digging out a small tree stump

[MsGreenfingers]

Hi,

As a total garden novice I'm not sure how to get rid of a tree stump in a raised bed and could really do with some good advice from those who know much better than me!

I've cut the tree down to around a meter above ground. It's around 20cm diameter (from what I can make out it may have been a coconut palm but had died after at least a decade) and I've started digging with a shovel and trowel around it. The space is quite limiting so I've only managed about 15cm deep.

Should I persevere with elbow grease or is there a simpler and faster way?

 

[nickjb]

Four options as far as I know. Dig it out, grind it, chemicals or get a professional in. I've recently been through this and went with digging it. It was very hard work but ultimately satisfying. You can hire a stump grinder but it won't get it all. Chemicals can be nasty and take ages. If you want to carry on digging here's what I did: dig a ditch around the stump about 300mm wide, when you get to a root chop both ends of it with a saw or loppers. I was quite surprised just how thick a root long handled loppers would go through. Keep digging, keep chopping. Once you get deep enough you can start going under the stump. Its a lot of difficult digging. I used a pick mattock, thoroughly recommended.

Untitled

• nickjb
• 28 May 2011
• 1

 

[imamartian]

maybe also try a post hole spade? and get a coarse grinding stone and give your spade an "edge" !!!

 

[mikej2005]

I've taken a few trees and tree stumps out of my garden by digging them out. nick is right - it is hard work, but can be very rewarding once you get them out !

I also used a mattock, like this : http://www.dimensionsguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Mattock-Sizes.jpg

The sharp edge can be used like an axe and is great for chopping through roots. The spade edge can be used for pulling earth out of the hole.

You've done the right thing leaving a metre of trunk - this will give you some leverage to push and pull the trunk, once you've managed to dig around it a bit more.

Not sure what the roots will be like for your tree, but it's a good idea to get rid of as much of the thicker roots as you can, or the ground will collapse over time as the roots rot underground and the thicker the root, the more noticeable this will be.

 

[headworx]

As per everyone else really, dig as much as you can, cut as many roots as poss then wiggle wiggle in all directions.

In our case we could hear other roots snapping as you push the trunk in opposing directions (try and get the top of the trunk to the floor as much as possible). I was using my full weight and when it finally went I went with it - So be careful if your doing it yourself.

Took a while to do, but a massive conifer once took me 3 days to get out with the axe (first axe I used was blunt - realised after a day of slogging lol).

It is rewarding afterwards and theres a primal feeling of 'I beat ya' at the end.

 

[Magrah]

An axe is quite good as well, spent ages trying to dig round and break the roots with a sharp spade. If you hit the them with an axe much more likely to break and saves you blunting other tools like saws.

 

[HERTS P&D]

As long as the stump is low to the ground, you could make a compost bin/box around it. You will be surprized how quickly it rots down.

Andy

 

[UKMICKY]

Their also always seems to be one thick root dead centre right under neath going straight down.

And its amazing how a few little small roots that you cant find can hold the thing solid.

I removed 5 trees from my garden a few months ago and the best tool i found apart from the loppers was a 20 ton car jack placed underneath. Hearing the sound of roots being torn apart was a joy to hear .

 

[timbim]

You don't say how much of it you want to get rid of. As stated before, the biggest problem is the tap root, which you can never get to to cut.

If you're happy to leave everything below 15cm or so deep, hire a professional with a stump grinder. Couple of hours later and it'll be no more. If you want to get it all out, a useful addition to the toolkit is the longest scaff pole you can get your hands on. Not a rusty one, they bend (been there, done that!). Decent place to lever from and one person levering and the other cutting the root that's binding most. Axle prop on a bit of board to stop it sinking into the ground would probably make a decent enough levering point.

It is a fun old job, but if you get the axe out, watch out for your feet and anyone around you.