Another stump removal post: questions

last month

This is probably the 10,000th post on the topic, but I can't find answers in the ones I read.

I started by getting out my old plastic can of Stump Out granules. They appear to be in good condition, but moisture and humidity have made the label unreadable. And the instructions are on the label. I searched the web but couldn't find them. After all, why should anyone put them on the web when they're right on the label...?

I found some YouTube videos that told me what to do, but I also found references to something that's apparently in the instructions, that I never saw it before: that I'm supposed to "season" the stump for 18 months before I try to remove it. How is that supposed to work? This was an acacia tree. If I leave the stump for 18 months, I won't have a seasoned stump; I'll have a new tree.

But onward. I found a 1" augur bit which I don't remember buying, but I must have gotten it just for this purpose, because it did a great job of drilling into the tree. The augur just pulled the bit in... until the drill stalled, and I found that the bit was too firmly jammed to move when I reversed the drill. I had to take the the drill off and use a pipe wrench to remove the bit. Is there something I don't know here... a way to use an augur bit without having that happen?

Finally, a question that has plagued me since the first time I drilled a stump. I'm supposed to drill 1" vertical holes 10" deep, but trees rarely grow straight down even if they grow straight up (which this one didn't). When I drill a hole that deep, I usually drill right through the base of the tree into soil. Then any water I pour into the hole just drains away. How can I tell where, and in what roughly vertical direction, it's safe to drill?

Featured Answer

BillMN-z-2-3-4

last month

I tend to cut them as level with the ground as I can without getting my chain saw into the dirt, which can dull the chain and ruin the bar Muchos pronto. Maybe leave an inch or two above the ground to be safe.

Additionally, you can burn out a stump, depending how large it is and if no burning regulations in place, by setting a metal 55-gal drum, with the bottom cut out, over it. First start a small charcoal fire on top of the stump, like you would for a charcoal grill. Then set the barrel on and dump a bag or two of charcoal in the barrel on top of the fire. It might burn for days and if it doesn't completely burn the stump, you can add charcoal and rinse/repeat.

Some people use hardwood and just keep adding wood on top as it burns down.

Within a day or two, the hot embers at the base of the fire will dry the stump out so it burns to ashes.

Existing vegetation will no longer exist in that spot.

Either way, it's going to be some work. Don't ask me how I know. ;-)

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Comments (10)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last month
Here are the instructions for the Stump Out - https://files.plytix.com/api/v1.1/file/public_files/pim/private/assets/43/37/8d/5e/5e8d3743202d9eba64d3af60/texts/43/95/42/60/6042954305e975d441fdfef1/l272.pdf

Sorry, can't help with the other questions.
laceyvail 6A, WV
last month
I've always just covered the stump with heavy black plastic. Takes a few years, but if the sprouts can't photosynthesize, it all eventually dies.
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I think you can go ahead and plant the newer plants right in the holes that you want to use. You just have to know that two things are likely to happen, and to compensate for those events. Here's a quick sketch: Now if that hole is filled, with the stump grindings, you have far more than what is optimal for "percentage of organic material", or "percentage of organic matter". You could be up to about fifty percent organic material (the wood, more or less ground up), but I won't quibble if you insist that the number is drifting toward 25%. It's probably somewhere in between. The optimal percentage for a landscape soil is around five percent, perhaps a tad less. So what will happen? It will subside, as the wood rots. (I'm sorry, I meant to say "naturally decomposes"). If you're prepared for the subsidence, meaning that you're going to add topsoil on the top, there isn't really much problem. If you're going to be amazed, ("Gee, why is the dirt sinking?) then yes, there is a problem. But that mix of wood chips and topsoil can be pretty rich, and I like to use it, often, and I do. But I add dirt, frequently, in smallish amounts, as the subsidence takes place. I plan for it, inspect it, and add as needed. But you have to guess, in advance, how much of that wood is going to rot (essentially all of it) in the next five years, and figure 'how much of that filler in that hole is going to go away? Thirty percent? Twenty? Ten?' And, of course, you're going to have to add topsoil. Just add topsoil, NOT topsoil with peat: that would be just repeating the situation, wouldn't it? Peat, like all organic matter, 'naturally decomposes', and it goes away. And these lawn guys who add 'enriched' topsoil (with peat) rather than just plain old non-peat topsoil, can't figure out why their lawn is not level, five years later. The other aspect is the 'nitrogen gets used up'. It doesn't really. As Kimssr pointed out, that nitrogen may be 'busy' for awhile, or unavailable to the plant, but if you plan on adding a 'gentle' nitrogen source, such as Milorganite, every now and then, sufficent nitrogen will be available to the plant, and the plant will thrive. It may be just a matter of personal choice, or how much you're available to supervise the growing of this plant, once you get it in the hole. If you're generally not available, you may want to get rid of the rich woody mix, and put just native topsoil into the hole. If you're available, and like the idea of supervising, from time to time, what's happening there in the hole, it can be alot of fun, and that plant is going to thrive.
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BillMN-z-2-3-4
last month
For drilling into the stump, get a 1" x 16" spade bit.

It doesn't pull the bit into the wood for better control as you drill (never mind the picture) and you can sharpen it with a file or bench grinder.

https://www.strobelssupply.com/1-x16-spade-bit/

Best/fastest way is, if you or your neighbor has a backhoe. 15-minute job with stump out and soil smoothed over again.

I've also pulled them out with a chain and 60 hp farm tractor.

After I've dug around them some and cut through some of the anchor roots with an ax.

If you don't mind the time involved, I've drilled multiple holes with a spade bit, poured some high N fertilizer or salt petre, then just let the rain and sun do their thing. Takes 2-3 years depending on the condition of the stump at treating time.
central_valley
Original Author
last month
@gardengal48, thanks for the link.

@BillMN-z-2-3-4, no neighbor here with a backhoe or a 60 hp tractor. No way to get either one to the location, either, unless they can travel up a four foot wide path between a retaining wall and a fence. I think I'm limited to human muscle and chemicals, and I'm inclined to rely on the latter. I guess I'll get a spade bit and keep doing what I've always done.

Although it occurs to me now (too late) that positioning the holes would be easier if I left a foot or so of stump above ground.
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Jj J
last month
I had 9 mature arborvitae trees that needed to be removed after they outgrew the locations in which they were planted. I was able to cut them down, bit by bit. That left 9 stumps (6 along sidewalk, 3 at corner of house) that I thought I could take care of with stump granules and/or charcoal briquet treatment per YouTube advice. The solution was hiring a company to grind the stumps. They were tidy, thorough, careful around irrigation system and other plants, and …expensive. Worth every penny, though. My back thanks them.
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BillMN-z-2-3-4
last month
last modified: last month
Yeah. Nine stumps, close to an occupied building with sidewalk would be a different story.

You'd have to be careful about buried cables, pipes and burning the place down. You didn't mention the cost, but I would go to that idea with so many stumps where you would want it to go quick and clean. On a back yard outbuilding, out of the way, different story.

One thing about stump grinders, they tend grind very shallow, ~4" so you need to consider what that ground is intended for. Just to level it out and grow grass, you're fine, other plans where you need to dig deeper, not acceptable. Most will dig deeper and add that to the cost, something about machine wear and tear and labor.

eta: there will be issues with leaving a large body of wood in the ground. There will be mushroom displays annually for years and raw wood can rob the soil of nitrogen until it fully rots, moisture issues in that spot too and sinkage as the wood disappears.
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forever_a_newbie_VA8
last month
@BillMN-z-2-3-4, could you recommend a high N fertilizer to fill the drilled holes? thanks
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BillMN-z-2-3-4
last month
last modified: last month
I had some 22-0-0 with iron I had left over here from the lawn.

Pile it on.

eta: if you start to get a lot of rain after you apply the Fert, cover things up with a pail or wash tub. You want it wet/moist but not washed away.
forever_a_newbie_VA8
last month
Bill, thank you so much!
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Another stump removal post: questions

BillMN-z-2-3-4

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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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Another stump removal post: questions

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central_valleyOriginal Author

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central_valley
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