How to uproot the stump effortlessly and quickly? This is very hard but to crack for almost every landowner. The stumps are inherited by them from the former owners or remain after the removal of the trees in the plot or garden. This is because there are difficulties in cultivating the land. If stumps are not removed it is infected by insects and the layout of the yard deteriorates. That result in molded and mildew present a serious health hazard. Anyone who has ripped out stumps knows that this is quite a laborious exercise. You can hold it manually or by using special equipment, technology, chemicals. It is necessary to understand the main methods by which you can quickly destroy a stump of any size.
In today’s discussion, some methods and tools are shown below where you find some great solutions. So, let’s see.
Stump Grinder
Stump grinder keeps a great role to remove large stumps and roots easily and quickly. It has high speed teeth for grinding stumps and roots. As a result, the stumps slice into small chips. So, there is no hardship to remove stumps. Presently, it is massively used for its strong power and effectiveness.
TRACTOR UPROOTING
Removing stumps with heavy machinery is the fastest way to clean the area. Depending on the size of the object, you will need to use a passenger SUV, truck wheeled, or tracked tractor. The cable must have a sufficient margin of safety since the root system of the trees can penetrate deep into the ground and have a large area. The use of heavy machinery is justified when you need to quickly clear a large open area with many stumps.
Free access to each object is provided. Foreign objects are removed, small structures are dismantled, flowers and shrubs are transplanted. Dangerous places are marked.
The stumps are prepared to mount the cable. To do this, they make transverse cuts and grooves. If they are not done, the cable will constantly slip.
Strangers are removed from the job site. The windshield of the tractor is closed with a solid grill. This is necessary because the broken wire has tremendous destructive power.
The use of heavy machinery allows a few hours to clear a large area, literally full of stumps. But this method has certain disadvantages and limitations. Therefore, the tractor can destroy all the infrastructure in the equipped area. Heavy equipment destroys walkways, damages flower beds and lawns. After removing the stump, there are huge holes that need to be filled with dirt. Also, the cost of services to remove 1 object is quite high. For such activities on a well-kept plot, there are other approaches.
USE OF CRUSHING DEVICES.
The use of devices for milling and grinding allows us to solve the problem of how to remove the stump without uprooting quickly and efficiently. After working with a stump in place, a clean pit and a mountain of chips remain, which will always be useful around the home as fuel or to cover the ground.
It is not necessary to prepare the work platform and access roads. The equipment without problems is delivered to the most inaccessible places. The stumps themselves do not need to excavate and apply transverse grooves on them.
The possibility of crushing in crowded conditions, between the various elements of the landscape. At the same time, they do absolutely no harm. To avoid clogging the area with sawdust, you can set up a fabric tent.
Precision and accuracy of the process. All equipment parameters are controlled by the operator. At the same time, the shredder turns a piece into sawdust in just a few minutes.
However, grinding has its drawbacks. So the owner of the allotment has to decide how to get rid of the tree roots left in the ground. The equipment cannot go more than 30 cm below ground level. Wood left on the floor can be a serious problem. In such a place it will not be possible to build a foundation or plant a tree. There is a milling method and another feature 1: The shredders can only be used in places where there are no stones, metals, and debris on the ground. Due to contact with such objects, expensive equipment breaks down, leading to additional costs for their repair.
REMOVAL OF CHEMICAL STUMPS
Not everyone is capable of using expensive equipment to clean a site. In this case, you can use special chemicals. Very well-established method of destroying stumps with nitrate. Although this substance is considered a fertilizer, in high concentration it is highly toxic, destroying living wood in a matter of months. Chemical destruction of stumps is such a simple process that it does not require the presence of special devices and the participation of professionals.
Forestry Mulching
You can use a single Forestry Mulching machine to cut, grind, clean, and clear stumps and vegetation. It helps to shred the stumps. Generally, a mulching machine is attached with the excavator to perform its work.
Brush Clearing
It generally helps to prepare your land to clear the stumps which are attacked with the pest. Pest is a great nuisance for your land. So, by removing pest attacked stumps you can make you land useful.
Land and Lot Clearing
It is another great method to clear and remove shrubs, stumps, trees, debris and large items from the land and property. So, it is a very effective, efficient, and popular method all over the world.
So, a list of what you need to work on:
ammonium or potassium nitrate;
a drill or a long drill in a tree with a diameter of 15-20 mm;
powerful drill or hand knob;
cellophane
scotch and trailer.
Work on the destruction of stumps by chemical means is carried out according to this technology:
Drill holes as deep as possible. Depending on the size of the stump, their number can be from 10 to 100. Drilling should be done in dry weather to avoid filling the holes with water and swelling the wood.
The drilled holes are filled with dry nitro. Ramming powder is carried out with a branch or a steel bar. The holes must be filled completely.
The powder is moistened with water until it is no longer soaked in the nitro.
The stump is wrapped in cellophane, which is assembled from the bottom, tightened with a cord, and fixed with adhesive tape. This is to prevent the chemical from seeping into the rain.
In the spring the cellophane is removed, the stump dries for several days. After that it catches fire. As a general rule, in a few hours, the wood turns to ash.
If nitrate is not available, the use of diesel fuel is allowed. It will not poison the soil, as it will not go beyond the root system. But the recording process will be much faster.
The main advantages of the chemical method are as follows:
the procedure does not require serious physical exertion and financial investments;
does not suffer the environment and landscape, the total absence of debris;
the ability to independently carry out work with guaranteed quality of the final result;
Not only the aerial part of the stump is destroyed, but everything that is underground, including the root system.
A certain disadvantage of this choice is the duration of the decay of the wood. The destruction process can take several years. In some cases, it may take another year to restore the composition of the soil and remove toxic substances from the soil to a safe concentration.
Handling special chemical products must be very careful. Care must be taken to protect the skin, eyes, and respiratory organs. Before starting work, people and pets are removed from the site.
MANUAL STUMP REMOVAL
The site can clean itself, without using special equipment and toxic chemicals. Manual work has several advantages. The main one is that everything costs completely free. An important factor is the high precision of the process. You can get rid of the old stump in the most difficult places without damaging the rows of plantations and objects. Nowadays, you can use various ways to clean the area of stumps of various sizes.
The main ones are worth sticking with:
Destruction by building tools. The wood is exposed to a saw, ax, and wedge mallet. This procedure requires considerable effort. The wood at the root of the tree is very durable. The work will take several hours a day. If a tree has a developed root system, its removal will require lengthy digging work to get to the roots and then leveling the resulting hole.
Delete all. This method involves digging a stump around the perimeter and separating the largest roots from it. After this, an undermining of all individual fragments is carried out and extracted from the ground. This will require axes, crowbars, and ropes.
Pulling out completely with a manual winch. This method can only be used to remove small-diameter stumps. The main problem is finding a reliable anchor to secure the winch. In some cases, you can only use a powerful reinforced concrete foundation under a residential structure.
The manual method has its drawbacks:
it is very difficult and difficult, not everyone wants to spend their vacations and weekends working for hours and hours;
the work can be carried out only in the dry and hot seasons since dirt and permafrost complicate it considerably.
It is advisable to use labor in the preparatory stages of stump removal. Therefore, it can be undercut and cut from the roots and pulled out with a long cable and an off-site tractor.
DESTRUCTION OF STUMPS BY FUNGI
This is a beautiful, exotic, and quiet way to slowly but surely get rid of a stump. Without any effort, you can turn old hemp into a base for an edible mushroom colony. To do this, in nature, its mycelium is taken and introduced into the wood. As soon as months can be harvested. As a general rule, the optimal choice is the mycelium. These mushrooms are not pretentious, they grow well in the sun and in the shade. During 1 season with only 1 stump, you can pick up some fresh and delicious mushroom cubes.
The larger the fungal colony, the sooner they will break down the wood, turning it into a soft, harmless powder. Within a few years, the stump will turn into a shapeless compost pile. It can be used for its purpose as a fertilizer for flower beds and gardens. In this case, the soil will be ready to be sown by several cultures immediately after dusting.
It should be noted that fungi tend to spread all over the site. Despite the appeal of the choice in its favor, one must take into account its potential danger to plants in the garden and wooden real estate objects.
There are several types of stump removal. Chemistry and physics. The first involved various reagents that accelerate the process of destruction of the barrel. Physical effects on the rest of the tree by means of force, cutting. Consider in detail the method, removing stumps without uprooting.
Stumps left on the plot can cause discomfort for a long time. If the trunk, the root system, is partially alive, the appearance of new growth is a matter of time. They can appear both from the hitch remnant and from a distance if the tree was large and the roots were lengthening. If the stump is in the process of decay, harmful microorganisms and insects that feed on wood can damage nearby plants. It takes a lot of space, which is more appropriate for new plantings. All of this is a good reason to get rid of tree debris.
The method of removing stumps by cleaning in some cases has disadvantages:
In small densely planted areas, it is sometimes difficult to approach the tree, the use of special tools is limited;
The cutting process requires great physical force;
In cases where tools need to be purchased, the uncut method may be more economical.
Elimination method using herbicides. The chemical product is processed with fresh cuts of the tree, abundantly watered, trying to saturate the soil and reach the roots. Also in the barrel make deep holes, 20 cm long. Pour liquid. Wrap the entire protruding part with a thick film and fix it. Most manipulations are done in the fall and wait until spring. During this period, the structure collapses and rots, making it easy to remove.
REMOVE STUMP WITH SALTPETER
Sodium or potassium nitrate, fall asleep in densely made holes, up to 30 cm deep. Staple with jams and wrap tightly with polyethylene, avoiding rain and snow. Allowed to stay from 6 months to a year and a half. For a long time due to the gradual impregnation of the wood reagent. After the stump has completely dried and caught fire, the entire root system gradually burns out.
Ammonium nitrate is used. The application method is identical to the usual sodium. He also drilled holes in the rest of the log and poured reagent. In this case, the exposure period is 1-2 years.
Important: this type of nitrate does not require burning, the chemical agent completely decomposes the tree in the soil and serves as a fertilizer in the future.
USE SALT TO REMOVE THE STUMP
Salt removal. The algorithm of actions, as in previous methods, a large piercing of the trunk is filled with salt, tightly closed with a film, it is possible in several layers. The wood collapses about two years, the remains are easily removed.
Removing stumps without uprooting is a great alternative to cutting. It is enough to understand the effect of all methods on the soil and choose the option that is suitable for you.
This diagram will show how, in practice, to perform a nasty operation to remove a stump without uprooting:
With such a problem – how to remove the stump from the dacha, gardeners often do not find it, but if the need to uproot the stump appears, then there are several ways to solve this problem. Mechanical methods of uprooting stumps can require great physical and even material costs, it all depends on the size of the stump and its location in the country house. There are ways to remove the stump from the site without uprooting, these include:
HOW TO REMOVE THE STUMP IN PLACE, WITHOUT UPROOTING IT, AND CHEMICALLY.
The chemical method is to treat the stump with reagents. that destroy it quickly, such substances are:
potassium or sodium nitrate;
urea
herbicides;
sodium chloride (sodium chloride).
WE REMOVE THE STUMP WITH POTASH OR SODIUM NITRATE.
The removal of the stump is a process that takes place at the end of the summer. The stump must be prepared: drill holes of maximum diameter with a few holes in the wood. With a drilling diameter of 10 mm – about 20 holes, 20 mm – 7-8, and 30 mm – 3-4 holes, drilling depth – 250-300 mm. Then fill the holes with reagent (about 2 kg of saltpeter will be needed), cover with water and cover with aluminum foil and leave the stump for a year. During this time, the wood will soften and it will be enough to just pour a little fuel on the stump and set it on fire, so not only will its outer part be burned, but all the roots will also be burned. In conclusion, the place where the stump was, excavated and covered with earth.
The advantages of this method are ease of implementation, minimal physical effort, complete removal of the stump and its roots.
Disadvantages include damage to nitrate for fruit and tuberous crops growing close to the stump, a long period of time, the acquisition, transportation, and storage of chemicals, the precaution of applying the method on peat soils (due to the possible ignition of peat).
HOW TO REMOVE THE STUMP AT HOME WITHOUT UPROOTING WITH UREA
This method will require the same stump preparation as the method described above – drilling wood with drills. Urea will need 2 kg. The duration of the process is 1 year.
The advantages of the method are the same as when using nitrate. A big plus is the relative harmlessness of urea: in the place of a remote stump, you can plant any garden, garden plants, or break a flower garden.
Disadvantages of the method: increased stump removal, reagent costs.
THE USE OF HERBICIDES TO REMOVE THE STUMP FROM THE SITE.
Herbicides used to kill weeds can also be removed from the stump without uprooting it, including Roundup, Zero, Alaz, Glisol, etc. The preparation treats a cut or fresh soil around the stump. Abundant watering spreads herbicides in the root system, which leads to their drying out.
Advantages of the method: minimal effort, duration – 6 months, a wide variety, and availability of drugs.
Disadvantages This method works only with a live stump from a freshly cut tree.
Regardless of which method of getting rid of a stump you choose, you need to remember the precautions and means of protection when working with chemicals in the country house.
Sodium chloride destroys wood: this is a fact; the method of using table salt is as effective as the use of nitrate or urea; the duration of the destruction of wood and roots is -1-1.5 years.
Advantages of the method: simplicity, minimal financial costs.
Disadvantages: long period of removal of the stump.
HOW, USING ALTERNATIVE METHODS, TO REMOVE THE STUMP WITHOUT UPROOTING FROM THE DACHA
Alternative methods of stump destruction include the biological method and the “natural” method, each of which has its advantages.
There are two biological methods for removing stumps from a plot: this is the “infection” of the remnant of the sawn tree with fungal spores and the “colonization” of young trees. The disadvantage of these methods is the long-term destruction of the stump (about 3 years), but the advantage, at least en masse, is the harvest of mushrooms at home and young fruit trees.
By choosing the “mushroom” method in the spring, it is possible to harvest oyster mushrooms after 6 months.
To destroy a stump, the shoots need to be pierced in the middle, so that the roots of the young plant fit, fill the hole with fertilizer (ash, humus), and plant a seedling. In the future, take care of yourself like a sapling. The growing roots will take nutrients from the stump, gradually destroying its wood and root system.
We do not face a similar problem every day, and therefore, even for experienced gardeners, the question of how to remove a stump from a tree often becomes a difficult task. Without certain knowledge and skills, it is impossible to solve it qualitatively and quickly. But leave “junk” wood on the site as it is impossible.
A tree stump can cause inconvenience. to produce fresh shoots, to occupy useful space, which is better to use for planting other crops. But this is not the main problem. If the fine roots can naturally compost over time and become a complete fertilizer, then this will not happen with the massive roots and the rest of the trunk. Very soon, a stump not trampled on in time will become a source of soil infections, a fungus, a cozy refuge for pests.
Therefore, the removal of the stump is not so much a matter of aesthetics and comfort as the need to comply with sanitary regulations. It should be remembered that maintaining “hygiene” in the backyard or garden plot is a guarantee of durability and high performance from the “green friends” that you appreciate.
SO HOW DO YOU REMOVE THE STUMP FROM THE TREE? CONSIDER YOUR OPTIONS.
THE CLASSIC METHOD IS MANUAL UPROOTING.
This is the traditional way of removing a stump and part of the root system from a tree that has been felled or killed. The method is simple when it comes to a small stump, and it is incredibly slow in the case of old trees, the age of which has been around for many decades.
Although if we consider this process inevitable and tune in to work, everyone can cope with this task. Of course, you should not refuse the help of friends and neighbors, but if there are no such offers, you will have to pick up a shovel, not forget about gloves, and act independently.
First, you need to dig well around the stump, exposing the lateral roots as much as possible. As they become available, they need to be cut or cut. When the lateral roots separate from the stem, the stump must be loosened well to open access to what is most important – the main root, which runs vertically downward. It will also need to be separated from the stump. It is desirable that the remaining part of the land was under the fertile layer.
But that is not all. It is also necessary to extract all the large roots from the soil so that they do not interfere with the subsequent cultivation of the unoccupied land.
THE EASIEST WAY TO REMOVE THE STUMP.
Only in fairy tales do stumps jump out of the ground. Therefore, you should not relax and you will have to work hard. But there is a way to optimize this process. The idea is that the roots that extend from the stump can be washed with water, making it easy to access and remove.
To do this, you need to dig another pit, comparable in size to the one that will be dug around the stump when digging. The soil around the stump under pressure is washed with a stream from a hose, and excess water enters the well prepared for this purpose. When the roots are well washed, they will be as accessible as possible for pruning and uprooting.
TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED MECHANIZED STUMP REMOVAL METHOD
Few have probably heard that there is a special unit for stump removal – a stump grinder. It is true that this super tool is the latest development of NASA, but to complete the information, it will not be superfluous to mention it. Maybe someone wants to fight stumps professionally and open their own business. The benefit of applying for such a service is and will go.
But let’s go back to the grinder stumps. Outwardly, it is very similar to a professional wheeled mill, equipped with a gasoline engine, used to cut asphalt and other hard surfaces. In essence, it is, it’s only used to turn stumps into sawdust. She cuts stumps meticulously and, most importantly, very quickly.
SALT STUMP REMOVAL
This is one of the budget options, but you still have to pay for a pack of salt. Sodium chloride, although a dietary supplement, has pronounced aggressive properties. Cooking salt destroys wood and that is a fact. You can verify this property of salt with benefit by destroying a stump with it.
To do this, you need to pre-drill a few holes with a large drill, pour salt into them, pour water over them, cover the entire “structure” with cellophane, and forget about their existence for a year and a half. During this time, the salt will destroy the structure of the wood, and the stump can be simply and easily uprooted independently without any help.
BIOLOGICAL METHOD: DESTROYING MUSHROOM STUMPS
You must make a reservation immediately, this method does not belong to the category of express methods. We will have to wait at least two years. But where to rush when there is a surprising possibility to combine the pleasant and tasty with the user and use these benefits for several years. The idea is simple: infect the stump with fungal spores. There are two worthy candidates for this role: the oyster mushroom and the winter garland. Both species are nearly omnivorous and do very well on stumps other than those leftover from coniferous trees.
The “infection” technology is extremely simple. The fungal mycelium, preferably grain, already germinated in the substrate, is introduced into the holes or notches drilled in the stump. And that’s it. However, it is desirable to moisten the stump occasionally, especially in hot weather. If this is done in the spring, in October you can already wait for the harvest of oyster mushrooms, and from December to March to collect the winter shade. After three years, the stump will usually turn to dust, and the experience gained can be the impetus to start growing mushrooms in earnest.
STUMP REMOVAL BY CHEMICAL PYROTECHNICS.
Based on the implementation technology, it is close to the version with table salt. Only used in this case, nitrate – sodium or potassium. The advantage of the method is that the nitrate impregnated base, in our case wood, burns very well. In fact, it is not surprising that saltpeter is the most important component of many types of gunpowder.
To implement the method on the stump, you need to drill a lot of holes, fill them with nitrate, fill them with water, cover them with precipitates with a plastic bag or film, and be patient for a year and a half.
When the nitrate does its job and the stump wood softens, there is no need to mechanically rush it. It is enough to pour a stump with some kind of flammable liquid and set it on fire or make fire around it. In the burning process, the saltpeter abundantly releases oxygen, due to which it will be possible to burn even deeply rooted roots. This method is popular not only among home gardeners but also on foreign farms.
CHEMICAL STUMP REMOVAL METHOD
This method is for people with greater patience. Here we are going to talk about urea, and scientifically – ammonium nitrate. The laying method is no different from the potassium and sodium nitrate methods. Only the fire option will not work here, and it will take a little longer to wait for the stump to collapse.
But when the stump turns to dust, its remains can easily be dug up and new plants planted in this place. Ammonium nitrate is a first-class fertilizer, so this method of stump removal has a double effect.
THE ROAD IS A BIT “POISONOUS”.
Let’s talk about herbicides. Despite the widespread opinion about the unconditional harm of herbicides, we can say that “the devil is not as bad as he is painted”. In any case, the modern preparations “Glisol”, “All”, “Tornado”, “Roundup”, “Zero” and others, designed specifically for the destruction of weeds, are practically harmless, and quickly fall into phosphates, carbon dioxide, and water.
The chemicals can be injected in two ways: they can be treated with a fresh cut, or they are evenly distributed around the stump over the soil surface. Abundant watering or precipitation will do its job, and the preparations will penetrate deep into the root system.
These chemicals are effective only in the case of freshly cut wood, as they are intended to destroy only living vegetation.
Another important feature of them is the systematic call, which allows substances to spread rapidly through the capillary system of the plant. Housed in the structure of the tree, in particular the fresh stump, they kill it quickly, after which the latter collapses and becomes flexible for uprooting.
If plucking for whatever reason doesn’t suit you, and you don’t have a grinding machine (milling machine) either, there are literally a couple of ways to quickly remove stumps.
First way. You are burning the stump, but in this case, there are a number of tricks. In order for the result to be satisfactory, and the process does not turn into an aimless transfer of firewood onto a stump, preliminary training is necessary.
First, the tip of the fine should be cut with a saw as far as possible. Then, along the perimeter of the stump, a row of holes is drilled with a feather drill with a diameter of 20-25 mm at a distance of about 10 centimeters from the edge. The depth of the holes should be about 25 cm or more. To do this, you may need a special extension for bits and drills. Next, similar holes are drilled into the walls of the stump at an angle of 45 ° at the same distance of 10 cm from the upper edge. Upon completion, the holes are filled with kerosene or diesel fuel, after which the stump must be covered with aluminum foil and tied with a wire or rope. Now you need to wait until the wood is completely saturated with kerosene. This process can take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. In any case, the rush here will be superfluous, and you can break the “technology” only if you have a very limited time and want to solve the problem in a shorter time.
Once the flammable liquid has been completely absorbed by the wood, the stump is lit with the help of a lit paper. After ignition, the stump can burn for several days, leaving only a funnel with ash at the end.
For safety reasons, before setting fire to the stump, it is necessary to remove all the trash and leaves and wrap the stump with a metal mesh.
The second way is to remove stumps. It will take a little longer. It will take one and a half to two months to remove the stump. However, it is useful in those cases where the raising of fires is categorically contraindicated due to the particular location of the stump or peat soils. After all, if the underground burning of peat begins, it will be almost impossible to stop it.
The preparation of the stump grinding is completely similar to the previous case. Also, the holes are drilled around the perimeter and into the walls, but they are not filled with combustible mixtures, but with potassium nitrate (not to be confused with ammonium nitrate, which is not of much use), and then poured with Water. This should dramatically intensify the decay processes, and in a month and a half to two months, the stump can easily be broken with a hammer or ax.