Stump Removal...Best Method?

[TMR]

Last summer I purchased 40 acres of land that has about 5-10 acres that was logged maybe 10-15 years ago. It has many Jackpine stumps left in the ground...maybe 12-18" tall with 6-8" diameters. I kicked a couple and they sure seem very "firm" still.

I was chatting with a friend that has done a lot of commercial road work and just about anything that takes heavy equipment...regarding getting someone in with a dozer to clean out the stumps. He advised to get a stump grinder from a rental place and grind them all down.

What are you thoughts/experiences? Quite a lot of stumps that I want out sooner rather than later before I work on replanting in the future...it is very nice part of the property on a ridge with a nice view (and good place for a deer stand).

I do not own a tractor at this point but will likely "someday". How could you attack this with a tractor and attachment...and what size/HP would you need? What method of "bulk" stump removal has worked "best" for you?

Thanks in advance...TMR

BTW...property has a built in "nursery" of red pine seedlings just ready to be thinned by transplanting...red and white pine are my "hobby". TMR

 

[Sublifer]

If you're going to plant the area then don't grind the stumps. You'll probably be best off paying someone with a big dozer and root rake to clear it for you. You could also use a backhoe but it will take a lot longer. Tractors really aren't built for stump removal but if its not too big you can use a stump bucket on a FEL

 

[Reg]

I think it depends very much on what you want to do with the land in the short/mid term.
If you intend to build, turn out high value animals on it, or put down hard roads - I would say excavate to get 'em outta there and avoid sink holes 5, 10, 15 years from now.

If you want the view, or intend crops - I would say grind 'em.
Let the remains rot, ignore shallow depressions over time, or re-level with regular tillage if you are growing crops.

I don't know what the decomposition rates are for your type of stumps in your soil, wetness, etc.
That may be the first thing to research, i.e. how long before rotting stumps below the surface become a problem ?

If you excavate you STILL have to get rid of 'em.
Burning takes a while and is rarely easy.

BTW, a few of us here have the Woods TSC-50 grinder behind 30, 40, 50 HP CUTS, it would probably be worth your while to search for those threads.

 

[TMR]

Thanks Reg...the ground is kind of a gravel/dirt...it does drain quickly when it rains and I fear that is why the stumps are still quite strong even though they were cut a number of years ago.

My intention is to first "save" as many of the naturally seeded Jackpine that are growing (5-8') and then transplant red and white pine and some spruce from other portions of the property that have an excess of 2-4 year natural seedlings. Also will have at least one UTV width trail through the area to the south property border. Mostly want it to be a nice looking ridge with a nice view (in some great deer country). Also will need to move and burn a fair amount of left over tree "junk" left over from the logging.

Probably would be nice to get the stumps out of the ground and have a number of major burning fires to get rid of them.

Thanks...TMR

I think it depends very much on what you want to do with the land in the short/mid term.
If you intend to build, turn out high value animals on it, or put down hard roads - I would say excavate to get 'em outta there and avoid sink holes 5, 10, 15 years from now.

If you want the view, or intend crops - I would say grind 'em.
Let the remains rot, ignore shallow depressions over time, or re-level with regular tillage if you are growing crops.

I don't know what the decomposition rates are for your type of stumps in your soil, wetness, etc.
That may be the first thing to research, i.e. how long before rotting stumps below the surface become a problem ?

If you excavate you STILL have to get rid of 'em.
Burning takes a while and is rarely easy.

 

[DelSc]

My experience with pine stumps that size that have been dead a few years is that they come out very easily, even with a relatively small backhoe and thumb. Not much dirt clings to them either because all the tiny roots are decomposed already.

 

[TMR]

BTW, a few of us here have the Woods TSC-50 grinder behind 30, 40, 50 HP CUTS, it would probably be worth your while to search for those threads.

Thanks Reg,,,found a major thread re; the TSG-50...really seems like a great solution...perhaps provides the "logic" for me to buy a tractor TMR

 

[tungularafishcamp]

Backhoes are pretty versatile and while maybe not the best tool for stumps they get that job and many others done fine. Rick

 

[davgreg]

Most jackpine stumps around here come out quite easy! Northern michigan has a lot of sand though. If they get big enough they will pluck themselves after a big storm. Roots rarely branch out. forks work the best to check the root structure so you dont have to hand dig. If you find a big enough root going horizontal take the axe to it. Then start pushing and lifting with forks on both sides of stump and they can usually be pursuaded out. Good luck!

 

[Highbeam]

The single hardest thing on a tractor is stumping, even small ones. 5-10 acres of forest will leave hundreds if not thousands of stumps. A tractor is not the proper tool. Grinding that many stumps will also prove to be tedious. An excavator with thumb will be far superior but still slow. A large bulldozer with a root rake will be the best thing since you are looking for something that will pluck the stumps as it goes. You will have a large pile of stumps but you seem to have a large parcel and I'm sure you can find a spot to stash that pile until you decide to hire a tub grinder, burn them, or just let them rot naturally.

Stump removal is a hired job. The equipment necessary is not worth buying for this one time project.

After removal I would come back with an excavator and shake the removed stumps free of dirt, stack them tall, and let them air dry for a year or two before starting the fire.

Why remove the stumps at all? If you plan to reforest this area then leave them in place to rot. Maybe only remove the stumps on your UTV trail. That changes the scale of the job to one that could be done with a grinder.

Can you flush cut the stumps? Low enough to drive over them?

 

[TMR]

Stump removal is a hired job. The equipment necessary is not worth buying for this one time project.

After removal I would come back with an excavator and shake the removed stumps free of dirt, stack them tall, and let them air dry for a year or two before starting the fire.

Why remove the stumps at all? If you plan to reforest this area then leave them in place to rot. Maybe only remove the stumps on your UTV trail. That changes the scale of the job to one that could be done with a grinder.

Can you flush cut the stumps? Low enough to drive over them?

Thanks Highbeam...maybe the idea of clearing the trail path and leave the rest is OK. It looks really messy but that may be partly/mostly due to the mess of partial trees left laying around. I also need to go back to the property and take a closer look at the task...I plan on using 5 grandkids to help move the tree remnants to various pile to burn. Need to take a better look at the slope also.

Thanks...TMR

 

[beenthere]

I kicked a couple and they sure seem very "firm" still.

Kicking them may not indicate just how easy they will come out, after all this time. Try some serious pull on them (and I said pull, not jerk!!) with a tractor or even a truck using cable or chain. Make a block and tackle arrangement using cable to gain some pulling power (mechanical advantage) between two stumps, and whichever is left standing of the two then move to another pair. Prolly quicker than grinding stumps.

There was a post using a stump splitter, but it was very heavy duty and required some big tractor power to run

How about a pic of the area? We like pics.

I also agree, leave them there if you are going to plant more trees.

 

[Kyle241]

Based on the description of your plans for the property, I would not remove them. I would cut them close to the ground and let them rot. For any trails I would remove them or grind them down. Up my way, jack pine stumps come out easily with my FEL and with a tooth bar would really make it easy. Now if we are talking elm stumps then it's dynamite does the job.

 

[Pete Judd]

Up here in the PNW we just bring in a shovel with a thumb. Grab them out of the ground drop them a few times to get the dirt off (dirt don't burn) and put the stumps in a pile. Wait a few months for them to dry, and have a big fire. But we are talking about large fir and alder stumps, sometimes western red cedar as well. Smaller alder stumps here at the house, cut them flush and drill holes into them with the cordless drill, and let them rot out in a year or two.

Have not been able to get the blasting stuff in a lot of years.

 

[trailbuilder]

Jack Pine stumps are similar to Red pine stumps. I ground 85 stumps 12-15 inch in diameter in an hour with my ASV PT100 and Fecon for a customer to turn the woods into pasture, it worked well and was cheap $300, no mess when I was done either. I drive by and the horses seem happy.
2 Harbors is not too far away from Ironwood if you need a hand. I work in Duluth, Ashland, Corny and Bayfield.

 

[tawilson]

I've dug out a few pine stumps, and you can't tell what a project it will be till you give it a poke. A tractor with a front end loader might pop them out or you might need a hoe or dozer. I'd buy a 4wd tractor with a front end loader and see how it goes and then decide how to deal with them. I can tell that secretly down deep you want a tractor anyways. I'm perceptive, plus I've been drinking.:thumbsup:

 

[Pilot]

Best machine for pulling stumps, at least large ones, is an excavator, or shovel and thumb as Pete Judd says. It does the least damage to the site (dozers are awful--compaction, disruption of the topsoil, no selectivity--everything in front of the blade goes into the pile along with a lot of dirt) and is cheaper and faster. This has been confirmed by research studies by researchers I know and whose work is good and my own observations agree.

But you have small stumps that have been dead awhile. And you want to reforest.

Don't bother with them except where you want a trail. And on the trail I would just cut them almost flush. Yeah, stumps are ugly, but they'll soon disappear in your new forest.

And as for transplanting, I am not so sure that's a good idea. Around here 2 year old seedlings from a nursery went for $.25 each a couple years ago. These are vigorous and well fertilized, parents are selected for good genes and the seedlings are cultivated for transplanting. A good tree planter can plant around 400-600 nursery grown seedlings per day. Wild seedlings don't do nearly as well. And you have to dig them up without damaging them and care for them properly before replanting. It's a lot of work. And you're probably looking at 200-300 seedlings per acre. Think about it.

 

[MarkV]

I don't know why you would bother to pull pine stumps when you intend to reforest. Here after a clear cut we wait a year and then do a controlled burn to get rid of the slash. After that a planting crew comes in to plant seedling. Nature takes care of the stumps before the property is ready to log again.

MarkV

 

[jonyyuma]

The pine stumps here only take a couple of years, then rot out. I then dump dirt down the holes.Unless you are building a road over them, why bother? If youre in a hurry, a year or two then burn it. Jy.

 

[Reg]

The pine stumps here only take a couple of years, then rot out. I then dump dirt down the holes.Unless you are building a road over them, why bother? If youre in a hurry, a year or two then burn it. Jy.

My point(s) exactly.
It really DOES depend on your intended use in the short and mid term.
For building, turning out high value heavy animals, or laying hard roads you probably can't afford to let them rot in the ground.

For SOME crops you may be able to, you may not want to, it probably depends on what you will grow and how you will til (or not til).

 

[TMR]

I think I need to visit the property and take another look at the stumps. I think the area was logged at least 10 years ago. Perhaps they are not a solid as I thought when I just "kicked" one. Maybe a tractor and FEL could push them right over/out?

Also, if they are stubborn then just clearing the trail that I want to establish should be sufficient at this point. First project will likely be to gather and burn the "slash"...that will probably improve the looks of the area quite a bit.

Re; transplanting natural seedlings...that is a bit of a hobby. I will likely try a few and see what the results are...NO large quantities planned. I first may try a manual post hole digger and see if I can just pull out of dirt and directly place in a pre-dug hole? My thought is this would work on the 1-2 year seedlings...ie; put the "open" post hole shovel down over the seedling, push into the ground, close the digger...and move it intact to the new hole. Kind of like the big landscaping truck/diggers do with large trees? I will learn quickly if it works or not.

Thanks...TMR

P.S. Going up to the property this weekend and will try to get a couple of pictures...TMR

The pine stumps here only take a couple of years, then rot out. I then dump dirt down the holes.Unless you are building a road over them, why bother? If youre in a hurry, a year or two then burn it. Jy.