Rocks and weeds and weeds and rocks!

Please help! I live in zone 6a, northern KY. My planting area of the yard runs roughly 120 linear feet x 2 1/2 feet deep, with various other small plots scattered around the yard. We bought the house 2 years ago and inherited an overgrown mess. Upon starting to clean up the mess I've discovered that the beds are just full of small rocks and overgrown choked out trees, unidentifiable plants and the aforementioned weeds.

It is a huge undertaking and I don't even know where to begin. Ideally I would like to plant different perennials that will bloom from spring into fall. The yard gets nearly full sun from noon on. How do I deal with all of the rocks? They don't appear to have been put there, just the natural make up of the soil. No matter how far down I dig, it's just more rocks.

We moved here from FL where I knew what, when and where to plant but I'm lost here.

Thanks for any help or advice you've got.

you might check to see if there's a master gardener locally that can come over and help you identify what's growing and take a soil sample that will give you direction and help you create a game plan. Your county extension office would be a good place to start.

Thanks. I'll try that.

If you end up having some beds where you decide you want to rip everything out and start from scratch, you can always bring in some dirt and make raised beds to plant in, that way you don't have to worry about the rocks. Otherwise, the easiest way to plant in rocky soil is to buy smaller plants (4" pots instead of gallon and up size pots, etc), that way you don't have to dig as big of a hole for them.

Hi, Lolly! Good to have you here on DG! I live right over the river in Anderson Township on the eastern edge of Cincinnati, not far from you, really.

I like the idea of the raised beds for you. KY is not known for its luscious soil and since you are reporting rocks already, the raised beds, or perhaps new 'lasagna beds' may be something for you to consider. There are a couple of threads on DG that talk about Lasagne beds and you might find them interesting. (I did).

If you have any questions about sources for soil amendments or plant material around here, please send me a d-mail. I will be happy to go out exploring with you or share info. Of course, I have some perennials to share with you when you are ready, too!

Good luck. t.

I third the motion...all my beds that I left at ground level are a real challenge.(zone 6b)...but the good news is that the weather is beautifully temperate...rarely hitting extremes...and you can grow just about every kind of plant alpine, rocky, cottage perennials , roses...all that.....and the cool zone ones..blueberries, lupines, tulip....It's alot of fun.

Take care when shopping...I see an awful lot of tropical plants for sale around here...zone 8+...cactus....Unless you have an indoor conservancy/greenhouse...where do the vendors think we'll be able to over winter these?

If you do bring in dirt....find a way to contain it...as much as I'm not fond of edging...I amended then lost a ton of dirt in just one winter through good old fashioned wind and water erosion....live and learn.

Welcome from another northern Ky member (Campbell county)! Yep, we can only dig so far before we hit rocks and clay, so we have container gardens and raised beds, using those big rocks as edging. But like Quoi said, better make sure the holes are plugged between them, or the rain will wash the dirt away. I learned that the hard way, lol.

I use rocks (mostly limestone) as edging and I find that to eliminate weeds and keep in the dirt I put doubled weed block under and behind the rocks to help hold in soil and its easier to hide. You can't fill all the way to the top with dirt but it works well.
CT

Good idea, CT, thanks!

Thanks for all of the responses. I think raised beds are going to be the way to go. I don't even know what a lasagna bed is yet but I'll find out.

Thanks for the offer tabasco. When I'm ready I'll let you know.