How to break up rock-hard soil?

[TheWaterbug]

I'll give you $4 for every rock that comes with a $5 dollar bill.

Sold! Shipping will be $184.50.

[TheWaterbug]

You may want to consider starting a new discussion with the question (How do I dispose of rocks from garden?) as the title of the discussion. That way more members will be likely to see it and possibly offer more answers.

Well, I'm not so much interested in how to dispose of them (I'll just dump mine in the corner) as in how to get them out of the planting areas. I suppose I could have built a screen-door type of contraption with 1" mesh or something to screen the rocks. If I were any root crops I probably have to.

Hmm. Maybe one could build a screening table with an incline and an eccentric agitator, with spout at the bottom for the wheelbarrow. Naaah. Too much work for me

[jal_ut]

Its nice to have a few rocks. In my garden, you can't find a rock to huck at a stray dog.

Nice fork.

Around here some farmers use what is called a sub-soiler to loosen soil deep down. It is two heavy duty tines about 30 inches long mounted on a tool bar on the back of a tractor. They are said to dig two feet deep. I have never operated a tractor so equipped. I have thought it would be good to go over my space with such a tool, but don't have one.

[DoubleDogFarm]

I'll pay $4.50.

Hey now! I'll haul them off for free, but you have to load them.

Eric

[jal_ut]

That is a nice looking tool. Good guarantee comes with it too. I like the metal handles. I know all about wooden handles on tools you pry with. I have snapped my share of such.

Aside from that, it is well to note that most root activity is in the top six inches of soil. This is why only shallow cultivation (2 inches max) is used after you have plants growing, so as not to damage roots. Yes, many plants will go much deeper, but you don't need to worry about it. If you can loosen down a foot deep with the fork, you can have a great garden.

If the plants do go deeper even in the compacted soil, over time that deeper area will improve too because of the decomposition of the roots that went deeper. I don't know how they do it, but do know that roots have an amazing ability to penetrate compacted soils and even gravelly/rocky soils.

[luvthesnapper]

People buy rocks?

Absolutely. Pea gravel is about $3.50, for 40 lbs., around here. That sounds like alot, but it isn't. If I had rocks, I'd look around my area for places that sell rock, and see what stone like I had was going for. Or give it to someone here that wants it. That big one looks like a 2 dollar stone.

I found a huge roll of carpet on the side of the road, a while back. It was dry, and a little faded, but it was free. Put it on CL for 50 dollars, and sold it like 3 days later. A lady wanted it for painting on. You just never know.

[TheWaterbug]

That is a nice looking tool. Good guarantee comes with it too. I like the metal handles. I know all about wooden handles on tools you pry with. I have snapped my share of such.

I would like to have slightly longer handles, because I'm 6'1" and about 215#, so I could use the extra leverage if it were available.

Meadow Creature has suggested that a short piece of oak closet rod could be turned a bit and grooved (to account for the weld seam on the interior of the handle) to make an extension, but I haven't tried that yet.

This piece of ground was really something. In addition to the rocks, there was also a layer of something that looked and felt like poorly poured concrete. I couldn't get the 'fork through it without a lot of stomping, so in some areas I had to fork it "backwards," e.g. start from the already-forked side and pry up from there.

Once it was pried up I could break it up a bit, and then the tiller took care of it.

I'm wondering if someone didn't pour out some old concrete from their wheelbarrow onto this area 30 years ago.

Is old concrete good/bad for plants? I suppose I won't have to add any calcium for awhile!

[Dillbert]

part of our side area and the area behind us is glacial till. and really dang shallow stuff, just for jollies.

so, stop picking on them there pebbles!

for the last 40 ft of fence posts I was chipping through VW Bug size rocks..... as in a 40' boom excavator with a hydraulic&pneumatic "business end"

just pile 'em up and sell 'em off to a fossil hunter (g)

[TheWaterbug]

for the last 40 ft of fence posts I was chipping through VW Bug size rocks..... as in a 40' boom excavator with a hydraulic&pneumatic "business end"

Just plant some lichens and wait a few thousand years

Yeah, I should know better than to complain when there's always someone out there with worse!