Rocks ruining drainage in my new garden bed expansion?

WasteLessWanderer

Rocks bigger than my hand kept popping up no matter how far I shifted the new bed lines. I loosened what I could with the fork and raked off the top layer, then tried mounding soil over the rest, but the drainage still felt off in those spots. The whole expansion ended up smaller than the sketch I drew.

TheGreenThumb

Rocks that big always throw off drainage until they’re fully cleared from the root zone. Using them to border the beds instead might let you keep the full size without mounding over the problem spots.

WasteLessWanderer

Tried piling the rocks along the edges like you said, but after the next rain they just sank back in and messed up the borders anyway. Still had to shrink the beds to avoid the worst spots.

naturebuilder

Shrinking the beds makes sense once those rocks start migrating with the rain. Digging a test hole or two in the new layout might show how deep the layer actually runs before you commit.

WasteLessWanderer

Tried digging test holes like suggested and the rocks run at least a foot down in most of the expanded area. Ended up keeping the beds smaller rather than fighting it.