Jacob, with your garden, you will have no need to go workout at a gym! But try getting a pry bar. I did not know such a tool existed till I saw some construction workers using one. And then, Hubs found one at a garage sale. It's made of heavy metal, might be iron, but doesn't seem to rust, and it's very strong. I dig out the soil till I can find the edges of the rock and then find a space to wedge the prybar into. I have found most of our rocks are flat and are wedged together in layers so once you get a "keyhole rock" out, most of the rest of the rocks come out easier. I often have to wedge a chunk of rock against the back of the prybar on the ground to act as a fulcrum and keep the back of the prybar from wanting to just lay down on the earth. (I kind of know that feeling- Heh.)

We bought an electric jackhammer and it does help if there's no other way, but it's too heavy for me and it's loud, and it leaves behind a lot of powdered rock and chunks that makes it harder to get out of the hole and harder to find uses for. Big, flat rocks can be used for stepping-stone walkways and we have even piled them up along the edges of our property to make a short wall. This serves a real need, in that one of our neighbors uses a lawn service that likes to use our land as a "turn around" area, even though we have asked them not to, because they make ruts and that makes it hard for Hubs to mow there.

You might want to be careful adding that limestone to your garden as it can change your ph from acidic to alkaline and most plants want soil that's on the acidic side -- about 7, I think, is what the horticulture folks say. Of course, if you add compost, and if it has coffee grounds in it, you might be offsetting that. It's hard to know. I have read that you can test to see if your soil is acidic or alkaline by putting a little in a glass of water and stirring in either some vinegar or some baking soda. If it doesn't fizz with either, I guess that would mean it's neutral. If the vinegar makes it fizz, then it's alkaline. If the soda makes it fizz, then it's acidic. Some of the guys in the computer repair business have a saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" and that applies to your soil and almost everything else. Truly, I think compost is the way to go and I dig my kitchen scraps into the ground on an ongoing basis, bypassing totally the compost pile. I use my compost pile for the multitude of weeds and trimmings I remove from the garden, not including invasive stuff like Bermuda grass and Bindweed. Those go into the burn barrel. I've never had a compost heap yet that got hot enough to kill those roots.

Here is a helpful website that talks about PH:

http://www.thegardenhelper.com/soilPH.htm

Amazon has a PH meter, and I bought one, but if it's working, I can't tell. PH testing is done by your county extension office but that can be kind of expensive. They usually want the sample to be composed of at least 20 spots in your bed, and down about 6-8", and our extension office has special implements they can check out to you for getting something that's similar to a core sample. Or, even, to that chunk of soil that comes out of the hole when you use a bulb planter. In my case, it's hard to dig more than 8" down in my soil without running into a rock. And seems like I dig more out every year. A Missouri friend of mine tells me, she thinks they "float up" during the winter. I'm not sure... But I sure do get tired of having to dig out rocks.

I'll be interested in reading what others say they do about their gardens because I'm torn about what's the best thing to do. And so far, nobody really seems to agree what's best as far as I've seen. The no-till has its advantages except that it's ugly, and if you already have battles with insects, such as squash bugs, they'll winter over in the debris and be there waiting as soon as you plant something they can eat. But no-till is good for a location that is windy. I've seen "dust devils" spinning around over newly-tilled soil and as long as they dissipate while they're still on your land, I guess that's not entirely bad. But I'm forever finding it necessary to dust and sweep surfaces, and clean carpeting, and that dust and debris has to come from somewhere.

I'm a fan of mulch up to a point. If you have Bermuda grass and Bindweed, that stuff will grow right up through it. As it is right now, for me, I'm laying down cardboard and then woodchips on top. This is really good for helping the soil retain any moisture that it's able to get. But bugs love to live under the cardboard. And if you happen to bury any of those woodchips into the ground before it's aged about a year, it sucks the nitrogen right out of your soil and you won't be able to get anything to grow well without enough nitrogen. Unless it's that ugly stinkhorn mushroom, which I had never seen before I started using wood chips in my garden. Many people say that most gardens are deficient in nitrogen. Phosphorus and Potassium will accumulate in the soil from one year to another but nitrogen does not. Anyway, that's what my Extension Agency says.

Some people cover their garden walkways in pea gravel. If you've ever had to open a garden bed and find someone has used pea gravel or even smallish chunks of rock, in that area, you will know that this makes it almost impossible to improve.

I have some corn seed I've been keeping in the freezer. Your post has given me the idea that maybe I should plant it where the beet seeds have not germinated. At least if that never happens, maybe I'll have some corn. I've had my PH and NPK checked in that bed and that's all ok. The only thing I can think is that the roots of the Bermuda and Bindweed that I'm not ever completely able to eradicate are giving off some kind of hormone that's retarding germination of my beet seed.

*Sigh*. This is already a tough year. --ilene

Yes it's been a rough year so far. I lost quite a few broccoli and cauliflower to the cold, and some collards, but not my cabbages luckily. Carrot seed has had a tough time germinating due to cold soil, but the beets are doing alright. Some of my potatoes are no shows as of yet, but I think they may make it through soon. Fingers crossed.

I'll test my pH before I add any limestone. I don't want to wreck my soil!! I'll check out the crowbars as well. I think we may have one, and I'd never thought of using it lol.

I have to watch it with gravel here. I have issues with it reflecting sunlight and radiating heat on an already-super-hot day- and killing plants. Luckily we only have it in a small area.

Ill be interested to see how everybody prepares their gardens.

This is what our prybar looks like. It's not same thing as a crowbar.

https://www.amazon.com/True-Temper-60-Inch-Pinch-Point/dp/B00004S1WV/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524416973&sr=8-3&keywords=60+inch+pry+bar

For 36.57 and free shipping I'd think it'd be a really good investment as it would last a lifetime and it's tempered so it doesn't break or bend on you. I've pried up some real hum-dingers with mine by using another rock behind it.

Yes! We have one of those. It's a 20lb. I'll certainly try using that to get the rocks out. It never crossed my mind to use it for this. We always use it to loosen holes for driving fence posts. Handy tools! Thanks