Big rocks or little rocks? What type of rock? What is the soil like? Small rocks might not be bad for your plants. Big rocks can be used for the borders of raised beds.

Wow, several acres! Think of all the plants you can have now! Hmmm.....Ione's International Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.....When will it open?

I have visions of the fields in Scotland and England where they picked up all the rocks over the years from the soil and made little fences. Maybe you should hire some neighborhood kids to pick up some rocks and pay them by the day. You said any input was welcomed. Just till one section keep them in that one section at a time until they get it cleared. With school almost out, some kids might like to make a few bucks, but then I come from a different time.

Limestone in clay. I'm mostly concerned about thousands of small rocks, but there may be solid limestone underneath it all -- dunno yet! And yes, I already have many flower bed borders planned. ;-) BUT -- I'm afraid of breaking tiller tines if I till the rock up, and even if I don't break the tines I'm afraid I'll till up more rocks than I really want to know about. ;-) I dunno whether it's better to leave well enough alone and plant in the rocks, give up altogether, or what.

Katie -- good idea about the neighbor kids! There are three kids who already get paid to help the current owners with their animals, and they might be interested in some extra dough.

I've got a whole web page of pics of the new place. See the link below. :-) Just click on each small pic to see a larger version of the pic. And I dare you to try counting all the rocks! Oh, and the pic where you see a "concrete slab" with a chimenea on top -- that "concrete" is actually a limestone ledge!

Oh, and another very interesting thing: this property is on Spring Creek Road, close to Spring Creek (logically enough). And guess what -- there's actually an endangered plant called the Spring creek bladderwort, which grows only in the Spring Creek watershed. I can't wait to find out if it grows on my property!

Here is a link that might be useful: Spring Creek pics

Ione, I have been picking rocks for fifteen years. I've made stairways, borders, walls for "garden rooms" (on existing rock so trimming is not necessary,and the smaller stones I use under decking. There is also a huge pile on the rear of my property that may become a scree or waterfall with pond. At this point the snakes claim the rock pile. I enjoy throwing a rock from time to time at the pile to hear a rattle. I have hand picked, used metal poles as fulcrums, and rigged up chains to the tractor. I walk the property in the spring with my all metal shovel and check for rocks that have worked up through the soil. I firmly believe that people will be pointing at me years from now saying look at that old lady picking rocks. Rocks you never knew existed will work their way up from the soil every year. Do not pick in the heat of summer. You will see improvement and you will discover things in nature in the process that you might not have thought about otherwise. I am excited for you buying a new piece of land. The labor is well worth it. Rhonda

LOL! Rhonda, I don't know whether to be grateful for your sympathetic voice of experience, or whether to be scared stiff by your cautionary tale!

Do you till your soil to bring rocks up, or do you break tiller blades? Do you do all your digging by hand?

Plan to come out and we'll talk geology and how to determine if the rocks are floaters or are 'bedrock'.

And I've come to appreciate rocks in soil; rocks frustrate moles and voles.

OH, Ann, I forgot! You know geology, don't you! I WILL have to come out and have a long chat. Thanks for reminding me!

Hey Rhonda,

I'm interested in the floater/bedrock info myself.

So far as the moles, voles, and gophers go, please let the ones on my farm know that rocks are supposed to scare them away. No one has let them in on this. (-;

I offered Amazindirt a name for her place above, now I'm thinking about what to name mine. How does "Burrowing Varmint Central" sound?

Brandon,
Any time (after I get the spring weeds under control) you're welcome to come out, and both see and talk rocks.
Ann