Rock removal ?

[mnbob]

Well the rocks are growing, and I would like to figure a way to hook and lift the rocks out without tearing up the hay field. Thought of a "hook" to mount on the skid steer and work under then lift them out. Any good ideas? Hate to re-invent the wheel. Most rocks are 1 to 3 ft in dia. some bigger but could resort to digging them. This picture was taken before planting field.
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[Anonymous-0]

The landscaping boys really like rocks this size. Maybe they'd dig them out for you and take them off your hands just for the rocks?

 

[msb]

Two old plow bottom beams mounted side by side with a thumb to grab the rock or just mount the beams on the top edge of the bucket .That would allow you to still use the bucket to uncover the rocks.

 

[kyhayman]

Now thats a rock!!

I gotta get some pics of the ones I got into yesterday. OMG, Guy wanted me to just take out 5 or 6 of the worst ones. When I pulled them up, found it was a buried rock pile.

 

[Janicholson]

Rocks bigger than easily removed by rolling onto a stone boat should be reburried atwo feet deeper than they are now. Then it will be another 10,000 years befor they are seen again. Paint each one to make sure I am correct (just kidding on the paint) JimN

 

[Anonymous-0]

Its your own darn fault you have rocks that big.
I been a sayin for years you folks use to much fertilizer out east!

 

[Mathias NY]

We put a set of fork lift tines on the loader of our tractor. As long as you are careful you won't brake anything as you lift them out of the ground. In general unless they are free or sticking out by more than 4" we leave them alone.

The thought of puting them back in the ground never occured to us. We have rocky ground, so its best to avoid digging any deeper than necesary. Lots of rock walls and stone piles though...

 

[mnbob]

4 inchs is my take it out also. I had all of the top ones out Two years ago before I planted. Now I have several that are up 4 to 6 inchs. While several people think the frost heave is slow, they dont have MN frost heaves. I lived in Presque Isle a while and have seen some of the rock walls in NY. Was also in Maine. They have some nice ones too. But England and Wales take the prize for walls. Bob

 

[mnbob]

Not sure how far west you are, but I grew up in Washington. Spread lots of manure on fields from the dairy and beef Dad had. So far this field has only had wood ash from the chipboard plant. New soil sample is being tested now. Maybe ash makes them grow?? Bob

 

[RobMD]

Don't you just hate hitting those sons of boogers with a haybine?

 

[mnbob]

kyhayman; That is a small one. Lots much bigger than that. They are willing to take the rocks if piled neatly for easy pickup, but no one wants to work for them. Just yesterday a fellow said he would take them if I would deliver them to him, free.
I still have a semi load of alfalfa/grass if interested?? Bob

 

[mnbob]

that is exactly what I am thinking of. I had the ripper from a cat in mind but old plows are more common. I figure 2 welded togather about 8 inchs apart should handle most of them. How to make a detachable mount for my rock bucket is my current concern. Will work it out. Do you have a picture of drawing of yours? Bob

 

[HENRY E NC]

Now here is how you do it.-- When I was a boy some 60-65 yrs ago in Ohio we had lots of clay and some nice black soil also. In most of our fields the rocks grew fairly large and every year we would dig them out, bring out the team for a day or two and pull rocks. During WWII I did most of the daily work around the farm and it fell on my shoulder to dig rocks and pull them. My younger brother wouldn't have been caught dead working but one day he was biking along the field and came over to see how it was going on a fairly huge rock. He watched me for a few minutes and then took off . about an hour later, still on the same rock, he came back, climbed down in the hole, bent over and then jumped out of the hole, yelled at me to take off and ran like the wind away. In about 30 seconds that rock came out of the hole in abount 10,000 pieces. Where he got the dynamite(He was 12 yrs old) He would never say but it sure solved my problem.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Dynamite works good if you dont mind razor sharp shards in your tractor tires for the next 20 years. Grandpa loved dynamite and I know from experience!

 

[Tradititonal Farmer]

A rock that size would be about $100 at the local quarry

 

[msb]

Sorry, I don't need one since I have been no-tilling for 17 years now. Rocks no longer come up except on very rare occasions.

 

[Lanse]

Sounds like something I would do

 

[Anonymous-0]

Backhoe works fine for larger ones. Lifter from plow beams works well too, especially if you have down pressure available. Google "Naber Rock Picker"- it is a three-point lifter with two arms. Bad thing is you can break off the third arm bracket on the tractor if you get too wild. I bought an old Ford TLB a few years ago for 6 grand. Real handy to have it around all the time- used to hire one every few years. If you bury them, get several feet of dirt over them. Landscapers will pay for them- should get at least $100 per dump truck load.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Hey MNBob No im not that far west, Just out here in nw nd , i better not kid you to much as we roll out a bolder here from time to time also. And then theres the gumbo thats about like trying to farm a rock.
Used to like to go to minn. and catch them cropies.

 

[mnbob]

Where in ND? I go out to Keene to visit friends every so often. Croppy or crappies, they are in suspended water now but with iceup they will be easier to find. Bob

 

[Anonymous-0]

MNBob hi
Keen would be south of me as i only live about 11 miles from the Canadian border but i am familiar a little bit with the country as there are some nice ranches down there.
I wanted to spell it crapp--ies but i dident think it sounded right.
I do remember they put up quite a fight though and were fun to catch-----And very tasty to.
If my memory serves me right we fished on pelican lake some east of Wahpeton...Long time ago now.

 

[Anonymous-0]

That's a nice landscaping rock with at least 1 flat side. They can cost several hundred dollars. I doubt your bobcat would lift it. Same as a 3 pt. hitch. Rocks can be decieving. Some don't look too heavy but weigh a ton and others that are even bigger are much lighter. I've moved large rocks with my skid steer by getting under the edge and just flipping them over. My backhoe will move them but won't lift them. If you made a sled, you could flip them onto it and then drag them out on the sled. You could put some wide and low tires on the sled. Picking them up could be dangerous and cause your bobcat to flip forward. It's kind of scary. I've done it with a bucket of wet clay. Dave

 

[Jerry/MT]

I live in the Mission Valley of Western Montana and it used to be part of glacial Lame Missoula. We have boulders the size of Volkswagens on our place.
Before I bought I read the soil reports that siad 85-90% of the rocks were 3.5 to 4.5 inches.
I wish that was true. I think 10-15% are 3.5 -4.5 inches and the rest are bigger. When I broke the ground for my wife's garden, part wat through plowing I noticed that I had to apply more throttle to the tractor to plow at the same speed. I lifted the plow to investigate and a triangular portion about 1.5 inches on a side was missing from the point of the share. It probably struck a boulder and broke off. I finished the plowing with the broken share. They don't make replacement shares for the old Detroit plow I was using. Since I'm a rancher( that's a guy who never plows anymore ground then his wife can take of) it's just as well.