Advice for removing stumps inexpensively from the ThriftyFun community.
By David
By Amanda
I've just recently finished removing eighteen stumps by burning with very good results. I used the hole drilling and potassium nitrate (saltpeter) method. Mix 400 to 500 grams of SP in about 3 to 4 liters of very hot water. Fill the holes in the stump repeatedly until the solution is all used up. This should be left a month or two to dry. The stump should be covered to keep rain out during this period, but air should be able to circulate around the top of the stump. The SP doesn't seem to encourage stump rot, its purpose is to assist the burning. Fill the holes with kerosene or diesel a couple of times and let it soak in for a week or so. You may have to pour a little more kerosene on it to light it but I found it usually lit by laying a bit of burning paper on top of the stump. It will burn with very little flame or smoke. It will burn right down into the roots. A little bit of dirt to fill the hole and grass grows readily on the site.By Richard
By James
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Is it OK to plant a new tree in the same hole where a stump was removed, using Epsom salts? I have a dwarf RI red maple, and want to plant it where I am removing a white pine stump. Will I need to add anything to the soil, or in the hole, before replanting?
This is not really a good idea because you put Epsom salts in your dirt. Your soil has a high salt content now. You will need to wait a few months before you can plant a tree again in this hole.
Epsom salt helps some plants like tomatoes grow better. I would take a chance and plant the tree
We had a wild fig tree which produced a lot of problems. It kept growing and destroying all nearby plants and its figs (not edible) made the area dirty and mice kept coming. We cut it down in winter and burned part of it near the cut down trunk. But it continues producing branches. All summer I cut them down, but new ones grow. Can I use a herbicide with the new plants around it?
By Athina K.
Herbicide is never a good idea as it will kill other plants and leach into ground water. Here is a little known trick for killing trees...copper.
How do I make and use homemade tree stump rot solution?
By Charlie
