to dump them off of
 
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Dig another hole and fill it with the rocks. Use them as fill. I thought everybody had a ditch or ravine somewhere to dump rocks. When planting stuff I just put them back in the hole first and then soil on top. It's usually harder to put the rocks in after you push the soil in first.
 
Highbeam said:
Dig another hole and fill it with the rocks. Use them as fill. I thought everybody had a ditch or ravine somewhere to dump rocks. When planting stuff I just put them back in the hole first and then soil on top. It's usually harder to put the rocks in after you push the soil in first.
Click to expand...
I have about 25 cu ft of rocks. That's a lot of digging.
 
Any low spots in your yard? Spread them out to fill the low spot and then top with purchased topsoil.
 
Highbeam said:
Any low spots in your yard? Spread them out to fill the low spot and then top with purchased topsoil.
Click to expand...
All grading is good. I wouldn't mind putting them back where I removed them from, I just need to make a good barrier/border to keep weeds/invasives out.
 
Use geotextile fabric. Water in, and keeps weeds out for many years. Way better then standard landscaping fabric.

Cheapest place by far is Amazon.
 
kennyp2339 said:
Where do you buy one of these cliffs I hear so much about?
Click to expand...
Guy next door has about 7 acres with a whole bunch of them for sale. There might be a few thousand cubic yards of uncrushed ABC to contend with. ( exhausted gravel pit partially filled with partially crushed concrete and crap ). He had a buyer at $625,000 but couldn't get permit to run the operation he want to run.
 
mass_burner said:
So I made the dumb mistake of putting a bunch of stones in an area just to the side of my planting beds. I did this originally because I unearthed a large pillow size outcropping at the end of one of the beds. (This could be the tip of a car size rock for all I know. )

So yesterday I dug them all out to start over. Now I have 20 cu ft if stones. Some we brought home from the beach, so there nice smooth river. I'll use them somewhere in the yard.

My question. What do you folks do with a large amount of unwanted rocks?
Click to expand...

My use is; I invite my wife outside to watch me put them in a box. Once finished, I ask the box of rocks what I should do with them. When they don't answer (as of yet] I say let take you over to the neighbors. My wife was amazed that I am smarter than a box of rocks.
 
I am smack dab on a massive sandstone formation. Rock walls/beds everywhere. Pink Floyd really screwed me up...
 
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