[kkckkc]

Hello everyone... my garden is about 1000m2.  We just moved into our new house and I'd like to start preparing the soil for a mixture of veggie plot and general gardening (grass, bushes etc). 

My biggest headache is the number of stones varying in size from 1cm and less to 15cm boulders.  There are loads of stones, gravel etc all over the place - all from the construction process and unfortunately, all liberally worked into the top soil. 

Yesterday I started clearing and ended up building a two layer sieve.  The first layer has holes about 5cm by 5cm and the second 1cm by 1cm.  The sieve works really well.

The underlying soil is heavy clay - it holds a lot of water when it rains and takes forever to drain. The top soil is about 8in to 15in thick and reasonably rich.

Can someone tell me what is the maximum size of pebbles/stones that should be left in the soil - for lawn and for the veggie plot?  I am concerned that the 1cm by 1cm sieve is just too efficient in removing the smaller stones that could be useful in drainage and preventing the top soil from compacting.   

I guess in terms of density of stones, one would just have to feel by hand and make a judgement call. But here again any thoughts, observations would be most welcome.

One last observation in case it triggers any points.  The complete garden slopes at 5°-10° degrees in one direction.  The lower end of the garden tends to be wetter in general. 

Thank you, in advance for any response.

Regards,  kkckkc

[JayG]

Hi kkckkc!

From what I've heard it's quite common with new builds for the contractors to "clear up" by burying all their waste under a layer of topsoil and claiming they have virtually created an almost perfect garden for you! 

Clearly you can't do much with soil full of bricks or other similar-sized objects,  but I certainly wouldn't bother removing stones of 1cm - only root crops which fork easily (carrots and parsnips) would be bothered by such obstructions, and most of us have to put up with the consequences of that anyway to some degree.

The veggie plot should get the most attention, adding manure if available - I wouldn't go to too much trouble with areas to be grassed - so long as you've got a surface which can be raked and sown/turfed it should be OK.

A lot might depend on the layout you are planning - very little will grow in waterlogged conditions but it's probably easier to improve the drainage of a soggy bit of lawn than dealing with waterlogging of a vegetable bed.

Sounds like a good-sized garden - good luck with it! 

[Yorkie]

I tend to remove anything bigger than about 1" in size - the rake catches them.

You should also be prepared for stones (though not bricks!) to keep coming to the surface every year as a result of frost action.

Good luck 

[kkckkc]

thankyou all....!  i have started clearing the land. rgds. kkc.

[Trillium]

Sounds like the soil I have. And the rocks. In the end, in the worst areas I made raised beds because root crops like carrots and parsnips have a very hard time penetrating clay and they will definitely fork around stones.

Lots of compost, shredded leaves, some sharp sand, rotted manure added to the soil will slowly turn it into better soil but that will take some years to reach. You still need to deal with the drainage problem in the veg area and that might be solved with some trenching and drainage pipes leading the surplus water away from your garden area.

[kkckkc]

Thanks Trillium for your suggestion/s.

We had a gardener over to help us with a few other questions.  He said the soil was in fact very rich.  He suggested mixing in some sand in some areas (not all) where there is less sunlight and so additional drainage would help.  He also suggested only removing large stones (>=2in diameter) except in the veg beds (where stones are removed more thoroughly). 

In the non-veg areas, grass planting areas he suggested doing in order: remove large stones, turn soil with cultivator, remove thrown up large stones (>=2in), use weighted roller (40 kg) to bed down soil (this will push remaining stones deeper so that grass is unaffected), spread grass seed, compost beads and weed killer grains (at the same time), lightly rake to spread seeds evenly and water.

Voila...!!!

[muckyboots]

HI K, I have a similar problem I agree with Trillium,my garden is not as big but I'm in the trent valley and on old gravel pits,still digging stones up to 3 inches dia after 20 years  I use them to make features, you could use them to make paths if you get enough.Any road up good luck you will never stop finding them.  

[stentman]

My lotty was full of stones when I started but I used them to make paths and the good news is that each year there are fewer and fewer making it to the surface/getting in the way. As others have said I doubt I will ever get rid of them completely but every one I place in my paths is one less for next time I dig the plot. For carrots and parsnips I use tyre towers two tyres high so that he main bit of the carrot is above the original ground level yet can grow further down if I'm lucky to grow one or two that long.