Hi,

I am new to farming and would appreciate some advice.

I am looking at buying a 15 acre farm in the Ballan, Victoria area. I dug a few holes and found rock  in the soil.

Total of 5 holes where dug approximately 30cm wide x 30cm deep. I found 2 fist sized rocks in four out of the five holes.  In the 5th hole there was a handful of 20 mm rock. Pretty much in most places on the property that you dig with a shovel you hit rock of some sort.

Some of the rock is very hard and some of it you can break in your hand or with the shovel.

I have been searching the internet for a feasible solution to this problem and the only solution I have found is a rock picker attachment for a tractor.

I found plenty of examples of rock pickers on youtube in the USA but nothing in Victoria that I could hire or even a contractor to find out the cost of clearing the land of rock. When I have been travelling around,  I have noticed plenty of rock infested farms so I assume there must be a way to clear land. 

Also could anyone recommend a book on how to prepare soil with various tractor attachments specific to farming vegetables. I would like to learn the right way of cultivating the soil and how to prepare the garden beds with the correct tractor attachment. 

Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.