Easy way to get rid of tree stumps in the yard

[sixdogs]

Easy way to get rid of tree stumps in the yard. Just cut it flatter-than-flat to the ground, keep saw out of the dirt and coat stump with Roundup to kill it. Paint stump black so it's not so obvious to the eye and a year later burn it with a hardwood fire and a leaf blower. Low to the ground means I can mow over it with my 7' pull type mower right now.

Here are some pics. The trunk piece shows that I cut a kerf around the outside first and then kept nibbling till I got to the center. Need sharp saw.
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Below is a stump cut last year that will be burned when or if it ever rains again.
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When I burn, I start the fire and push coals to the outside of the stump. Hit the center with a leafblower and it burns plenty deep into the ground. No backhoe mess, just blow cinders and ash out, fill with dirt and seed. Close enough for gov't work.

These are from similar efforts this spring. The second pic was a 16" or bigger soft maple.
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[Mat4644]

Cut the tree off at 4 feet and carve into a bear.

You did a nice job getting rid of them.

 

[RalphVa]

Good work. Yeah, you either have to cut them very low like that or leave them up so that you don't hit them with equipment. Just have to coat around outer edge with herbicide where the cambium is. I've never burned them. They eventually rot out.

Ralph

 

[Diggin It]

I've been doing that for quite a while. What I'm finding though is that over time, the ground settles or washes away with rains, making the stump 'rise' up out of the ground. I've had to cut several down a second or third time. Lately I've been drilling hole in them to help promote rot.

None of mine are in a position to be able to burn them with any intensity.

 

[shovelmike]

I bought a DR Stump Grinder a few years ago, and have eliminated scores of stumps with it. If the stump is about 6" tall you can grind it down below ground level, shovel the dirt and chips back into the hole and that one's gone.
I have taken out stumps up to 24" diameter.

 

[oosik]

None, of any significance, are in my yard. I pulled the last of the old apple trees a year ago. Left them high - hooked them high with a heavy nylon strap - over they came. Out on the property I have ancient Ponderosa pines. I just cut them at "normal" height and let them rot. I bored about a dozen many years ago. Did not seem to help with the rotting process. The really big stumps - 24" to 38" - will take fifteen to twenty years to rot out. I was given and tried some type of granular "stump rot" product. It didn't help either.

We are so darn dry here that bacterial degradation( rotting ) is a real long process. It OK - a few stump around the property bother nobody.

It's very unwise to burn a stump around here. The fire will burn down and travel out the large roots. It will start fires at a great distance from the original stump. Not a good thing........

 

[sixdogs]

Same with slow rotting of stumps around here. Stumps could last a generation or more and I don't have the time. We get enough rain that burning is OK if done carefully. A PTO stump grinder would be great but I've never seen one for sale since we don't have many trees.

 

[shovelmike]

Same with slow rotting of stumps around here. Stumps could last a generation or more and I don't have the time. We get enough rain that burning is OK if done carefully. A PTO stump grinder would be great but I've never seen one for sale since we don't have many trees.

My stump grinder isn't PTO powered, 9hp Subaru horizontal shaft. It cost me around $2,000 5 or 6 years ago, and has been worth the money.
Locust and Hedge (also known as osage orange or bois d'arc) are an invasive species and a nuisance. I try to keep these in control, at least along the yard and walking paths so nobody gets injured by the thorns.

 

[Diggin It]

My stump grinder isn't PTO powered, 9hp Subaru horizontal shaft. It cost me around $2,000 5 or 6 years ago,.

I looked after your post above and they have a couple of units now under $1500 along with the more expensive ones.

Home Depot also shows a couple in the $1500 range and they offer rentals at some stores. They also sell used ones (former rentals).