[moose]

I had two 35 ft high conifers in my garden which I had been thinking of cutting down for several years. Looking out the window last weekend one of them was leaning at a 45 degree angle and being propped up by the other one. They have both now gone. I've kept the chippings and the logs are going to various wood burners. Access makes it difficult to get a stump grinder in.

I now have a 6meter square of thick fibrous matting, the stumps cut at ground level and a large pile of chippings. I'd like some advice and ideas on what to do with this area please.

[mumofstig]

The ground will be rubbish and acidic - if you want to grow veg it will need a lot of improving. Perhaps raised beds, avoiding the stumps, would be the best idea 

I had 2 tall conifers cut down in my garden, the good news is that they don't sucker/regrow and the roots rot down quite quickly 
It didn't take much to get woodland flowers to grow in that area - but veg didn't like it. That's why I ended up with raised beds filled with bought in compost and bags of top soil.

[New shoot]

You could spread the chippings out as a mulch and grow in big pots or bags for a year or so, until the roots have rotted.  As MoS says, they go quite quickly.

Pumpkins, squashes or courgettes would do OK in big planters, as do salad leaves, climbing beans, well loads of stuff really    Maybe a couple of fruit trees underplanted with strawberries ? 

If you keep topping up the mulch, the soil will gradually improve and then you could revert to growing in the ground, or some raised beds, as suggested 

[moose]

Thanks for your replies. I had been wondering if woodland /wildflowers would be grow there. Mum what you recommend? I do have some blueberries in pots would it be worthwhile transferring them to the ground?

[JayG]

Most stump rotters seem to contain potassium or sodium nitrate, which is watered into holes drilled into the stump - apparently it accelerates rotting, and is used either on its own or, after a few months, in conjunction with fuel oil, which soaks into the now softened wood. You then set light to it, and it apparently burns away nice and slowly - sounds like fun to me, and much cheaper than hiring a stump grinder (some of them are actually quite small by the way, but small doesn't mean low cost unfortunately.)

Agree with the others about the likely condition of the soil - you wouldn't have to raise the beds too much if you stuck to shallow rooted crops like most of the salad stuff until you were able to dig and improve the whole area.

[mumofstig]

Thanks for your replies. I had been wondering if woodland /wildflowers would be grow there. Mum what you recommend? I do have some blueberries in pots would it be worthwhile transferring them to the ground?

I have Aquilegia, Dicentra spectabilis, foxgloves and Bergenias for Spring.

Later flowers are summer flowering perennial geraniums.

[Trillium]

Blueberries do prefer acidic soil, but the pines will have sucked out all the soil nutrients which makes it useless for blueberries. As said, you'd have to fortify the soil with manures, etc.

Also, evergreen mulch is the least desirable (actually, detrimental) for mulching around food plants, if you'd planned on it. They are truly the nitrogen robbers. Stick with pathway mulching only. Only non-evergreen mulches are best for food plants. Some will disagree and say they're fine but in reality there is a noticeable setback and diminish in crop yield. If you're growing annual veg, setbacks are not something you want. Flowers will still grow, but not to their best potential.

[fatcat1955]

Be very careful about burning the conifer trunk's. They are full of resin which can stick to the inside of your chimney and ignite next time you light a fire. I would not risk it.

[gremlin]

Be very careful about burning the conifer trunk's. They are full of resin which can stick to the inside of your chimney and ignite next time you light a fire. I would not risk it.

I suppose it depends on the conifer, but I don't burn any fresh softwood on the open fire in my lounge because it spits and sparks explosively     I need to put the fire guard up, which blocks out half the heat. Burning in a stove with the stove door closed might be OK.

[Trillium]

You can burn confer wood in a closed stove but you'll still get a heavy buildup of creosote in the chimney. It's all due to the high resin content of the wood.  The chimney will need cleaning about every 4-6 weeks in regular use to avoid chimney fires.

[Goosegirl]

I so agree with Trillium about using it on your fire - DON'T! As for using the space for veg, big bags, grow bags or raised beds would be your best option. Woodland flowers would be nice too. I'd look for bulbs or plants that don't mind an acidic soil such as rhododendrons, azaleas, pieris - have a Google and see what is recommended. Perhaps you could do both?

[moose]

Should have made clear that I am not using the logs, they have gone to other people. One tree was a fir tree the other a cypress and the people who took them know that and know what they are doing. Thanks for all the suggestions I'm going down the woodland flowers route for the part nearest the house and raised beds on the rest. Maybe try the lasagne method.

[3759allen]

the stumps aren't the worst thing, the roots are an absolute pain and go for miles.

i have 3 of similar size in my back garden, i've just left the stumps at waist level and leave them to rot eventually (it's not too bad working round them). hopefully over the years the roots will rot away as well.

i'm growing raspberries and rhubarb where they were growing, left all the dead material and made a 1 foot high raised boarder and filled with topsoil and manure. both plants are doing really well so can't see why a lot of other plants wouldn't be ok.

i would just remove as much green conifer as everyone says it takes so long to break down and does increase the acidity of the soil.

[RichardA]

I had to take down two very large poplars and deal with all the arisings - luckily it is out of the way at the top of my orchard so I just created a habitat pile (disguised as a rubbish heap) hemmed in by very large logs. It grows nettles and heaves with caterpillars and butterflies etc and is gradually rotting away.
R