Removing Stumps

[sirquack]

A buddy of mine owns a piece down the road from me, and this weekend he apparently went hog wild trying to remove stumps from his hilly land. The stumps are all ver close to ground level and range in size from 4-20 inch stumps. He is looking for a good way to remove without causing environmental damage. (He lives right above the lake)
The ground is pretty steep, so renting a tractor is not really an option for him. What things have you all tried to remove stumps besides digging them up with a back hoe or other tractor. He was told to try to burn them out using gas or oil. But he is not willing to this due to the proximity to the lake and other potentially bad effects to the local ecology.
I will share with him any suggestions you all might have.:banana02:

[Shrek]

I use hardwood ash and mulched grass to remove stumps on my property.

I save the ashes from my outdoor cooking pit from the deadfall oak I use. When I have a stump to do away with, I cover it with a couple inches of ash and then cover the ash with a foot thickness of mulched grass clippings.

The combination of the lye formed by the ashes as moisture penetrates the mulch and the compost heat of the grass layer will break the stump down dramatically within a year.

Most of my stumps break down enough to be broken up with a hoe after the first year and if a second layering is neccesary, they are completely turned to compost by the second year.

[OJ Rallye]

Originally Posted by Shrek

I use hardwood ash and mulched grass to remove stumps on my property.
.

That sounds great! Thanks! I'll try it on the stumps in the fenceline. Neighbor had his lawyer send me a threatening letter, so I haven't used the crawler loader.

[uncle Will in In.]

What was his plan for use of the stumpy property? If it is steep it wouldn't be tilled. Does he want it in sod or something else. It will be the best for the ground to just saw the stumps off close to the ground and leave them there. He don't want to contend with errosion. <>UNK

[highlands]

We cleared land (recleared old pastures) and I simply left the stumps there. They eventually rotted out. At first they put up regen, shoots, but our livestock (sheep & pigs) ate those down. I just had another 40 acres or so cleared for more pasture and will do the same. Leaving it as pasture for five years is the easiest thing. I eventually hope to hay much of it.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org

[fishhead]

One thing that keeps stumps from rotting is the lack of nitrogen so I'm wondering if a person were to drill holes in the stump and dump high nitrogen fertilizer in the holes if that wouldn't speed up the rotting.

[wyld thang]

Originally Posted by uncle Will in In.

What was his plan for use of the stumpy property? If it is steep it wouldn't be tilled. Does he want it in sod or something else. It will be the best for the ground to just saw the stumps off close to the ground and leave them there. He don't want to contend with errosion. <>UNK

I was going to say this but he beat me to it. the stumps will keep the land in place until other shrubs grow up again.

[oneokie]

Originally Posted by fishhead

One thing that keeps stumps from rotting is the lack of nitrogen so I'm wondering if a person were to drill holes in the stump and dump high nitrogen fertilizer in the holes if that wouldn't speed up the rotting.

The stump removal chemical sold in hardware and home center stores is Potassium Nitrate.

I have used nitrogen fertilizer to speed up the rotting process by sprinkling the fertilizer around the stump. Urea is the only readily available high nitrogen fertilizer now. It does not take much per stump. One can over dose with the nitrogen. The microbes that feed on cellulose need the N to help them digest the wood.

One would have to be careful applying the Nitrogen that close to a lake. Maybe several small applications over a period of time.

[sirquack]

I think you guys hit on something he had not yet considered. He has new grass growing around the stumps on the slope. And I am guessing he probably wants to mow around the stumps without potentially thumping the stump with the mower.
I will be trying to use some of the techniques on some of the Honey locust stumps I created this weekend. I can't stand that stupid tree. Between the thorns and then being in the way for coming through the woods, those trees will all be going to the big forest in the sky.

[oneokie]

Originally Posted by sirquack

I think you guys hit on something he had not yet considered. He has new grass growing around the stumps on the slope. And I am guessing he probably wants to mow around the stumps without potentially thumping the stump with the mower.
I will be trying to use some of the techniques on some of the Honey locust stumps I created this weekend. I can't stand that stupid tree. Between the thorns and then being in the way for coming through the woods, those trees will all be going to the big forest in the sky.

Are you aware that Honey Locust are notorious root sprouters? As bad as Mimosa and fruitless mulberrys.

This may be blasphemy here, but a good herbicide is the best way to eliminate Honey Locust.

[Cleancut]

Build a hog pen around the stump. It takes a little time, but for some reason the hogs will root out the stump before they will root out of the pen. 2 or 3 hogs will suffice.

[brreitsma]

I was reading either in men or countryside, can't remember which now that a good way to clear stumps is to put up fencing and rotate hogs. Bury loose and cob corn into the ground around the stumps and roots. The hogs will rut up the soil digging for the corn and soon enough the stumps and roots will be ready to move.

[Shrek]

If the stumps are in a mushroom friendly environment and are suitable hardwood, sporing them with morel mushrooms will dispose of them within a season while also supplying some foodstuff.

[JIL]

for every 1 honeylocust cut a 100 sprout.......it's their survial thing !!

[Tricky Grama]

I know this works b/c we've had success:
drill holes in them if you can, works better, then fill w/dry molasses. OR if you can afford it-liq molasses. If you can cover w/mulch, all the better. Takes a while, tho, depending on how long ago the tree was cut.

Patty

[GoatsRus]

Drill holes in them, place charcoal briquettes on them and light. They will smolder down into the stump. Actually the stump stuff sold in Lowes/home depot actual tell you to do this.

[Windy in Kansas]

Some of us here have an old pal in Kentucky named Jimmie. He advocates urinating on the stumps which hastens their demise. Of course it is the nitrogen in the urine that does it.

When I cut a tree for removal I make a couple of nose bar cuts into the top of the stump and later put some soil and nitrogen on it. The natural microbes in the soil aid the process.

Right after cutting trees if you will apply a small amount of certain chemicals such as Crossbow around the cambium layer the stumps will not regrow. http://foxyurl.com/un3

[rubygirl1235]

We always dug around the stump and put lots of twigs under where we dug. then we would burn it out

[Annie]

Same thing as most everyone else....nitrogen. Knew a fella that use to buy small bags of bloodmeal...not bonemeal....and drill holes in the stump and pour it in. He said it worked !