Monday, November 21, 2011

How to remove a stump in 2 - 3 days instead of 2 - 3 years

(Let me begin by saying this blog post has taken on a life of it's own.  It has been sited more times than I have even attempted to count.  I've gotten weekly reports for the past 3 1/2 years that it has been up, of all the times it has been viewedFirst, know that I was desperate to get this stump down to ground level, below the level of my grow boxes.  It was right where the box was intended to go.  I was already growing some of the most expensive produce in the world and was not anxious to spend an additional $75 to hire a man with a stump grinder.  AND LET ME BE PERFECTLY CLEARat NO time was the stump allowed to burn all the way down below the soil surface where the roots could catch fire and continue to burn for days, or months and endanger property, and other surrounding trees. Once it was no longer in the way of what I wanted to do, I put out the fire and broke up what remained of the stump at ground level with a hammer.  I was confident the fire was totally and completely out as I was able to place my hand fully on all chard areas and around the surrounding soil and was confident there was no heat any whereOver the years, Mother Nature has taken care of what was left of the stump at ground level and below and it is no longer a problem.  It is imperative that should you chose to "try this at home" that you use common sense, pay attention, don't leave it unattended or where children can play with it.  I even had a friend come over and keep an eye on it when I had to run an errand AND I did NOT do it for more than a 24 hour period.) And let me repeat it again, YES, it is safer to hire a guy with a stump grinder, if you are willing to wait and willing to invest the money. 

This stump was in the corner of my garden bed. The picture shows what I did to kill the stump by placing a pile of lighted charcoal briquet's on top of it. It scorched it but it wasn't a big enough effort to actually make it disappear.

I have been waiting for my tree man to come and grind this stump out but business has been slow, so they haven't needed to rent a stump grinder and they were not sure how long it would be before they would be using one. I waited three weeks and then decided if I wanted to finish the garden beds, I would need to take matters into my own hands. What you see in the picture is only part of the stump. When we cleared the dirt away we discovered it had a broad base. A friend had come out to see if he could cut it closer to the ground but the wood proved harder than his chain saw could handle, So there was still more stump above ground then would be good for a garden bed.


Last Wednesday, I decided to really apply the charcoal burn out method. This time I piled charcoal all over the stump and kept adding more and more briquet's as the old ones burned down. To prevent my yard from catching fire due to the breezes blowing around sparks, I covered it with a flipped over galvanized oil pan. By Thursday, about 1/2 the stump was gone. I poked the loose stuff, scooped off the excess charcoal dust so as not to get the growth inhibitor coating of the charcoal into my good growing soil; and began the process of adding more burning briquets to what remained. By Friday, I had accomplished my goal;instead of a stump, a hole appeared in it's place. Now it looks like this:
February 6, 2014 - There has been a remarkable amount of interest in this post.  If you have the time there are lots of other ways to get rid of stumps, all take more time then I wanted to invest. There are many suggestions in the comments section of alternative methods.  AND, yes, you can always hire someone to grind it out - I was tired of waiting for my tree man and wanted to get the garden started.  My whole point in burning the stump was to reduce it down to ground level.  All of my grow boxes are raised beds and the stump was located in the area I wanted to build a raised bed.  I never at anytime tried to burn the stump down to the point where I could possibly have a long burning root fire underground.  This was a quick, easy solution.  If you try this at home, do be careful.  Don't go for "I want to get every last root burned out."  As other's have mentioned in the comments, this could be a dangerous decision and could cause an under ground smoldering fire.  I figured after I got the stump down to ground level, mother nature could do the rest with the roots underground.  I will mention that after I cleared all of the charcoal dust away and doused what was left of the stump

46 comments:

  1. I need this tomorrow! Thanks for the tip to cover to prevent accidental fires - this is Texas!

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    1. consider drilling into base at 2 locations that intersect well below surface line and look up how a rocket stove works and see if this allows it to breath and burn below grade??? fuel in one side, air intake in other

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    2. Not sure, but I think Jim Firestone's idea is brilliant!

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  2. Thanks for this tip! I am going to try this on some stumps in my backyard. I long for a beautiful cutting garden... :o)

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  3. what about the roots?? do you know where they go?? does the burning follow them...under foundations? gas lines?

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    1. I didn't let the fire go that long or burn that far. My experience has been once the stump is dead even if the roots are not burned away mother nature takes care of that for you with termites and rot.

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    2. Great idea. Only one caution.... Stumps were trees, trees have roots. Once you get it burning to any degree the fire could possibly lay dormant under ground. This happened to a friend of mine who burned a stump in late winter. The following summer he spent a good deal of time on his hands an knees with a garden hose and a shovel feeling the ground for hotspots. Happy gardening Folks

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    3. Burning can only occur where there is oxygen.

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    4. I burned out a huge stump a few years ago and last year with the drought a huge hole developed and I dug out a 3 ft root. Put some soil in it and planted some flowers there.

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    5. My husband was clearing some land, the roots do burn under ground, he thought the fire was out. A couple of days later, he went out to do more work & there were several spots smoldering, underground. I would be very careful & have water available.

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    6. Same results for me. The roots stayed hot for 3 days, occasionally bursting out in flame. Be careful using this method!

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  4. Enquiring mind,

    Your questions are valid and important to consider.

    As I was most concerned about reducing the stump to below ground level I only allowed it to smolder until it reached that point and no more stump existed. Once a stump is dead the roots will no longer send up new growth.

    This stump was in my vegetable garden and where I live we have gumbo for soil and so I use raised beds.

    I previously had the fence around my yard replaced, so I was certain there were no utility lines anywhere near the stump. Safety first. Since this involves smoldering to below ground level I would ALWAYS make sure I knew where the gas, electric and telephone lines were first.

    This is not a method I would consider using to remove tree roots under a foundation. If I can't see it, I can't control it.

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    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    2. I have a stump about 5 times that size, about how many bags of charcoal do you think I might need? I have already cut it down as low as possible with a chainsaw and crisscrossed slices with the saw as well.

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  5. This sounds like it would work but I need roots gone as well. I had an apple tree cut down to a short stump and it still was sprouting new growth.

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  6. Oh. My. Golly. I am SO trying this! Living with a tree stump in the arena at my new place is NOT good. Now I can get rid of it! Thanks for sharing this!

    kate

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  7. This may work on old stumps(as in the photo) but will not work on a fresh wet (unseasoned) stump. It would cost less to rent the stump grinder than it cost in charcoal. Do not rent a stump grinder you have to push they are dangerous! Self proprled work best.

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    1. On the contrary Desta. You can kill the green stump with this method. I was so tired of this stump continually sprouting new growth and sending up new seedlings from the roots that I piled lit charcoal briquets on it and left them to burn to ash. That was enough to kill the stump and stop any further growth. And I can't tell you how many much smaller brush stumps I have killed off in this same fashion. In my part of the country the going rate to RENT a self propelled stump grinder is $75 per day. I don't have that kind of money to spend but if you do --by golly, knock yourself out.

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  8. I'm not sure what you mean by "covered it with a flipped over galvanized oil pan". Wouldn't it smother any flames? Did you put an air vent(s) in it to allow the coals to continue to burn?

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  9. I happened to have 4- galvanized metal oil pans and by tipping 3 of them on their side and flipping the 4th on top I was able to keep the coals burning and the ash from blowing around. But you shouldn’t have to do anything like that, use what is on hand. I’ve removed smaller offending stumps by propping a #10 can with both ends removed on a few broken bricks, around a stump and dumping the burning coals on top. Even if you only had one pan, or a pail, or a metal trash can or even a metal trash can lid you could prop it up with brick, stones, rocks or broken concrete pieces so that there would still be air circulation. I don’t think you need a lot space just enough to let it breath.

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  10. Great tips and tricks on stump removal! I was never one for the old fashion style, but you got it out there pretty well! Bravo! And remember to keep us updated.

    -Samudaworth Tree Service

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  11. I am sooooooooooooooooo tired of tripping over the just-above-ground-level tree stump my tree cutters left last summer when they didn't have a stump grinder with them....

    I am soooooooooooooooooooooooo doing this!!!!!

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  12. I am sooooooooooooooooooooo tired of tripping over the just-above-ground-level stump my tree cutters left last summer when they didn't have the stump grinder with them...

    I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo doing this!!!

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  13. Just found this through Pinterest. How 'green' can the stump be. I can't afford to rent a stump grinder or anyone to do it so this would be ideal for me. Will it work on fresh cut stumps? Year old stumps?

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    1. I did it within a few weeks of cutting the tree down. I always added a lot of water at the end of the day of burning. This assured me the fire was out for the night and washed away ashes. I would then use a broom to make sure all ashes were removed. I also dug around the stump and exposed any roots close to the surface and instead of charcoal I used wood to burn. Every weekend we had a campfire until it was burned below ground level. I was surprised how the burning and the water rotted the roots so fast and was able to use a small hatchet to speed up the process.

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    2. I wish I had a "double thumbs up" for your comment.

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  14. Ive had a stump for 5 years, right smack in the middle of my backyard! This is a great idea thanks for the inside hint

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  15. I have used this method and it works. My question is 2 yrs ago I had a hackberry tree (80 ft tall) which was starting to grow into my concrete patio, so it was cut down which left me with about 4 ft above the edge of the concrete, it has sent out a few sprouts which I've snipped off; ivy is starting to cover it, I don't thk the ivy will smother it & kill it.....to stop the shoots from sprouting, if I use this method to just burn down a few inches will it finish killing the stump? Thanks!

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  16. I found that after drilling six 1 1/2 inch holes in the top about 10 inches deep and pouring Wesson oil in the holes burns for a couple hours, not only have you get a burnt out stump, but you can enjoy a small ground size tiki torches killing mosquitoes

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  17. Why would you not get a mushroom growing catalog, order the appropriate spawn. Innoculate the stump and make it part of the garden?

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  18. Be careful to check for other root systems around. I know a guy that tried this once and burned 25acres of land because of a root fire. He used this procedure as a weekend chore and seven days later he came home to.fire trucks lines up and down the road

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  19. If you want the roots out, drill the holes in your stump and fill them with fertilizer. Cover the stump with a tarp and wait until the following year to burn it. Just know that you will have caved in soil where the roots were, they burn for a long time (days), and that if any other tree roots are tangled to the ones you're burning, you may catch the other tree on fire (the fire underground is extremely hot)

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  20. Could you skip the charcoal and just make a wood fire on top of the stump?

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  21. I wouldn't use the ash for gardening though, if you used charcoal briquettes. They have some nasty additives that could leach in your soil.

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  22. Thank you. From Finland. I'm also so tired of my stumps in garden. I'll use your idea THANK YOU

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  23. Can be green as however, just takes longer. The water in the wood will keep it from burning if you maintain embers the water will evaporate and then the wood will burn.

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  24. The best possible thing to cover with is.... a discarded semi truck brake drum.

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  25. or you can drill holes, pour Epsom Salts into holes, add water...presto, gone, and Epsom Salts are not table salt, will not poison the ground. Some folks use E S to improve garden soil

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    1. I also just read about Epsom salt

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    2. If you are willing to wait to put in your garden bed - epsom salts would be wonderful. This stump was preventing me from getting the garden bed in. I wanted out and I wanted it fast.

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  26. Though this sounds like a easy and great way to solve a stump problem yes roots will burn and cause fire to travel under ground undetected for days.I have taught fire building to groups in the past and it is always important to consider the position of the fire lay for just those types of conditions.Do some research on what kind of tree it was because not all root systems are the same.Also have any under ground utilities located first.By law this is a free service provided by your local service providers. You can do this by contacting your areas one call service center then they will contact all your local utilities. Remember pyromania can be crazy fun ,Burn safe!

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  27. I'd toss my fire pit drum aka...a dryer drum over the top. I have a stump I keep running over a stump with the brush hog on my lawn. Might try this..

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  28. we used salt, first make a hole in the middle of the stump and pour salt and grease in the hole, wait a few days and it will all break apart..... we have had no trouble with roots . hope this helps

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  29. Years ago my Mother had a stump near her front door. She drilled holes in it and poured buttermilk into the holes. The entire stump was gone in less than a week.
    Very safe way to get rid of a stump.

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  30. Be EXTREMELY careful with this method... A fire can smolder in the root system for months..! It can be especially dangerous when other trees have entangled roots...and a fire can pop up in different locations...Be especially careful with conifers...! You may find yourself in a very dangerous situation if this smoldering occurs or travels near or close to underground gas lines...that could spell disaster....

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  31. When we bought our last home, I had 110 trees in the front yard. I took out many trying to get grass to grow. I would first cut the tree down leaving about 4' sticking up. After clearing out the debris, I would start digging around the trunk until I started hitting roots. Then I used chains and a come-a-long using adjacent trees to try to pull over the top of the 4' stump. Then back to digging. As I uncovered roots, I would start severing them with an axe. When I had one or two cut, I would put more pressure on the stump with the come-a-long. Eventually (a couple of hours), I would be able to pull the stump out of the ground. After it was out of the ground, I could cut it into fireplace sized pieces. Never tried using a jack, but if you had a tall one, that would certainly help. BTW, this was back when I was much younger. Things are much tougher if you cut the tree down low to the ground - the tall stump gives you leverage. That doesn't help if you don't have anything nearby to tie on to, however. I burnt out my last stump and would use a leaf blower to fan the fire. The comments about below ground fires are surprising - I would have thought by filling in the hole you would exclude air which would snuff out the fire. Glad I didn't have problems. BTW - I eventually hired someone to remove all but a half dozen trees and had the yard sodded. They cut the stumps down to the ground then used a grinder to get below ground level. This was wasted expense - the remaining stump was still shallow enough that I couldn't sod over it and have the grass take root. They had to rent a small backhoe to remove the remaining stumps. A few were missed and during hot summers the grass would die in certain areas. I could prod that area and find the stump was still there. Those were difficult to remove - I only did two or three.

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