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Is there a good rock picker out there?

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Tyler(WA)

04-03-2001 06:22:40




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I need a rock picker but have heard some bad reports concerning the "Rock Hound" that mounts on the front of a Bobcat. I've heard that it only gets the top surface rocks.

What I want to do is clear the rocks out of the top 6 to 8 inches of soil. I plan to till in compost and manure then pick the rocks. This should leave me something to plant grass in. I can do this for a reasonable cost but at $14/yd.... top soil is out of the question. I have about 2 acres of field to plant.

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Fred Tex

04-04-2001 19:02:50




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 Re: Is there a good rock picker out there? in reply to Tyler(WA), 04-03-2001 06:22:40  
Hey Tyler. Last fall I decided I was going to clear about 1 acre of rocks. There was no way to bush hog because of the rocks. I dropped the hooks about 4 inches on my box blade and started ripping using a small Kubota tractor. If I hit a big rock I just went over it and worked on it later. In one day I had the rocks out on top and scraped up in piles. Another day I did the same thing but it didn't take near as long. I have a good crop of winter rye grass on it now. Most likly I will blade it again since rocks do work their way to the top and some will be visable after the loose soil has settled. Easy nuf to pick up the piles with front end loader or scoop.

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Phil

04-04-2001 10:57:29




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 Re: Is there a good rock picker out there? in reply to Tyler(WA), 04-03-2001 06:22:40  
Why do you want to get the rocks out of the top 6 - 8 inches? It will never happen, if you ever plow again they will magically reappear, they tend to work their way to the surface. If this is a yard or pasture and your not going to break the soil again what is wrong with just getting rid of the rocks on the surface? My place is very rocky and after I built my house and was establishing a yard I had to get rid of all the rocks. What I did was rent a bobcat with a harley rake attachment. The harley rake was a heavy duty rotating drum with metal spikes. For the first pass the rake would break up the soil and level it out. For the second and final pass I changed the settings. (put it at an angle and removed a few of the pins so it wasn't aggressively digging into the soil. This is how it was intended to be used, I didn't modify it or do anything dangerous.) With these settings it put all of the rocks in a windrow that made it easier for me to pick them up. I put the bucket back on the bobcat and picked up the rocks. For my 1 1/2 acres I had a pile of rocks about 10' by 10' by 3' high, thats an estimate but there was alot of rocks and some pretty big ones. The rental cost of the bobcat and rake was about $325 for a day, plus fuel, but it was money well spent. I now have a nice smooth lawn and I don't have any rocks in my yard, at least on the surface which is all that matters to my lawn tractor. I was really suprised out how good of a job it did and how nice my yard turned out. That was two years ago, this summer will be my third summer of cutting grass and I don't see any signs of rocks.

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Alvin

04-03-2001 11:40:35




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 Re: Is there a good rock picker out there? in reply to Tyler(WA), 04-03-2001 06:22:40  
How much do you want to spend? I know there is a good one made here is Wi., looks like a pototo digger,a retail price on something like that would be cost prohitive on a couple acres,near 6 numbers in front of the cents dot. Why not just drag it several times, have not your very best friends over for a afternoon picnic,with some,coors,bud or whatever.In one day you will have it done, even yourself. I have picked stones every year on the same fields,over 100 acres, and I am over 70. It can be done, the time you spend looking for a picker,get it home and still have to go on the field. It takes a hundred hp.plus tractor to pull a good picker, at least like you are talking about..That is what is called manual labor. I am not being a smarta**, just facts.. Trust me!

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Tyler(WA)

04-03-2001 12:25:52




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 Re: Re: Is there a good rock picker out there? in reply to Alvin, 04-03-2001 11:40:35  
I appreciate what you say. No problem with me thinkin' your being "smart," that's what I asked for.... someone who is smart on the subject.

You're confirming what I was starting to come to. A couple of dozen pizza's and the church youth group would be money far better spent and probably do a better job as well. I'll probably use a 4' rototiller to mix in the compost and loosen up the soil, then drag it flat with a harrow. After that, a few dozen teenagers with 5 gal. buckets should have that field rock picked better than what I could rent a machine to do.

Thanks for the reply. Some things are still best left to hand labor.

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