Rock and Soil Separator - leave rocks/take soil away

[rgsparber]

A big problem here in the Southwest is our ground cover around houses. It is common to have down a 2 to 3 inch layer of 1" rock. Over time, this rock sinks down and/or is covered with fine clay. Given the large expanse plus weight of this rock cover, it is not practical to shovel it into a sifter, remove the soil, and spread the rock. People usually just buy a few tons of new rock and have it spread out. Wait 5 to 10 years and repeat.

I have experimented with a small heavy steel rake. It is possible to tease up the rock layer and leave the dry fine clay behind. A lot of work and very slow going. Yet this might be the genesis of an idea for a new machine.

If you think about the problem, the goal is to move the small amount of light soil, not disturb the rock.

I have tried using a leaf blower on dry soil. It is kind of slow but not as slow as using a common sifter and a shovel. However, the find clay goes airborne and makes a mess as it settles on rock around the work area. I thought about using two leaf blowers. One to blow the soil away from the rocks and the other to suck up the resulting dust. I recently was given a second leaf blower so will try this but it will certainly be an ungainly machine.

I am confident that a respectful and spirited discussion of this problem by creative people will turn up a few promising leads. So if you are out there, please speak up!

Thanks,

Rick