[Zambezi]

I got the keys to my plot today and managed to cover a third of it with carpet so I can try and get to work at the weekend, but noticed while I was down there that there is two tree stumps to get rid off.   

One of the stumps is on the edge of my plot and one looks like it is in the middle if I remember correctly.  Can anyone please advise the best treatment for it??!!

I'm willing to use chemicals as I can't really afford to hire a stump grinder.

I also have weeds and brambles up to my eye balls    is there anything that will treat the stumps as well as the weeds? As it would be good to treat it all in one go so tht I can start clearing and growing as soon as possible. 

Any help much appreciated

[Lardman]

You'll be wanting a mattock, a spade and a small hand trowel oh and a small folding saw can also be useful.

After that should be just a matter of digging it out  I've done my fair share its time consuming, laborious and not particularly fun, but it will clear the ground for you to plant.

[fredhogg]

Vitax brush clearer for the brambles & spade and fire for the tree stumps, you want to be getting as much root out as you can, otherwise your into the roots when ever digging those parts.

[rozalia]

We've been clearing a very overgrown site for a few years and we get rid of our tree stumps by winching them out (or using the bucket of our mini digger).  Could you borrow a 10/20 ton winch and use the tree at the edge of the plot to assist you in taking out the one in the middle?.

I clear brambles manually: cut back the branches to 6/9inches. Start loosening the soil around the base and find the major roots and pull (snap) these out.  You'll eventually weaken the plants hold on the soil and you can then take out the whole root stock and burn it.

[SkipRat]

You'll be wanting a mattock, a spade and a small hand trowel oh and a small folding saw can also be useful.

After that should be just a matter of digging it out   I've done my fair share its time consuming, laborious and not particularly fun, but it will clear the ground for you to plant.

 ..yep thats about it in a nutshell, its what needs to be done, a nice sharp kindling axe may also be a usefull addition ...

[Zambezi]

You'll be wanting a mattock, a spade and a small hand trowel oh and a small folding saw can also be useful.

After that should be just a matter of digging it out  I've done my fair share its time consuming, laborious and not particularly fun, but it will clear the ground for you to plant.

This sounds like a lot of hard work may be I'll bat my eyelashes at my dad and see is he's willing to help

People have said that you can drill holes into the stump and fill it with some kind of chemical to kill it down to the root.  Is this true or did the random website I found lie?  Because that sounds a whole lot easier

[someoneorother]

You'll be wanting a mattock, a spade and a small hand trowel oh and a small folding saw can also be useful.

After that should be just a matter of digging it out  I've done my fair share its time consuming, laborious and not particularly fun, but it will clear the ground for you to plant.

This sounds like a lot of hard work may be I'll bat my eyelashes at my dad and see is he's willing to help

People have said that you can drill holes into the stump and fill it with some kind of chemical to kill it down to the root.  Is this true or did the random website I found lie?  Because that sounds a whole lot easier

Once it's dead you still have to dig it out to get rid of it, remember. It doesn't dissolve into thin air

[Lardman]

Once it's dead you still have to dig it out to get rid of it, remember. It doesn't dissolve into thin air

And it doesn't do it quickly either ! I really don't have the patience to wait for weedkiller to work - you want it gone, it'll be gone when you've dug it out. Depending on the size of the stump, what type of tree and how long it was cut down it could be just be an afternoons work.

[fredhogg]

I took a 2 feet plus diameter apple tree out of my lotty back in october and dug down and exposed the roots. Then withall the rubbish i was clearing burnt the stump away and then dug the roots out. While that is burning you can be clearing and digging. It takes months to sort an overgrown lotty. Good Luck though.

[Zambezi]

   I wish it did dissolve into thin air!!  Like Lardman, as you can probably tell I'm not very patient either

I have no idea what tree it was, just that the people on the plot before me were some kind of tree group and had a group of plots for this trust.  They left the plot in a bit of a state, parts of me is really looking forward to getting stuck in, as a friend has a small holding they moved into not long ago and digging up their brambles is very satisfying especially when you get a big root you've been battling with.  Other parts of me are worried that I wont get much on it in a while. 

Although I really shouldn't complain as the list here in Plymouth is 1,400 people long so I'm rather lucky 

[fredhogg]

It just takes time, clear it bit by bit, get an area done and bosh some potatoes in, another area something else you like, as i mentioned earlier i took mine on in oct. and its 75% dug over/cleared. The weather and clay soil have held me up, but i spend nearly all my time up there,(don't work got a dodgey ticker), don't expect to much this year.And what ever job you are doing up there, do it right first time. 

[Kristen]

managed to cover a third of it with carpet

Carpet will be a nightmare to remove once it starts to rot down ... might well be full of chemicals too, which might persist in the soil when you grow your Veg

Weed Suppressing Membrane (woven plastic sheet) would be better

[fredhogg]

There you go more bonfire material. Also if you or a friend work in the royal navy dockyards in plymouth, you might be able to get hold of something to blow the stumps out with

[Rangerkris]

Do your self a favour get rid of the carpet and go for mypex or some cheaper weed control fabric, you really don't want carpet on your ground like Kristen said its not good.  This was my plot the day i got it with carpet underneath not good  What size are the stumps ?


Its a great feeling looking back at the photos




A tirfor winch is an option if they is something close by that you can winch from if you can hire or borrow.  or some good ole digging will break it and burning on top of it will help.

[mike1987]

ehwn i took out an old conifer in my garden i cut it down to about 4 ft high snd dug arround the trunk sawing threw the roots as i went then when i was digging the rest over it was really easy to remove the rest of the roots the extra length of the tree trunk helped add a little leaverage when fighting to get it out of the ground