Best Way to Remove Rocks from Soil: Complete Guide!

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Rocks in your garden soil may be interfering with your plant’s growth. Do unwanted rocks keep appearing in your garden or yard?  Don’t worry – we can help. We’ll cover the best ways to remove rocks from soil.

Removing rocks can be a daunting task if you do not know which tools and methods you should use.

Why Do Rocks Appear in The Soil?

Rocks can seem to appear in the soil magically. But there is a process happening under the soil that makes the rocks appear after some time.

This problem usually occurs in very cold areas where the ground freezes during winters.

Rocks are good conductors of heat compared to the soil. Therefore, they transfer cold to the soil beneath them. As a result, the soil under the rocks freezes more rapidly than the soil around it.

As we know, water expands when it freezes. So, when the water beneath the rock freezes, it expands and pushes the rocks towards the surface.

After some time, the ground thaws, and space is left behind that later gets filled with soil. This process happens several times throughout the year, leading to the “magical” appearance of rocks in the soil.

Why Should You Remove Unwanted Rocks from The Soil?

Rocks themselves are harmless to plants, but they can still affect a plant’s growth indirectly.

That is why its removal is the best option for healthy plant growth. This is because rocks can block the path of roots and prevent deeper root penetration. In addition, it may deprive plants of the nutrients they are trying to access in the soil beneath the rocks.

Another problem rocks can cause is they can cover space around plant roots and impeded their growing space. Rocks tend to make the surrounding soil hard, making it difficult for the roots to penetrate deeper into the soil.

Reaching deeper water sources gets difficult for trees growing in the rocky soil. In addition, some plant species like potatoes and beetroots grow underground and require a clear area for healthy growth.

So over time, rocks can impact the plant’s growth. Therefore, it is advised to remove them to make sure plants have a clean area to grow.

Ways to Remove Rocks from Soil

Below are the two different methods you can use to remove rocks. One is the manual method which requires the use of essential gardening tools, and the other is a machine-based method.

You can select the method based on your preferences and the type of rock you have in your garden.

The Manual Method of Removing Rocks from Soil

The manual method of removing rocks does not require machines. All you need is patience, energy, and basic gardening hand tools to get rid of the unwanted rocks, large stones, pebbles, gravels, and pebbles.

The Right Tools Required

You will need some of these basic hand tools to remove rocks from your garden’s soil.

Rototiller

A rototiller loosens the upper layer of soil and reveals rocks hidden underneath. You can either buy one or rent it for one-time use.

Garden Rake / Leaf Rake

Garden rakes, also known as leaf rakes, are an essential backyard tool. You can use it to remove rocks, dead leaves, pebbles, and debris from your garden or yard.

Use a garden rake to pull up rocks after you’ve softened the soil with a rototiller. While buying a garden rake, look for rakes with smaller teeth so you can scoop small rocks as well as larger rocks.  

Wheelbarrow

After removing rocks, your next goal will be to move them to another place. A wheelbarrow will come in handy in this regard.

Depending on how many rocks you have and how large the rocks are, the load may be difficult to transfer. Using a wheelbarrow will help make sure you can transfer your rocks quickly and safely.

Pointed Shovel

A pointed shovel will make picking and gathering rocks easier for you. Scoop up rocks in it and put them in a wheelbarrow or bucket. Wear gloves so that your hands do not get blisters.

Digging Bar

Like a pointed shovel, a digging bar is also helpful in digging into the soil and unveiling rocks. It is a long metal bar that requires force and hard work to break up compacted soil. This will help you dig deep.

Soil Sifter

A soil sifter is very helpful in removing large objects, including rocks, from the soil.

Place a soil sifter on the wheelbarrow, scoop up the soil with your shovel, and put it in a soil sifter to separate small or large rocks, pebbles, and any sort of debris that the soil has.

The soil sifter is particularly helpful when you have a lot of rocks scattered within your soil. If you have rocks popping up in your yard year after year, a soil sifter is a good investment in the long run.

Gardening Gloves

Gloves are handy even if you like getting your hands dirty. Use garden gloves to protect your hands from blisters, scraps, and cuts. It will also help you to keep your existing cuts clean and prevent infections.

How to Remove Rocks Manually

Removing Gravel and Pebbles

In most cases, pebbles and gravel are used to serve a specific purpose. They are placed neatly, which means picking them up is also easier.

To remove the gravels and pebbles, you would need a rake, shovel, and wheelbarrow. You could use then use a soil sifter to separate the rocks from the soil.

Gather pebbles and gravel with the help of a rake. Scoop them in a shovel and put them in a wheelbarrow. If they have fallen to a grassy area where you think using a rake might not be a good option, then pick gravel with your hands to protect your growing plants and grass.

Many property owners use a landscape fabric or geotextile cloth underneath pebbles and gravel on the soil.

So, if your garden also has this fabric, then all you need to do is gather the corners of the fabric and bring them together to collect gravel and pebbles.

Removing Small and Medium-Sized Rocks

Smaller rocks get mixed with soil easily, which makes their extraction a bit difficult. But if you have the right tools, then consider your problem solved.

You would need a rototiller, plain/pointed shovel, garden rake, and a wheelbarrow to remove the rocks. You could use then use a soil sifter to separate the rocks from the soil.

Use a rototiller to loosen the soil and reveal rocks hidden under the top layer of soil. After digging into your yard’s soil, use a garden rake to scoop up and separate small and medium-sized rocks.

Once you have collected all rocks in a single place, scoop them in a plain shovel and place them inside a wheelbarrow to take rocks away from the soil.

Removing Large Boulders

The effort required to remove large boulders or big rocks depends on their size and location.

Expose large rocks. One of the most effective ways to get rid of a boulder is to remove soil around the large boulder with the help of a shovel. Then pick it up if possible and place it in a wheelbarrow to move it to a designated area.

If a boulder is oversized, the best way to remove the boulder would be to split it into small pieces. To do that, you’ll need to remove the soil around the large-sized boulder.

Take a hammer drill and make holes in the boulder. Now insert a feather and wedge in the hole.

Push wedge inside the boulder by striking it with a mallet. It will split the boulder into smaller pieces.

Pick its small parts and place them in a wheelbarrow to take it to another location.

This method involves using some heavier equipment. If you’re not used to using this type of equipment, it’d be best to call in an expert.

Machine-Based Method to Remove Rocks from Soil

The other way of removing rocks from the soil is a machine-based method.

If you have a large area that you need to remove rocks from, then the easiest way to do that would be to use a tractor and plow. This method is helpful for those who want to save time and effort.

Get a tractor and attach a plow to it. Unravel the top layer of soil with the help of a plow. Then, collect rocks by using the same plow. Separate the soil from rocks and reuse it when you have fully filtered soil.

Separating Rocks from Soil

It is best to separate rocks from the soil to reuse the soil and/or rocks in your yard. For this purpose, get a soil sifter and place soil on its screen with the help of a shovel.

Move the sifter back and forth and let the gravity do its work. Once the soil has been filtered, spread it in your lawn and sprinkle water to secure it well.

Ways of Reusing Rocks for Your Yard Design Projects

After removing rocks from the soil, you can reuse all types of rocks for your next landscaping project and show your creativity. There is no need to buy more stuff to decorate your new lawn. Instead, use the stones you got for free as decorative rocks.

You can build a fire pit by using larger stones. Similarly, use gravels to decorate flower beds and garden beds. Get some river rocks and mix them with gravel to use this combination of rocks as a ground cover and make a gravel path.

Conclusion

Removing rocks from the soil is essential to make sure that the plants you grow stay healthy. There are a few methods to remove rocks from your yard to get rock-free topsoil.

The manual method is the best way to remove rocks from your soil for smaller areas, and the machine-based method is preferred for larger areas.

You probably wont be able to get all the rocks in your soil, but you’ll be able to remove what you need to keep your garden healthy.

For the best results, develop a plan that identifies what tools your rock removal effort will require. Don’t forget to beautify your garden or yard by using the same rocks in different creative ways.