Kicking rocks? More like picking rocks
The first order of business in my Big Yard Plan was removing the landscaping rocks embedded in the soil on the side yard and under a large blue spruce in the front. I took on this project in mid-April, as soon as it was warm enough that I could stand to be outside (about 45 degrees). For hours, I sat, kneeled, and crouched on the ground and picked rocks out of the soil. I dropped, lobbed, and pelted them into the wheelbarrow or a 5-gallon bucket and carted them into a pile in the front yard. It’s a good thing I’m strong (shameless plug: Lioness Fitness). See below for some thrilling pictures of this process.
The rocks had been piled about 5 inches deep in a garden bed that ran all along the side of our house, installed with landscape fabric and, in some places, plastic, to keep weeds at bay. The trouble with this method is that it doesn’t work! Spirea, hostas, daffodils, and a rangy viburnum lived in the bed along with—you guessed it—weeds. In our climate, burying landscaping fabric and/or plastic and covering it with rocks not only doesn’t do what you hope (prevent weeds) it is actually detrimental to your soil. Weeds simply grow in on top of the barriers, the fabric/plastic compacts and strangles the soil and, over time, the plastic breaks down into the soil. Maybe someday I’ll write a blog post all about the horrors of this method. In any case, I needed to get it all OUT of the ground.
I would put on my gardening gloves, pop my earbuds in and turn on a podcast, and dig out rocks until my Reynaud’s-prone fingers became too painful to continue. During this time, I was beginning to emerge from years of severe depression, anxiety, and burnout so having a mindless physical outdoor task to occupy my time was quite pleasant. After about three weeks, I had removed all of the rocks, fabric, and plastic (along with some surprise items I found buried) from the garden bed on the side of the house and from underneath the blue spruce in the front yard.
I had a mighty pile of rocks ready to go free to a good home. Or any home. I was pretty determined not to pay to get rid of them and to not let them end up in the landfill. I posted in my trusty neighborhood Facebook group, hoping someone nearby would be happy to use them for some project or other but I had no takers. After they sat in my front yard, killing the grass (a positive thing, to me!) for about 6 weeks, a Facebook marketplace post did the trick. They were gone in a day.
Excellent podcasts that kept me entertained and edutained during my rock picking weeks:
Plantrama with C.L. Fornari and Ellen Zachos
Ologies with Alie Ward
Normal Gossip with Kelsey McKinney
