Free Garden Catalogs

How do I remove white rocks from my soil to start a flower garden?

I decided to plant a flower garden and as I began to clear the soil, I realized that someone had previously had a garden there and used white rocks to surround the flowers, so the soil is FULL of white rocks. What is the best way to remove them? Thanks for any help!

Public Comments

1. a regular garden rake. rake them into piles, put them into a bucket or wheelbarrow and remove them. Chances are, you'll be finding them for years.... reuse them in a garden path or dry stream bed if you can.
2. It's not going to hurt the plants at all if the rocks are left where they are.
3. Buy a piece of 1/2 hardware cloth and make yourself a simple screen with some 2x4s and 1x2s. It doesn't need to be very big, no more than 2' x2' (unless you're making a really big flower garden). You can just shovel the rock-filled dirt over it to remove the larger rocks. Anything small enough to fit through the 1/2 inch holes will be fine to leave in.
4. Pick them up and take them out. If you're ultra-lazy and the rocks aren't too small, you could use a sieve, or one of those spoons with the holes in it.
5. buy a small riddle and riddle out stones, this seems to be the cheapest way
6. with your hands, one by one
7. when you say white rocks do you mean little pebbles if so these can be left where they are and removed as and when you weed or replant.If they are that unsightly then shovel them into a barrow and use as a base in raised beds or pots etc
8. I went thru the same thing when I moved to my current house. The area had become a haven for ants and earwigs. I used an old window screen, and with a hand shovel, threw the dirt and rocks on to the screen, sifted the dirt out and the rocks were poured into a large bucket. This way I didn't lose all the dirt. It took a few days to get it cleared out, but every year since then (over 10 years ago), I still find more rocks deeper down. Now when I'm planting the garden, I use a large spaghetti strainer as I dig.