High carbon material such as wood chips laid on the soil as mulches do not "rob" the soil of nutrients. Dr. Alex Shigo, when he was chief of research for the U. S. Forest Service, found that wood chip mulches were necessary in the forest to maintain the fungal dominant environment trees need to grow healthy. Wood chips incorporated into the soil can, temporarily, tie up Nitrogen since the Soil Food Web will concentrate on digesting them instead of feeding the plants. Here is a link that might be useful: wood chip mulches

the stump is 99% dead wood.. and putting anything on that 99% is a waste ... get some roundup.. 41% ... and put it in the very expensive applicator at the link ... for precise application ... apply to the cambian s noted above ... this will kill 98% of the stumps ... the others.. come back as soon as you see a sprout.. and apply one single drop to the cut ... either properly mark and secure the applicator ... or put the undiluted RU back into the original container ... do not waste the RU on the center wood.. that is NOT where the sprouts form ... ken ps: brand is not as important as the drip top .. think dollar store, perhaps ... Here is a link that might be useful: link

The answer to your question is salt won't do what you want it to do. Potassium Nitrate (aka "stump rot" or "stump killer" at Home Depot) will rot the stump, but it could take as much as 6 months or a year. FYI, Potassium Nitrate can be purchased on Ebay much cheaper than at a retail store. It is also called Salt Peter. Technical name is KN03. BETTER SOLUTION: If the stump is dead and dry, I would dig a small hole at the base of the stump...about 6" deep and 4" in diameter. Make sure the stump is exposed on the side of the hole. Throw a few peices of bar-b-que charcoal briquettes into the hole and then hold a small propane torch on the charcoal briquettes until they are red and smoldering (the longer you hold the torch flame on the charcoal the better). Leave the hole open at the top so the coals can get air. The smoldering coals will start the stump smoldering and there will never be a visible flame that could damage your fence. If you leave it alone, the stump will smolder away over about a 5 day period with NO open flames. After about a week, the stump will be gone and you will have a deep hole full of ashes left in it's place. This method will not damage your fence, will NOT violate any fire codes, and will not leave behind any chemical residue or salt that could damage your future plants. Besides, 6 months - 1 year is a long time to wait.

Oh mi gosh you guys are scaring me! Dynamite, kudzu and holly evil spirits. I mean damn! I let me holly live and it's a nice ass bush I gotta say I love the sexy foliage and it even keeps the neighboors kids out of the garden with it's spiky leaves. G- Girl, I know what you look like and that you are self proclaimed "old"... Lay off it! Your a darn sexy spirit and that's what I was getting at. The older people get the more pretty or ugly they can become. And with cosmetics and vanity it can be just the vice versa. People are so screwed up today all I was saying is you and most people who garden are in touch with the earth which makes them HOT to me! Hot, sexy, beautiful.... all interchangable and nothing to do with looks Okokok, when they are planted everywhere, that sucks. What are people thinking anyways. I mean plant something productive for crying out loud. FOrtunately( AND UNFORTUNATELY) most meathods to erradicate them have been listed. I'm not a propagandist of explosives and herbicides or chemicals so I suggest you use hard work if you can.