Beginner Gardening: Help needed with soil conditions (rocks and old roots), 1 by missingrosie

missingrosie wrote:
Hello
We have the rock problem - but can't blame the old homeowners because we are them!! We didn't create the problem, our property (near Chapel Hill, NC) grows rocks...like potatoes. I agree with what the others have said --especially the suggestion by WeeNel about setting a design ahead of time so you don't have to move, purchase or waste products. Our solution to the problem: Had a load of not so great dirt/ with lots of stable clay content delivered and spread with a bobcat...it wasn't great planting dirt but it was good sculpting foundation material. It covered the rocks and the limbs/and flat stumps.... we contoured it with a bobcat...flattening the areas for the paths...adding more to make a mound for a japanese maple, etc. etc. Then better quality soil was spread on the top of areas that was to become perennial beds and annual plantings --a garden space. It worked well. We haven't done the entire property ($$) but we have a plan to do it space by space. If you have a place for it, a low to the ground deck could be built for the pups to lay on and for you to enjoy as a seating space. You may want to define future planting spaces with flagstone walkways or if you don't want to invest in that material - a pea gravel walkway is nice - others prefer less permanent walkways - mulched in. Here is a photo of what was the yard from hell. Trying to plant was digging in cement. The stumps were huge. The roots were as thick as an arm, the rocks were abundant. The bobcat can flatten and dig up and contour etc., and can be rented for you to manage or folks will hire out with their bobcat for less than 100 per hour. It did take about 5 hours to do the one space we did --the entire front yard. PS I know a lot of folks cart the trash to the landfill but what we did at the bobcat operators suggestion was dig a hole (very large) with the bobcat (it gets dug quick) and we put all the stumps/debris/rocks in the hole and covered it up ...nice and flat. I bet it was a 10 x 8 foot hole and I bet 6 feet deep. I figured as the material decayed in the hole, I would have to contend with it sinking, etc. but 4 years later it is still flat and stable I placed a post with a birdhouse on top of it dead center waiting for it to sink - but it is showing no signs.