Do You Remove Tree Stumps or Not?
By Brenda Hyde & OFL Readers

If they are small to medium stumps my husband has a remedy that so far has worked great for us. He has the boys help, and they dig down and all around the stump about a foot or so. Then he takes his chain saw and cuts as low down as he can go. After he removes the stump, they place soil back over it and we plant grass seed. So far this has worked great!

Also if you can cut it straight off so it's level you can use it for a sun dial or place a bird bath on top of it.

I've also read that you can drill holes into the stump, sprinkle with high-nitrogen fertilizer and keep it moist- -this will speed up the process of rot/decay, but it's still a long process. You can hire tree companies to remove stumps or rent a grinder-- but both are quite expensive.

You can also consider hollowing out the top of the stump with a router, drill or anything that will dig out the wood enough to create a bowl-like shape in the top of the stump. Fill it with water or birdseed for the birds. Or fill it with potting soil and use it as a planter. This will help it decompose faster as well, and you'll have a neat yard feature.

MORE TIPS
Pouring straight bleach down in holes or cracks of a tree stump will rot that thing all to pieces, from the top clear down in the ground. Then it can just simply be easily pushed over. It's a slow process, and I usually repeat that treatment several times, but I can assure you, it works very well, even when quite a tall, and large stump of a tree has been left behind. ~Mary B.

I thought your readers would like to know of a natural way to remove stumps. I first saw this tip with our local "Garden Guy" Dave Owen. You need a jar of blackberry jam and enough compost to cover the stump. Cut the stump as close to the ground as you can. Pour a whole jar (8 oz.) over the entire top of the stump. Pat compost around the top and sides of the stump, covering the jam. The stump decays naturally - will take some months to do so. The jam encourages composting bacteria to do their work. Kind of a fun, nature moment! ~Catherine

Another great trick to removing tree stumps I found in a Jerry Baker book. (It works! I had a stump that could have made us famous on the America's Funniest Home Videos!) He said to cut the stump at or below ground level and drill a bunch of holes ("the more the merrier"). Fill the holes with a commercial stump remover containing potassium nitrate and plug the holes. Let it sit for a year, remove the plugs, and pour in kerosene. Let it sit an hour or so and light it and the stump will smolder away to ashes. I have loved so many of his tonics. His books are great for anyone to check out, there are gardening and cleaning tonics that work magic and save quite a few pennies! ~Barbara D.

About the author:
Brenda Hyde is a freelance writer and editor of Old Fashioned Living. Visit http://grace-whimsy.blogspot.com/ to read her blog of motherhood and country life.