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22-06-2003, 09:20 PM

The message
from (ken cohen) contains these words:

Having cleared a lot of the undergrowth from my new allotment, I
discover that the ground is quite stony with small pebbles, pieces of
rock etc. I've started raking them up and removing them, but I'm
thinking it could be an endless task, and how important is it anyway,
given that stones do not deprive plants of nutrients, and eventually
will become part of the soil?

Much depends on your local climate and soil type; a stony soil (which
is usually free-draining) would be an asset in a high-rainfall area; but
in a drought-prone area it might be a problem.

You'll find that stones migrate to the soil surface without any effort
on your part, where you can just rake them off if you want to clear
areas for sowing tiny seeds. A large supply of stones is great material
for making paths, drainage ditches, concrete foundations for shed etc;
or you could bag them up in a couple of layers of old fertiliser sacks
and use the filled bags to make edges for raised beds.

Janet.