Stump Dump

[Frankenkubota]

Not sure where to put this.

I've cleared about 5 acres and have generated maybe 75 stumps. The smaller ones, I call them squid stumps, all burned up no problem.

I have about 10 big stumps that the previous owner says have been stumps for at least 75 years. Mostly white oak and so heavy my MX 5800 can't lift 2 of them. I can drag them, no problem. All Solid as a rock!

My feeling is, these big hard wood stumps will never burn, not in my lifetime.

I guess dig a big hole and bury them? Individual holes or a mass grave?

 

[Mat4644]

I've found left dry they last for years. Cover with just a small amount of soil and the combination of dampness, soil insects and microbes break them down in a few years. Obviously this method only works if you have the room and time to do it.

 

[Richard]

When I burn stumps, I usually plan on several burn sessions. First burn session (with full sized fires) essentially dries them out, burns the extremities off. Second burning (another full fledged fire) reduces them down and helps dry them out internally. Rinse/repeat.

I have a spot where I do all my burning so it doesn't matter to me how many fires it takes....they WILL be gone over time. Also, I find good success for myself when I keep tending to the fire keeping it collected upon itself. If I ignore it for the rest of the day, it will finally go out. Or, it will smolder....and sometimes, even two days after the fire, I can go out there and push things together with the loader bucket and it will re-ignite.

If it's wood....it's going to burn. You just have to keep on it.

Having a backhoe that will reach out something like 20+ feet does make it easier in that the flames can be roaring and I can still push things around without the direct heat of the fire being too intense (though it still gets pretty warm at times!)

 

[TractorGuy]

I have some lined up along the property line. I told the neighbor if it bothered him I would relocate them but he said it didn't matter to him. When I get to the bottom of the hill I will start across the back. I built a sifter to reclaim some of the soil that gets pushed up with the stumps and debris. After a couple of cycles I scoop the remainder up and put it along the back property line which is at the bottom of a slope. I am doing this to prevent water from running off onto the property behind me. That property is undeveloped timberland but my intention is being a good neighbor.

 

[fried1765]

Not sure where to put this.

I've cleared about 5 acres and have generated maybe 75 stumps. The smaller ones, I call them squid stumps, all burned up no problem.

I have about 10 big stumps that the previous owner says have been stumps for at least 75 years. Mostly white oak and so heavy my MX 5800 can't lift 2 of them. I can drag them, no problem. All Solid as a rock!

My feeling is, these big hard wood stumps will never burn, not in my lifetime.

I guess dig a big hole and bury them? Individual holes or a mass grave?

I solve stump disposal issues with my backhoe.
"Individual"," or mass grave" = little difference.

 

[treefarmerguy]

I have a stump dump and I leave it for the critters that need a home!

 

[fruitcakesa]

I've been pushing them into a low spot behind my firewood processing grounds for 20 years.
Dug into it this year and pulled out a couple of bucket loads of wood mulch that I used to build our hugelkultur mounds
Pushed it back together and leave for another 20

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I pile them up and leave them for the animals to have a home...

It's one more place rabbits ect. can hide, so the coyotes don't clean them all out.

SR

 

[Avenger]

I add mine to a large slash pile. The pile gets all sorts of stuff: brush, scrap wood, stumps, the odd piece of dead furniture, pulled weeds, basically anything that will burn, including the junk mail or shreadables that have been piling up. I am careful to remove anything that will puncture a tire, so no nails, large staples, etc. Nothing that wont burn, and nothing that wont burn 'clean,' like tires.

The pile will sit until New Years eve, when there is a ton of snow. We have some friends and neighbors over, sometimes a live band! Listen to music, drink home brew, eat good food, and at the stroke of mid-night, have the kids light the 'prepared' burn pile with roman candles. The pile, in years past, have been quite large. As high as my tractor can lift anyway. It's also in a slight depression, so that helps. The fire is extremely hot and will burn for the rest of the next day. I'll walk around it and throw the edges back into the fire once or twice as it winds down. After a few days, I'll stir it with the tractor and call it good.

The stumps never survive. I dont get wrapped up about a ton of dirt, though I'd prefer it if the dirt stayed in the hole, but sometimes that is not practical. I'm sure they would burn better if they were left out to season for a few years, but again, I've never had problems with them remaining. Nothing is left.

Come spring, I start adding to the pile again. Been doing that for nearly 5 years now, in the same place. It's fun and effective.