Grubbing stumps in a suburban area, its features and methods. Grubbing up stumps is removing the remains of unnecessary trees and bushes. Usually these are old or unhealthy plantings that interfere with economic activities on the land. About how to uproot a stump with your own hands, our today's story.
Features of uprooting stumps on the site
When laying out beds, building a gazebo and holding other similar events, it often happens that a stump interferes with fruitful work, and sometimes there is more than one.
After cutting down the tree, the stump has several options:
- Be cut to the base;
- Be remote;
- Decompose in dust naturally or chemically;
- Become a subject of landscape design.
The first three options can be defined by one term - uprooting. The cost of this procedure depends on such factors: the size of the stump, its age and rottenness; the relief of the site and the presence of obstacles to work; convenience of access to the place of its holding; time required for uprooting.
Taking these factors into account can help in deciding on how to remove the stump, of which there are three: manual, chemical, mechanical.
Methods for uprooting stumps on the site
Those who find the uprooting procedure boring can write a paper asking for it to be carried out by the forces of any specialized organization that makes money by removing unnecessary vegetation. Others, who like this kind of work, should arm themselves with a shovel and start uprooting themselves, remembering the main thing - not to harm others, other plants and a land plot that is waiting for improvement with their diligence.
Manual method of removing stumps
The remains of small-diameter fruit trees can be removed with an ax, a hacksaw, a shovel and a reliable rope. But before you uproot the stumps on the site, you need to inspect the place of the planned event and remove unnecessary objects from there that may interfere. This is one of the main points of work safety, in which nothing should distract attention.
After that, you need to pick up a shovel and dig in the stump from all sides until its lateral roots are gradually exposed. Cut them as soon as they appear. To do this, you need to use an ax or a hacksaw. The more of these roots are separated from the stump, the easier it is to free it from the ground.
After removing all visible branches of the trunk, the stump should be shaken well. If the previous work was done conscientiously, he will surely stagger, and then completely free himself of the soil. It can be removed from its place by hand or with a rope.
If, after lateral cutting of the roots, the stump sits still firmly and sways badly, a rope and 1-2 not weak helpers can again come to the rescue. With their participation, things will go faster. In addition, a car can be attracted as a draft force, while observing three rules: firmly attach the cable to it, do not overheat the engine, and avoid jerking when driving. If the cable breaks, you can not only injure people, but also damage the car.
In the absence of assistants and access roads, you can use the "dirty" method for uprooting. Its essence lies in the erosion of the soil around the stump with a strong pressure of water. For this procedure, you need to connect the watering hose to the water supply and dig two holes: one of them around the stump, and the other not far from it. The volume of the second pit should be approximately 0.5 m3… It will serve as a mud receiver after erosion of soil around the roots of the object to be removed.
Having a good water pressure, it is not difficult to achieve the desired goal. When the water in the first hole is gone the next day, the stump can be easily pulled out of the wet soil after cutting its roots on the sides. There will be too much dirty slurry in the process of work, but you can pay such a price for simplifying the process.
When thinking about how to quickly uproot a stump, you can come to the need to use a winch, which plays the role of draft force. The beginning of the process is absolutely identical to the cases described above, that is, digging in the stump. After this procedure, the winch must be tightened with tension on the neighboring trees. As the stump gradually begins to be removed from the ground, its exposed roots must be filed. Then it will be easier to pull. In this case, the load on the cable will still be considerable. Therefore, a chain is often used instead.
There are many factors in favor of this method. Of these, there are two main ones:
- No access roads required for equipment;
- Any roots are extracted from the soil with a winch.
At the same time, it is harmful to underestimate the partially remaining root system in the soil, which can germinate or cause soil contamination. Therefore, the removal of stumps must be done carefully.
It is not always necessary to remove only damaged trees. Sometimes it is difficult to decide on the felling of a slender, beautiful birch tree. However, sometimes you have to take it. Carrying out its life cycle, this tree dries up the soil, which is not useful for a summer cottage. It grows faster than other plantations, thereby inhibiting their development. Fallen birch leaves during decomposition secrete enzymes that slow down the growth of its neighbors in the area. Birch stumps can be removed manually without much hassle due to the fibrous structure of the roots of this tree.
Mechanical method of lifting a stump
Using an excavator or tractor speeds up the removal of stumps in the area ten times or more. However, you can save on this only if you need to uproot not one stump, but a dozen, or even more. In addition, the personal plot should be provided with a convenient entry point and the ability to maneuver equipment.
Most often, building sites are cleaned in this way. On well-groomed land with a lawn, a vegetable garden or a flowering garden, such machines, except for harm, will do nothing. Their wheels or tracks can compromise the soil fertility and integrity.
But there is another mechanical way to remove the stump without using bulky equipment and physical efforts of the site owner. This method is not cheap and therefore is rarely used by summer residents. At the same time, he should be given his due: any stump in the full sense of the word is erased from the face of the earth with the help of a special unit - a crushing machine. By milling the wood of the stump along with the roots, it turns it into dust, chips and sawdust. If this waste is mixed with soil, you can get mulch - an excellent fertilizer that positively affects the growth of crops.
The crushing machine is small, it can be used in densely planted areas, as it cannot damage the beds, nearby trees, grass on lawns. Therefore, if you are thinking about how to uproot a stump without effort, you should take this option into account with the involvement of specialists who have this technique.
The chemical method of uprooting a stump
Large stumps, if time permits, are more rational to bring to self-destruction than to uproot manually. For this, sodium or potassium-based nitrate has long been used. Compared to other methods, it will take longer to complete the decomposition of wood under the influence of these substances. But the cost of such an event is minimal. In addition, there is a huge plus with chemical uprooting: the use of nitrate allows you to completely get rid of the root system, which no other method can boast of.
To perform lifting using saltpeter, you must first make several holes on the cut of the stump. Their depth, depending on the diameter of the stump, should be 20-40 cm. Saltpeter should be placed in the holes obtained, poured over with water, and then plugged with corks. They are required so that atmospheric precipitation does not wash away the reagent. If you periodically add saltpeter to the holes, the stump wood will decompose more actively.
Preparation of the stump for chemical removal should be done in November, and then leave it to winter. It may happen that by the first warmth the stump will freeze. Then you can set it on fire. Otherwise, you will have to wait for next spring. In the fire, not only the upper part of the stump will burn - the roots too. This is due to the fact that saltpeter is capable of releasing oxygen, which in our case initiates the complete burnout of wood.
Rooting can be done using ammonium nitrate. This method is similar to the method described above, only you do not need to set fire to the stump in this case. Wood destroyed by urea can simply be dug up, mixing with the soil. After all, urea is an excellent fertilizer. In the next season, beds can be planted on the site.
This method is most often used to remove small stumps from fruit trees. The use of urea will cause them to rot in six, to a maximum of twelve months.
The effect is similar to that of saltpeter, which ordinary kitchen salt has on the stump. But it will take a longer time to destroy it. If the landlord is patient, using salt to remove hemp will work for him. To implement this method, the surface of the stump must be covered with salt and wrapped tightly. The destruction of the object will occur in 1-2 years. If it is incomplete, you can break the stump, turning it into a pile of chips, with an ordinary shovel.
The cost of this method is one or two packs of salt. For this reason, it is still used today. Table salt should be poured into the cracks in the hemp or holes pre-drilled in it. The soil after this uprooting around the distant object will be slightly salty. It will not be a big problem if you wait a little with planting crops in this place.
In addition to saltpeter and salt, special herbicides are often used to uproot unnecessary hemp. The most popular of them are: Roundup, Tornado, Glyphos, Hurricane. Before working with these chemical reagents, it is worthwhile to carefully study their dosage so as not to harm the plants in the garden or vegetable garden. The procedure is recommended to be performed immediately after cutting the tree trunk. The remaining stump must be treated with one of the above herbicides according to the instructions and expect the result. After a while, the tree stump will be ready to be lifted with little effort.
Alternative lifting methods
An alternative method to chemical uprooting is the destruction of stumps with the introduction of spores of edible fungi into their wood. This method has a right to exist. The vital activity of the mycelium is able to decompose the stump without any mechanical intervention. This process of uprooting is not only waste-free, but also useful: there will be no hemp, and you can always pick up mushrooms for dinner. It remains only to come up with interesting recipes from them, since such a mycelium will delight its owners for a long time.
If the removal of stumps is necessary on the territory of a well-groomed area, methods of mechanical removal are usually not suitable. Therefore, in this case, you have to choose either a manual or a chemical method. If you have nowhere to rush, you can save strength by using saltpeter or salt, which, acting on the root system of the hemp, will destroy it and prevent unnecessary growth from being restored.
How to uproot stumps on the site - watch the video:
If the stump is large and has a suitable shape, you can make an original object of natural design from it - for example, a table or a sculpture, depending on the artistic taste of the owner of the site. Before you uproot the stump, this option should be provided. As you can see, there are no unsolvable problems in the direction of such activity. Therefore, be happy to use your and our knowledge. Good luck!
