Rocks — So Far

I don’t like to raise plants in rocks, so as soon as we started excavating, in April 2015, I was pulling rocks out of any dirt that would likely be put back, meaning all of it except the 14 truckloads that were hauled away. We had excavation down 5’ for the foundations, and trenches for the water, sewer, electrical, and communications lines.Initially I put the rocks around the base of trees that were staying on the property, with the assumption that when dirt had to be moved again the equipment would not be used near the base of trees. That actually worked quite well.

After the foundations were cast we filled the dirt around the house, and I was again raking rocks out of the soil. When the house was finished, the contractor made a semblance of smoothing the dirt around the house (except for one big pile which eventually became berms). Again, I was raking rocks.After the contractor finished and left, I started working on garden. I use a 4” cultivating tool to rake rocks out of the soil. I tossed them against the base of the house walls, under the assumption that I would not grow plants there, and the rocks would reduce splashing dirt against the stucco walls of the house during heavy rain. I also put rocks in the drainage paths away from the canales (scuppers) that drain the roof.

Quite soon I had more rocks than looked right agains the house walls. So I started sorting them by size and ‘beauty’. The biggest rocks (5-6”, lower left) I put in the ditch at the side of the road. The next smaller ones (3-4”, right) go around the base of the house. Small ones (1-2”, top left) go into the drainage.Any cracked, jagged, or rough rocks, plus the tiny ones (<1”) I have been discarding. This amounts to 100-200 pounds each week.

I also select by color. If I have a choice, I choose the colored rocks over the gray ones.

I’m making up the rules as I go. When I discovered that I had more rocks than I could use, I started by pitching the largest ones into the ditch by the road. Then I picked out broken and grainy ones. Now I’m keeping colored ones and sorting by size. And so it goes….