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Post by honker on Apr 9, 2017 16:24:56 GMT -6
This is the east 1/4 acre of the 1 acre food plot clearing I worked on last year. I'm not sure I have the time or energy, ok more like motivation, to further clear this section of rocks in the foreseeable future. I've got the rest of the plot pretty well cleaned up, but this area is a minefield. I tried the throw and grow method last summer, but without being able to work it up much, it didn't do great. That might have had as much to do with the lack of rain the week after as the lack of tilling before. I did get some clover and some oats to grow in it, but not as thick as the rest of the field. My original plan was to split the acre into zones of grains, brassicas, and greens. Any suggestions for this spot? 
This is the view from the north side of the plot where I was able to get the soil worked up pretty well last summer. I had a decent stand of clover, oats, and brassicas going before it got mowed down in mid October, but it was getting regular traffic until snowfall. They are back in the area now picking up the leftovers. 
A few decent bucks were in there through end of October, but once Nov hit they stopped coming around which I thought was interesting.  |
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Post by wklman on Apr 9, 2017 17:26:18 GMT -6
Ever thought about renting a skidsteer and picking them out with it?
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Post by kabic on Apr 9, 2017 17:30:02 GMT -6
Hire a local kid to pick some rocks
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Post by coop on Apr 9, 2017 19:21:27 GMT -6
Ever thought about renting a skidsteer and picking them out with it? ^^^^ skidsteer with a attachment made for picking rocks is a pretty efficient tool. |
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Post by sd51555 on Apr 9, 2017 19:23:44 GMT -6
If you need the food, I'd tell ya to keep working on it. Your exhaustion is actually a yearning for diesel fuel. The right equipment can be hard to find, but if your acres aren't lasting long enough through the season, I'd say rent/hire a skid steer with a rock bucket on it and keep at it.
If you really don't need the food, I'd plant it to spruces, dogwood, and flowers.
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Post by coop on Apr 9, 2017 19:27:18 GMT -6
A skid steer with a regular bucket and pallet forks would save you some back pain.
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Post by nhmountains on Apr 9, 2017 19:31:13 GMT -6
Do you have a tractor with a bucket? I'd pick an area and load then in the bucket and dump the stones out of the way. If you don't have a tractor the use a jet sled and pile a few in it and drag them to a pile or load them in a truck. Just work a small area each time and it'll make a difference. If you did a 10x50' strip each time you'd be surprised how much you'd have cleared at the end if the summer.
I've got a few miles of stone walls on my property and each time I see them I admire the work they did 200 years ago without machinery.
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Post by honker on Apr 9, 2017 20:14:41 GMT -6
The Forum has spoken! I'll do my best to man up and finish the job. I have already taken out a dozen or so bucket fulls with my tractor in the remainder of the plot, but this particular area seems to have as much rock as soil. Picking up the right equipment for the job for a weekend might be a worthwhile investment to finish it out. Thank as always for the sage advice and kick in the ass.
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Post by Sandbur on Apr 10, 2017 6:12:35 GMT -6
Pick a small area next to your existing plot and try to expand it a bit each year by picking rock. (To tell you the truth, I would not do it at my age!)
In the mean time, spray with roundup 3X this summer. Then broadcast red clover, alsike, and maybe a bit of rye before a rain in late August.. Or frost seed the clover in the spring.
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Post by smsmith on Apr 10, 2017 6:30:10 GMT -6
I don't pick rocks and I don't till the soil.
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Post by batman on Apr 14, 2017 17:33:45 GMT -6
Roundup, clovers/trefoil, mix in some rye on the bare spots every September. Picking rocks sucks.
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Post by Sandbur on Apr 15, 2017 5:12:42 GMT -6
Roundup, clovers/trefoil, mix in some rye on the bare spots every September. Picking rocks sucks. Brooks- how much deer use has trefoil got for you? Trefoil is ignored here where I live, but it persists for years. I have seen it getting lots of use in the northwoods, thinking of mainly zone 1. Even medium red clover works well up there. |
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Post by Sandbur on Apr 15, 2017 5:13:44 GMT -6
Honker- how much ag ground is within two or three miles of your place? What is planted on it?
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Post by honker on Apr 15, 2017 5:35:57 GMT -6
A few scattered corn/beans fields within that radius, but mainly hay fields, cattle pastures, and swamps nearby my place
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jselsor
Full Member
Posts: 136 
Likes: 79
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Post by jselsor on Apr 15, 2017 13:28:27 GMT -6
My ground is loaded with rocks. I just do what I can when I can. Gets a lil better every yr. A lil rock picking help would sure be nice but most of the time I am on my own! Sounds like your in a similiar situation
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