16
votes
How can I prevent stones from rising to the soil surface each year?
It's called "granular convection" and there's really nothing you can do about it except continue to remove the stones as they come up. The winter cold and the water in the soil help this along - I'm ...
- 5,172
14
votes
Accepted
How can I prevent stones from rising to the soil surface each year?
Well, in my area, unless you add about 6" of soil every year, the stones will rise to the surface each spring. Around here, we call it the 'crop'. I've heard it is frost action working on the stones ...
- 51.5k
11
votes
How can I prevent stones from rising to the soil surface each year?
Agree with J Musser's answer - where I lived, the soil was very stoney, and yes, they do surface every year, and you notice them particularly after winter. I used to wonder if it was the rotation of ...
- 129k
7
votes
Accepted
What are the pros and cons of different rock dusts?
First, I have to say that many of these are so similar, you really won't find a lot of pros and cons between them. They are very similar, and though some might do better than others in certain ...
- 51.5k
7
votes
Accepted
How far down do I need to dig when sifting out rocks from a garden?
Although much root activity occupies the top 6 inches of soil, many vegetables need 2 feet of soil or more.
Janet Beal
The depth of your bed will be determined by what you want to grow.
Shallow ...
- 494
7
votes
What can I do with rocks to encourage wildlife?
Stone walls and piles provide a number of things for wildlife and plants:
shelter
habitat in the form of a microclimate
For a garden I favour a dry stone wall as it is more functional and of nicer ...
- 56.2k
6
votes
Accepted
English word for a "soil filter machine"?
Screen ,or screen drum, strainer or sieve could be used. For analysis of particle sizes in limited volume, screen sieves ( Taylor is a common name ) are commonly used.
- 7,706
5
votes
Accepted
How should I re-stack a dry stone wall?
This is a dry stone wall that has been built without mortar or a poured concrete foundation. The site has several challenges:
the area above the wall slopes so any rain or runoff water will go down ...
- 56.2k
5
votes
Accepted
What size of rocks are worth sifting out of a garden?
The contradictory advice that you received about what size of rocks to remove relates to what you are growing. For tomatoes, I wouldn't be concerned with rocks the size of a baseball. If I was growing ...
- 254
5
votes
Accepted
Pros and Cons of wood vs stone mulch
I'm not a fan of stone/gravel mulch. I use it in one spot for a specific reason but it's hard to keep it looking clean. Weeds will still grow in it or past it. Either because the landscape fabric ...
- 8,437
4
votes
How can I prevent stones from rising to the soil surface each year?
I live in New England and harvest a fresh crop of stones every spring. I've heard that this is why settlers headed out west when the Ohio River Valley was "discovered" by the Europeans. There may be ...
4
votes
How far down do I need to dig when sifting out rocks from a garden?
If you will only be planting carrots in the spot, then you would remove rocks down to the level where the root would grow. Removing rocks further down would not be of any benefit to the carrots. If ...
- 254
4
votes
Accepted
Getting sand out of rockery
I don't like answering my own questions but, after speaking to my neighbors, just about the only solution is to dig the whole lot out and start again. I did just this on a smaller area with bigger ...
- 241
4
votes
How should I re-stack a dry stone wall?
Honestly, due to the slope and the fact that building rock walls is a learned skill, I would recommend you hire someone to do it right.
I have seen some amazing craftsmanship in a rock wall that was ...
- 6,326
4
votes
What can I do with rocks to encourage wildlife?
I stack any larger rocks I find when gardening onto piles. I find that these piles attracts snakes and lizards who like to live between the rocks and sunbathe on top of them. The snakes and lizards ...
- 504
3
votes
Should i use rocks in a (VERY) large container for gardening? (no drainage)
This looks an ideal setup to make a sub irrigated planter. You can look on youtube for many videos on how to construct these but you've got most of the construction already completed for you.
So, in ...
- 23k
3
votes
What size of rocks are worth sifting out of a garden?
In the active growing area of the beds, I prefer 1/4" screen if I'm bothering to screen for garden purposes. Given the choice of unscreened or 1" screened, I'd prefer the 1", but if I'm the guy ...
- 18.4k
3
votes
Accepted
How do I prepare rocky soil for planting an avocado tree?
What a beautiful city you live in! Avocados are grown around the world and are very adaptable. South Africa produces over 80,000 metric tons of avocado every year. The Western Cape area where you ...
- 56.2k
3
votes
Accepted
Shall I remove pea-sized rocks and gravels from soil before planting a flowering cherry?
Couple of things - first, the corner of the material you've found is likely the edge of a geotextile membrane which extends beneath the deck to prevent anything from growing through, and to discourage ...
- 129k
3
votes
What should I do about landscape rocks in my garden plot?
There was one time, when I was working in a very good, rich perennial bed, which I had been hired on for three years. The plants loved the organic soil, and showed exceptional pest and drought ...
- 51.5k
3
votes
Accepted
What to do with moss on rock?
You should start liking the mosses. Very nice and relaxing. And it make your garden have an "alpine look".
You may remove it (strong brush), or just turning them, but they will return quickly, unless ...
- 13.9k
2
votes
How can I prevent stones from rising to the soil surface each year?
In my experience, it is the larger stones/gravel that sink into the soil while the fines come up! The only reason to ever use landscape fabric is to save your graveled areas that are normally walked ...
- 39.8k
2
votes
What should I do about landscape rocks in my garden plot?
Step one is determine the purpose of the stone that is there. As others have mentioned, it could be for a number of reasons. It could be there for no particular reason at all or left over from some ...
- 5,172
2
votes
Accepted
What should I do with my horrible plastic-rocks-and-weeds front yard?
Pretty much, your best option is to remove all the layers of rock and landscape fabric, and rebuild from there. If you are willing to hire someone, that will save you a lot of trouble. The soil ...
- 51.5k
2
votes
How can I stop grass from growing in my driveway?
I also have a driveway like this, and grass grows down the middle, and along the edges. I think it looks fine, but if you can't stand it, there are several methods of elimination.
boiling water:
...
- 51.5k
2
votes
What are the pros and cons of different rock dusts?
There is a distinct benefit to using greensand over DE or rock dust, that is the soil conditioning properties, as greensand adds a beautiful free-draining texture for organic potting soil applications....
- 21
2
votes
Pros and Cons of wood vs stone mulch
It would be nice to see what you are talking about. Please send a photo or two. I am assuming by 'stones' you mean river rock or cobble that someone has put in around the foundation of your home...on ...
- 39.8k
2
votes
Accepted
How to revive a low nitrogen and rocky soiled lawn?
I see a few problems right away:
Fertilizers are known to displace natural nutrients in the soil
use a polyculture seed mix as all the plants using the same nutrients in the soil, adding clover to ...
- 8,662
2
votes
Vacuum the debris from rocks?
A leaf blower is probably your best bet. If the rocks are dry you should be able to blow any debris out from the cracks, while a high power enough to suck anything other than light dust out of cracks ...
- 21
2
votes
How to clean long neglected, partially sunken landscape rocks
Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. Everything is on the table. A fence is just a fence and can be removed and replaced, or not. Heavy concrete pavers can be removed and replaced, or not. With ...
- 18.8k
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