How To Remove Rocks From Yard

Let’s face it; rocks can spoil the entire look and feel of the garden. It can also prevent you from walking barefoot on the surface.

My husband had been complaining about how the rocks were damaging the grass in many places. And this led to empty and barren patches in the garden. Now, the problem was that neither my husband nor I knew how to remove rocks and pebbles from the yard. 

That was when my son stepped in and showed me the entire process. He was visiting and noticed the patches too. And guess what, once he explained how to do it, it did not seem to be difficult at all. 

Hi! I am Stacy Smith, and today I will share my knowledge regarding the process with you. I am sure many of you have similar problems, so this guide should help in getting a clean and healthy garden. 

Read on to know more!

How To Remove Rocks From Yard?

I will begin with the items needed to go about the process, and then I will move on to the steps for cleaning. You should have a fair idea on how to approach this dilemma by the end of my guide. 

Things Required For The Process

First of all, you will require gloves that will keep your hands safe. Gloves will prevent the dirt from getting on your hands, and you won’t have to scrub them at the end. Also, some rocks may be very sharp and can cause blisters or cuts. A good pair of gloves will prevent this entirely. 

Next, you need a rake that will help in clearing out dirt, weed, and debris. There are different kinds available in the market; you will have to select one depending on the kind of yard. 

Also, keep a few hand tools, such as a sledgehammer, garden hoe, rake, and shovel, to help you in the process of taking out rocks. 

Lastly, a wheelbarrow is essential for moving stones and pebbles. Stones are heavy, and they cannot be moved by hand alone. A wheelbarrow will make it easy to pull them to the corner.

Steps To Remove The Rocks

I will now move on to the steps that need to be taken to ensure that the rocks are completely removed. Read on to know all about them. 

Step 1: Prepare

Preparation is key before you begin the job to make the process quick. Keep your hand gloves, along with your rake and tools, ready. I will suggest keeping a wheelbarrow in place too from the beginning. You can use it to collect the rocks.

Also, different yards would require different tools. While some would have small rocks which would not require a sledgehammer, others might have bigger pieces. I began with assessing the entire area well before moving on to the next step. 

Step 2: Mapping The Area

Once you have assessed the area, divide it into parts and begin from the spot where you see a lot of rocks and pebbles. My son suggested that I should always concentrate on parts of the yard and not the whole area. 

If you try to remove rocks from the entire yard randomly, it will take a long time. Keep your tools in one area and work on it. Once that area is cleaned well, move on to the other part. 

Step 3: Cleaning The Area

Once you have fixed the area you wish to begin with, use a rake to clean the debris on top. This will also clear up the smaller rocks lying just on the surface. Once the top has been cleaned well, the bigger rocks underneath will be revealed. 

I would recommend you to not skip raking the area as the weed growing around would otherwise interfere while removing bigger rocks. The rake will clear it up, and you will not have stray weed peeking from around the corners.

Step 4: Using Tools

Once the bigger rocks are visible, you will have to pick them up. Wear the gloves at this stage if you are going to pick the rocks with your hands. There might be some which are buried and are, therefore, difficult to remove. Use a garden hoe for this purpose, but a garden shovel can also be used to loosen the soil so that the rocks come out. 

Moving on to big rocks which cannot be taken out at once, you will need a sledgehammer for them. These rocks have to be broken into bits with the help of the sledgehammer, and then the pieces need to be gathered. 

Once you have the pieces, store them in the wheelbarrow and move them to a corner. 

Step 5: Transportation

I will recommend that you stack the rocks on one side of the yard while you are working. The rocks cannot be thrown away in parts, and hence stacking them temporarily is the best way to go about it. Choose a wheelbarrow depending on the size of your yard and the number of rocks that need to be moved.

Final Words