rototilling rocky soil

[John McGaw]

Depending on the type of tiller and the size and density of the rocks your experiences will vary. I've tilled relatively rocky soil using a huge rental tiller that had a sophisticated hydraulic drive system and it did a fair job but still left me to manually pick up and dispose of the rocks.

Far easier and quicker is to find a local company with a Bobcat-type machine that has a rock-picker attachment. They can readily pick out everything over about 3/4" leaving decently clean soil for you to amend and work with. It is amazing how much an experienced person can do with a Bobcat in a couple of hours and the cost is probably less than you imagine. It certainly can't hurt to ask. BTW: there are also huge tiller attachments to go with the Bobcat and the machine with a bucket on it can rip up really bad tree roots and such with almost no fuss.

[Charlie]

I didn't think those units would clean much over a few inches deep.

WIll they leave a fairly deep cleaned area, and I'm also wondering about the area the OP lives in. Will winter frost work new rocks up?

I don't know, I'm just curious.

Care Charlie

[Ann]

Charlie expounded:

We call l'em New England potatoes around here!

[Charlie]

Whoa.......gives a whole new meaning to new peas and potatoes.

Or New England Boiled Dinner! *#:-)

Charlie

[Cheryl Isaak]

My grandfather called them "spring potatoes"!

C

[Ivanna Pee]

There are stumps in my yard everywhere. They are very nice stumps, all about 3-4 inches high, but more stumps than I care to count. Keeping the grass trimmed is an exercise in futility as I will encounter stumps more often than not.

I would like to take a lawn mower to the stumps but fear what will happen with all those damn stumps. What kind of things should I look for when mowing a really stumpy lawn? Do I need a special mower, should I simply not do it, would renting one be a bad idea?(I'm thinking of damage to the unit), would a mower not do a good job? Are there other options besides a hand saw?

Welcome to the northeast. We have tools called picks & shovels and pry bars here. I suggest you make an investment.

[hobbes]

Hi Ivanna,

The mower that I think will solve your problem is commonly called a weed-wacker or trimmer. I have one of these:

and a number of other manufacturers also make them check out Home Depot or Lowes.

The way they work is they cut the lawn with a nylon cord. So stumps etc will not damage the machine.

Best, Mike.

[Sheldon]

That's a string trimmer... they're good for trimming and edging... you'd have to be built like the Incredible Hulk to cut much lawn with one of those. They also make a machine that uses the same string principle (but a little more heavy duty) that's mounted on wheels just like a push mower but still it's for whacking down overgrown lawn/ weeds and very light brush in relatively small areas (really a less expensive version of a sickle bar), not for mowing lawn... I wouldn't want to have to push one of those on a slope.

For a large slope where one isn't too fussy about precision lawn finishing the best choice is a small tractor fitted with a flail mower... flail mowers handle overgrown grass so you don't need to mow but every 3-4 weeks. And when I say small tractor I mean a real tractor, with PTOs and 3 point hitch, not one of those toys r us riding mowers sold at Lowes and the Depot... those things hardly have enough power to carry a grown man over level ground, let alone up a slope.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Those machines are for girly men. This is the trimmer you really want:

[William Wagner]

I rented a Bush Wacker 30 years ago when I first moved in. Looked like a lawn mower with one big difference. It was belt driven so a stump would not destroy the metal shaft or engine .

Bill

[Sheldon]

Actually it's a lot simpler to remove all those small stumps... only need to remove them once, gotta mow around them nearly forever.

[William Wagner]

I used it on Wild Blueberries with and occasional small stump hidden about. Just along our driveway and various foot paths. That area in my yard is not mowed but a home for hosta, day lilies, woodruff and a couple strange grass's a friend gave me.

Bill who still thinks of your stream and being a beaver in inclination would have a stocked pond with bamboo.

Bill

[John]

replying to Eigenvector, John wrote: Living in Maryland I was able to rototill rocky soil until one day I got one large one snagged between the blades and the frame. This broke the drive chain. My answer would be that you could handle soil and rock up to the "getting stuck" size. For me that was about 4"

[John]

replying to Eigenvector, John wrote: Living in Maryland I was able to rototill rocky soil until one day I got one large one snagged between the blades and the frame. This broke the drive chain. My answer would be that you could handle soil and rock up to the "getting stuck" size. For me that was about 4"

[Granny]

replying to Charlie, Granny wrote: Thank you! I had the same question and your answer was well written and very helpful!

[penmart01]

No rototiller can handle soil with many large rocks. You'll need to dig them out by hand with a shovel or simply mark off the area you want to plant and build a frame of rail road ties at least a foot high and have good top soil brought in to fill it, that's what I did for my vegetable garden. Often it's better not to disturb the base soil regardless of rocks as it makes for good drainage. I used real RR ties, used ones were $8 each. To keep them from shifting I drilled three holes in each and used 3' sections of rebar to stake them in place. I also made up some aluminum fish plates to splice the RR tie ends and corners. Every two years I till in a couple of yards of composted mushroom growing mix, for that I use a Mantis tiller, so easy to control even an eight year old child can use it. Don't let the small size of a Mantis tiller fool you, it works like a beast without straining your body. Originally I bought an 8 horsepower Simplicity tiller, wore me out, after an hour I needed a rest. I sold it and bought the Mantis, everyone who gardens needs one. Here I added an addition. By reversing the tines on the Mantis it will puree grass including the roots.

[Sponk]

replying to penmart01, Sponk wrote: I'd be worried about all the tar and oil, or whatever is used to treat railroad ties, if I were using them to frame a vegetable garden. Not so much a concern for just flowers or ornamentals.

[Dan Espen]

I believe railroad ties were preserved with Creosote. Not something you want to ingest at all.