How do i get rocks out of dirt for garden?

Question

I have a square area that is cut out for a garden, but i need to get all the rocks taken out. They are not the large ones but the small rocks. The garden is a rather large area so i am looking for a solution that will help.

Please help me I am anxious to get gardening. Thank you

Answer 1

The screen is the way to go, but don't use 1/4 inch, you'll be there forever trying to get the dirt through that. Use 1/2 inch hardware cloth as your screen. Be sure to make it at least a 3' X 3' square or rectangle. Build the top of the frame out of 2 X 4s (vertically screwed together with 3" screws), then fasten the screen to the bottom using 1 X 2s and 1 1/2 " screws. Don't staple it, it'll just come loose. The bigger the screen frame, the better (to a point). Don't go too big or it will be unusable. To use it, prop one end up a couple of feet and throw the dirt on the upper end, if it's fairly dry and the dirt isn't solid clay, the dirt will largely screen itself. You will be doing some hand sifting. Be sure to have somewhere to put all the rock you're going to get.

I did this in a yard out in Nevada that was mostly rock. It was a lot of work, but it came out really well. You'll need to add some top soil back in to make up the lost volume of rock.

Answer 2

You might have to make your own screen shifter. Use some wood to make a square and staple on some screening. Make sure the screening holes are smaller than the soil and big enough to let the dirt through. Use chicken wire, or something close to that. Put it over a wheel barrel and shovel the gardens soil on the screen and shake all the soil in the barrel, and toss out the rock.
I personally pick out most of the rocks I find in my garden. But it would nice to have less rocks, especially with a veggie garden.

Answer 3

I had a simular situation that I just finished this spring. The driveway around the house was of gravel for many years, that we put asphalt over it two years now. But I also decided to eliminate the grass and plant flowers on the two sides of the drive-way. I guess grass can do well in any ground, but not flowers. The area had almost 45 % gravel which was giving below average results. I used two screens. One with 3/4" chicken wire,and one with 1/4"chicken wire .
To solve the problem with the space need for all that gravel, I thaught it a good Idea to create three feet strips. I dug the entire length of the strip, to about 9 or 10" deep, then I siffted it through the 3/4 wire first. I shoveled back the heavy gravel on the ground I dug them from. With the racke I formed a wide "V" with it all along the lenght of the strip. (It will help later to be able to step on that part of the ground for the planting and caretaking) Then I re-shifted the left over dirt another time with the thinner wire. I deposited the pea-gravel over the thick gravel on the same manner. I still had a strip of about two feet wide and 7 feet deep in the center for the soft shifted earth in wich I already have planted my flowers and tomatoes for this summer. Both areas around the drive way are about 5 feet wide and 50 to sixty feet long. So, it was a long proccess. But I considered it my dailly exercise.
As for the screen frame, I used screen 36 inces wide and 5 feet long for both thicknesses. I used 2 x 6 lumber that I screwed togethet with 3" drywall screws. I stretched on the frame the wire screen, and tacked it with a stapler temporerally.Then I secured it by screwing over it another piece or 1x8 lumber plank, creating a 3 inch depth on the frame to avoid any run-away gravel. I am not an expert to give you exact degree of level and slope. But by using two legs secured with an X shape brace you can find the exact slope that works best for your kind of ground. (If wet make the slope a bit more steaper, and you may have to reshift it another time.) Sorry for any typos. The spelling was nor working today.

Answer 4

Depending on how small or large those rocks are; if they are small like pea gravel, I would leave them in. They will help aerate your soil and make it better for drainage. If they are the size of road gravel and unless there is a whole lot of them, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I am a plant propagator and the worst thing for plants is wet compact soil. A little gravel will help keep the soil loose so your plants can make a healthier root system. It will also keep your soil from compacting to allow more air to get to the roots. Most people forget that a plant's roots need to breathe.

Answer 5

We had rocks in our garden when we first started and I know it sounds like a lot of work, but we picked them out with our hands. This way you can be sure you get them all. If they are tiny rocks then they won't hurt your garden. Remember the more work you do in your garden the more you will appreciate it.

Answer 6

Most efficient way to do it is build a screen. Dirt goes through, rocks stay in. Basic rectangle frame with 1/4" metal mesh stapled to it. Work, but worth it. good luck

Answer 7

you can use a rake and rake out the stones or make a large frame and put a sturdy screen(screen size depends on size of rocks in your garden) divide your garden into quadrants and shovel the dirt in to the screen to screen out the stones(like a sieve).