The appearance of stumps in the garden area is associated with the periodic renewal of fruit trees, their natural death and cleaning of the construction site. The presence of tree skeletons reduces the esthetics of the homestead area, complicates free movement and makes it impossible to erect new buildings. In order to return the appropriate appearance and ease of use to the space, it is necessary to get rid of stumps. Only in rare cases can they be left by fitting under a table or an artistically designed flower bed.
There are several ways
The process of stump removal is not always associated with the use of special equipment and the involvement of specialists. It is quite possible to carry out independently, using only improvised tools and materials.
There are two approaches to the destruction of hemp - chemical and physical. Chemical methods (without uprooting) are based on the processing of wood residues with reagents, leading to their accelerated destruction or complete burnout during combustion. Physical methods (ordinary manual uprooting) consist in the use of classical tools for work - a shovel, a saw and an ax.
Removal with nitrate - chemical burning
This approach is universal for the destruction of hemp in most garden areas and surrounding areas. The essence of the method is the burning of wood residues, impregnated with nitrate - a strong oxidizing agent. The stump remover (potassium or sodium nitrate) allows you to burn out not only the aerial parts of the sawn tree, but also deep roots.
The principle of preparation for removal is as follows:
- several holes are drilled in the tree with as thick drills as possible. The process is carried out in late summer or early autumn;
- potassium or sodium nitrate is poured to the top into the resulting perforation, which should then be poured with water to intensify the impregnation of wood;
- the top of the holes is closed with pre-cut wooden corks or wrapped in plastic wrap tightly tied over a tree trunk.
The prepared stump remains in this state until next summer. During this time, the entire root system is saturated with nitrate and dries. A fire is made around the stump, which must be maintained until the core is completely destroyed. If the top cut of a stump is located at the same level with the ground, additional recesses can be drilled in it for filling gasoline or kerosene. The combustible mixture is ignited, initiating the procedure of burning and decay of hemp throughout the volume. After complete burnout, the place on which the stump was located is dug up and thrown over the ground.
How to quickly remove a stump without uprooting, using nitrate, look at the video:
About one kilogram of nitrate is consumed per stump remaining from a medium-sized fruit tree (up to 15 cm in diameter). Its amount mainly affects not the completeness, but the rate of burning of wood. To achieve maximum destruction of the stump, including the roots, you should wait until the tree finally dries out after winter and spring rains.
For reference, to make 1 kg of nitrate fit in a stump, you need to make twenty holes with a diameter of 1 cm, five holes with a diameter of 2 cm or two holes with a diameter of 3 cm (depth - 30 cm). The thicker the drill, the faster the work will go.
Advantages of the method:
- minimum physical training efforts;
- almost complete removal of residues, with the exception of the deepest roots;
- ease of implementation;
- lack of green shoots from the remains of roots in the future.
Disadvantages:
- during the impregnation, the soil is saturated with nitrate. It is a good fertilizer, but harmful in large quantities to tuber and fruit crops;
- the long wait between the preparation of the stump and its destruction;
- the need for the acquisition, storage and transportation of chemicals.
The process of burning a stump under the action of nitrate:
This method should be used with caution in peaty terrain to avoid ignition of peat. The roots of trees can go to a considerable depth, soaking in nitrate to the very ends. Slow decay of the root wood, occurring with a limited flow of air, often initiates a prolonged burning of the peat deposit.
Urea decomposition
The preparation of the stump with this method is completely identical to the use of nitrate - the stump is perforated with drills of maximum diameter, and carbamide (urea) is poured into the holes formed. The top of the holes is filled with water, after which the stump is tightly wrapped with a polymer film. After 1-2 years, the woody residues completely decay, and in their place is a fertile layer of soil.
Do not confuse urea and ammonium nitrate.These are completely different compounds - urea is relatively harmless, while ammonium nitrate is quite explosive and toxic.
Advantages of the method:
- minimum physical work;
- the soil is not contaminated with nitrates;
- stump removal occurs completely. This makes the site suitable for building, planting flower beds and planting with any garden crops.
Disadvantages:
- a very long period of destruction of the stump;
- the need to purchase additional materials;
- high consumption of chemicals to remove several stumps.
For reference, to place 1 kg of urea in a stump, you will have to make about thirty holes with a diameter of 1 cm, eight holes with a diameter of 2 cm, or four holes with a diameter of 3 cm (30 cm deep). The urea consumption for removing a stump of medium size is selected in the same way as when laying saltpeter.
Chemical precautions:
When using any fertilizer, it is recommended to use protective equipment. To work with nitrate, old clothes and hand gloves are quite suitable. When working with urea, you can not use such precautions, however, scattering the chemical throughout the site and taking it with your bare hands is also not worth it.
Around stumps to be removed, it is advisable not to plant plants whose fruits or tubers will be eaten. It should also be borne in mind that high concentrations of nitrate can “burn out” the plantations at a distance of 0.5-1 m from the stump, so take care in advance of the transplant of plants that you want to keep.
Root stump do-it-yourself
You can quickly remove the stump when using a tractor, excavator or uprooter (hand mill). Attraction of large-sized equipment can be inconvenient or even impossible due to the presence of fencing, plants and equipped tracks on the site. Buying a manual uprooter or hiring a specialist with your tool is a very costly undertaking to remove one stump. To save money and effort, you need to attract one or two assistants and adhere to the general rules of work.
Preparation for the procedure: Before removing the stump, it must be cleaned of the surrounding earth. There are two ways to do this:
- dig out the nearest space about half a meter using a small bayonet spade. So that the soil does not roll back, it is thrown to the side with a shovel tool;
- dig a hole with a diameter and depth of about 1 and 0.5 m at a distance of 1-2 m from the stump, equipping it with a drain (gutter) from the remains of the tree. Then the earth around the stump is washed with a stream of water from a hose. The greater its pressure, the faster access to the upper root system will open.
Removing the skeleton using a winch: To get a stump out of the ground, you can tie it along the trunk and roots with a metal cable stretched through the winch. The cable should move away from the saw cut to the winch, thereby providing a lever for tipping the stump. The winch is mounted on a firmly fixed post or other tree.
Mechanical removal: if it is impossible to use a winch, the skeleton of a tree can be removed by chopping off or sawing off its roots. The specific method depends on the degree of openness of the roots and the availability of access to them with an ax or saw. If there is no way to expose the root, it can be chopped right in the ground using an ice pick - metal scrap or a thin pipe with an ax welded from one end. Wipers often use a similar tool, upholding icing from asphalt.
After trimming the side branches, a central pillar usually remains, which is difficult to approach. It already rotates from side to side and partially rotates around an axis. You can break it with a deep vertical root by active turns and inclinations in different directions.
A relatively easy way to root out a stump without using special equipment:
Pros and cons of self-uprooting
Benefits:
- minimum cash and financial costs;
- high speed of work (a day you can destroy the remains of two or three large trees).
Disadvantages:
- significant complexity of the process;
- in some cases, it is impossible to approach a stump and dig a hole that is suitable in size (due to adjacent paths or flower beds);
- lateral and vertical roots remain in place of the hemp, which may interfere with the construction;
- the need to attract additional assistants.
To remove a small dry stump (no more than 10 cm in diameter), you can break it with a long crowbar using brute force. First, the stump is split in the middle by means of strikes, and then with a crowbar, like a lever, the fragments formed are broken off, breaking off 10-15 cm below ground level.
Precautions to Remember
During work with the winch, the extracted stump can suddenly jump out of the ground and fly several meters in the air. Because of this, you should move away from the possible flight path of the tree and remember that a broken rope or cable can also cause serious injuries.
Safety elements when cutting roots:
- when using an ice pick it is necessary to put feet wide so as not to accidentally hit them through a layer of crumbling earth;
- You can not come close to a man with an ax or chop stump together. Follow the rule - one chopping, the other resting;
- when working with an ax, one should stand on widely spaced legs so as not to be injured by a point that has bounced off a hard root.
What to be guided by when choosing a deletion method?
There are several criteria by which you can determine the best approach.
- The mechanized method involving large special equipment is suitable for clearing a building plot and requires free space and access roads. The method is suitable for removing a large number of stumps.
- The chemical method is suitable for subsequent construction and renovation of the garden, if there is time to wait 1-2 years. Urea is ideally suited to obtain a fertile area and has a minimum of negative effects, while nitrate in high concentration acts on plants “burning”.
- Manual removal is used in most situations when you can dig a hole that is suitable in size around a stump. The method requires significant physical effort and minimal financial investment.
A place cleared of stumps can be used much more efficiently than a site with uncleaned wood skeletons. Hemps prevent the full implementation of a beautiful landscape composition, with the exception of rare design decisions. In addition to excellent functionality, the well-groomed area is always pleasing to the eye and safe for recreation and business activities. Having spent several days cleaning the area from stumps, it is possible for many years to simplify harvesting and maintenance of the adjoining space.