Uprooting stumps. Stump

On summer cottage always full of work. Besides landing cultivated plants periodically there is a need to develop new places. Most often these are areas where dense wild shrubs grow and places where old and diseased fruit trees have been removed. If there are no special problems with the removal of the first, then the second, thanks to their powerful root system, are able to deliver a lot of difficulties.

In this case, you have to resort to such a time-consuming procedure as uprooting stumps. Many may argue - why do this? After all, you can somehow fit it into overall design garden plot. In part, one can agree with this. Make a table or beautifully arrange a place for a birdhouse. Break up flower bed... But such a measure will be temporary. Over time, the wood, both the tree itself and the stump, will collapse, and the product will lose its aesthetic appearance. In conditions small area in 6 acres, stubbing is simply necessary to free up land for new plantings.

So we smoothly came to the point that it is necessary to uproot the stumps. But how? In this article we will try to figure out how to cope with the butts sticking out of the ground on our own, with our own hands. The whole procedure can be broken down into several stages:

Acquaintance with the nature of the upcoming stubbing.
Tool and site preparation.
Removing the cramp itself from the ground.

Acquaintance with the nature of the upcoming work on uprooting

As in any business, carrying out the removal of stumps on the site requires a careful study of the nature of the work being carried out. At this stage, you need to find out the following points:

The type and age of the tree from which the stump remains.
Conditions for the occurrence of the root system.
Determining the location of the main roots.

When uprooting stumps, it is very important to know that each type of tree has its own special structure, not only of the aboveground part, but also of the underground one. In most cases, these two parts are comparable in size. But by location, the root system can be divided into 3 groups:

Fibrous;
Rod;
Surface;

Majority fruit trees have either a fibrous root system or a superficial one. As a rule, it is located at a depth of 20 to 75 cm. Removing the roots of such trees is not so laborious. The main thing is to determine the location of the main processes. Certain difficulties can be caused by stone fruits such as plums and cherries. They have root system extends beyond the crown. In some cases, it can be three times the crown diameter.

A pine tree can cause particular difficulties when uprooting a stump on a site. Its root is a pivot. Depending on the composition of the soil, it can lie at a depth of 2 to 6 meters. The central pine shaft is quite thick and not easy to cut. In addition, it is overgrown with a mass of thick horizontal roots.

If you have to uproot spruce stumps, then there are no particular difficulties. Many have probably seen the fallen strong winds ate in the forest. Typically, the tree collapses, exposing the entire root system. It is superficial in structure and does not have too thick horizontal conductors. Therefore, it is enough to identify the main horizontal rods and chop them off.

IMPORTANT: The older the tree, the thicker and more branched its root system. Accordingly, the depth of occurrence in elderly writhings will be significant.

Preparing the tool for grubbing stumps

At this stage, it is very important to choose the right toolkit with which the stump will be removed from the site. You will need the following here:

Shovel;
Axe;
Saw;
Sledgehammer;
Pole or metal pipe for the lever;
Lever chain.

In special cases, a winch and metal wedges may be needed to remove the cramp.

IMPORTANT: Do not hit the ax with a sledgehammer. Several blows will incapacitate the instrument, shattering it. For these purposes, it is best to use a special heavy wooden hammer from hardwood.

The process of extracting a stump from the ground

Having familiarized yourself with how the stump lies, having determined the age of the tree and its species, it's time to start uprooting. First you need to determine the size of the pit. Its diameter can range from 1 meter to 1.5 meters. From the stump to the outer circle, a groove is cut with a shovel with a vertical slope of 30-40 o. This method of digging a hole at an angle helps to keep the earth from shedding the earth during subsequent work.

As a rule, the first bayonet of a shovel into which a hole is dug is easy. For convenience, the blade of the entrenching tool should be positioned parallel to the roots of the stump to be uprooted when digging. All soil, along with vegetation, is best stored in a specific place. Having reached the roots, you can increase the width of the circular strip, for the convenience of further deepening into the soil.

NOTE: In order to better free the cramps with roots from the ground, you need to periodically hit the stump with a sledgehammer or ax.

After the roots are bare, you can proceed to the next stage - sawing and cutting down. It is at this stage that the most mistakes are made. Summer residents, inexperienced in uprooting, try to chop the roots in one place, trying to quickly release the cramps from the processes that hold it. Such actions make it difficult to further deepen the pit. In fact, the root must be chopped or cut in two places. At the same time, the larger the block turns out, the freer space will be for the bayonet of the shovel.

IMPORTANT: The chops of the root system of the stump that are chopped up during uprooting must be at least 30 centimeters.

All actions to release the stump must be performed sequentially. They freed one root from the ground - they chopped it off. We proceeded to release the next one. And so on in a circle until the cramps are free from the first tier. After that, the stump is again struck with a sledgehammer or an ax to determine the location of the roots of the next tier.

After removing the trees, stumps always remain in the summer cottage, which not only spoil the aesthetics of the landscape, but also often interfere with the further cultivation of the land. There are several ways to root them out, and today we will look at each of them.

The stump remaining after removing the old tree can only at first look interesting on the site, be used as a table or some kind of decoration, but after a few years it becomes a real hotbed of harmful organisms that quickly spread throughout the site. And, it is not only bark beetles and a lot of other insects, but also fungi and rot, which, by migration through the soil, can easily and quickly enough get to healthy plants... Do not forget that the old stump remains alive for some time, and therefore, you will not have to expect a lot of green growth rapidly developing nearby. There is only one way out - to eliminate such plant residues.

There are several ways to remove stumps from the site. and, most often, to apply them, you will have to use the help of professionals with the necessary equipment and knowledge. But you can cope with the work yourself. It is about the methods of removing stumps, their advantages and disadvantages that we suggest you read in our current article.

With a tractor

But certain conditions must be met. First, the object must be prepared for uprooting, and there must be a free access to it. Secondly, working with a tractor does not allow the presence of strangers nearby, as this is a rather complicated and dangerous process. And, thirdly, the procedure takes place only with the use of professional equipment, which is provided with everything necessary for removing hemp, as well as special protection.

Advantages of the working method

This method is good in several ways, and a little more about them now:

A fairly quick process with which you can uproot many stumps on large, open areas;
The pits and even small pits remaining after the removal of old stumps can be used for their intended purpose, for example, for planting large-sized trees;
Enough economical method if the customer needs to get rid of a large number of stumps, for example, from an old summer cottage garden.

Disadvantages ways

Be sure to consider the disadvantages of the method before you choose it:

Uprooting with a tractor will be inappropriate for well-groomed areas where landscape design is developed. The tractor will easily ruin expensive paths, push through the irrigation and heating systems of the site, harm the plants and the lawn;
Heavy equipment is often very clumsy, and therefore damage can be done not only to plants and landscape elements. Inexperienced use of such a technique can greatly affect the general exterior of the country allotment;
This method is considered unprofitable under the conditions of removing one or even several stumps, the costs per unit are very high for such quantities;
After uprooting, a large pit remains, which will need to be leveled, and this is - additional expenses;
The tractor pulls the stump out of the ground with great force and, if its root system is confused with the roots of other trees or shrubs, irreparable damage can be caused to them.

Crusher lifting

To eliminate stumps, other special equipment can be used that provides high-quality uprooting - this is milling and crushing.

Crushing Benefits

Sufficiently high speed of work;
Elementary delivery necessary equipment to any site;
A neat enough method, especially for landscape design, that will not be affected in any way by removing a stump of any size;
Manual adjustment all levels of work - the diameter of the recess, its depth and other parameters. All processes are strictly controlled and regulated by the operator;
A stump crusher can almost effortlessly "erase" an objectionable object from the face of your site, that is, bury its remains under the ground.

Disadvantages of the method

The crusher cannot go deeper to remove the remains of the stump by more than 30 cm, and this is a very shallow depth, because the remnants of wood can interfere if at this place it is planned to pour the foundation for the construction or planting large-sized trees;
This method is also ineffective when working in contaminated areas, for example, immediately after construction works... Any piece of reinforcement, bolt or nut, stone or other solid debris can break expensive equipment knives, and the customer also pays for this.

What technique is used for uprooting stumps (video)

Use of chemicals

For a long time special chemistry helps us in growing plants, but it can also help with their removal, if the time has come. Initially, we will consider some of the advantages and disadvantages of using chemicals for such a process, and then we will find out how it happens.

Method advantages

Enough inexpensive way that may not even require the involvement of professionals. It all depends on the amount of work and the chemicals used;
The work is carried out without any damage to the surrounding landscape elements and plants, which is very good. Naturally, if you overdo it with chemistry, then it can cause some harm, but we think this is unlikely to happen;
With the help of chemistry, you can remove not only the aerial part of the stump, but its entirety, so you will not be bothered by the roots under the paths on the site, as well as young growth trying to return to life.

Disadvantages of the method

The length of the process is one of the most important drawbacks. In fact, it can take up to three years before the stump is destroyed and the owners of the site completely forget about it;
With the use of chemistry, not only plant residues are burned out, but also the soil in a given place, which for a certain period becomes generally unsuitable for growing any vegetation.

What to use to remove stumps?

There are many chemical elements and compounds that differ in price, quality, impact on environment and a person. You should approach the issue very correctly and take into account absolutely all the nuances in order to remove only the old stump from the site, and not damage the skin and mucous membranes and completely kill the soil for several years.

Before using any chemical preparation make sure it is safe for humans, and also make sure that it will not irrevocably spoil the fertility of the soil.

Stump Removal Chemicals

Sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate... The method using these chemicals is very simple and does not take much time. Initially, it is required to add more saltpeter into the stump itself, for example, into a hollow or specially made holes. The next year, the stump must be burned out, precisely set on fire and wait until the stump burns out due to chemical reaction and fire. It is quite profitable and effective method, since even the underground part burns out. But, it is necessary to follow some rules when using saltpeter. Firstly, in order for the wood to be well saturated with the chemical, it must be poured into a large number of holes, and even wet. Further, the stump is well wrapped so that it rains and winter snow did not wash out the substance. The process itself is carried out at the end of summer or even in winter. The next year, the stump is set on fire and burns out, but the most important thing is that the process can be carried out only if the soils are not peaty, since they quite simply ignite from such actions, and it is not easy to extinguish them;
Ammonium nitrate, urea... This chemical is used in almost the same way as saltpeter in the previous method, with only one difference, which greatly simplifies everything - to set fire to the stump the next year and you will not have to worry about fires. Saltpeter affects the acceleration of the decomposition of wood and, after holes are made in the stump and wet saltpeter is embedded in them, it can be wrapped or even buried in earth, and after a couple of years anything you want to plant in this place, since the rest of the tree itself will disappear by itself.

Removing stumps with mushrooms

Here we will keep within just a few paragraphs, since this method is simple and interesting, but it is rarely used.

An old tree stump can be populated with mycelium of edible mushrooms, which will spread over the stump, developing into a real colony. As a result of vital activity, the mushrooms will decompose, that is, completely destroy the wood, and you will get your own mushrooms for cooking delicious and aromatic dishes.

This method is long and may take several years. Also, it is dangerous for other trees in the garden and small architectural forms, which means that you should be very careful when using it.

How to uproot hemp with a winch (video)

Do-it-yourself uprooting

So we come to the most important method for us, since on our own site we are used to doing everything with our own hands. You can also uproot stumps yourself, but this method is also not the best, and therefore, we will consider separately its advantages and disadvantages.

Method advantages

Removing stumps manually is carried out in absolutely any place of your site, which is very good, because not all objects can be approached with a crusher and, moreover, on a tractor;
With a skillful approach, lifting the stumps by hand is a fairly effective method, since you can remove not only the outer part from the soil, but also the absolute maximum of the root system;
After freeing a plot of land from the stump the next year, it is ready for cultivation.

Disadvantages of the method

First of all, it is really hard, and, at times, even hellish physical labor;
This method cannot be applied in winter, since its effectiveness is completely lost due to the significant complication of work - snow, frozen soil, mud, and so on;
The cost of such uprooting from companies is now almost impossible, and if so, it will cost you a fortune, especially if the tree was tall and old, and had a serious root system.

Manual lifting of stumps is used everywhere, and each experienced summer resident faced him repeatedly. It happens in about the same way in any region of our country, and in the whole world as a whole.

For work you will need scrap, shovels, axes, hammers, levers, possibly winches, as well, cutting tool and, of course, gloves and plastic glasses for your own protection.

The stump is dug from all sides to a certain depth, more often by a couple of tens of centimeters. Further, its main roots are separated from the rest of the trunk and, with the help of levers or hefty force of the participants in the process, the stump is removed from the soil.

How to remove stumps on the site (video)

Often, in order to save time, effort, and money, a mixed method of removing stumps from the ground is also used.... An example would be manual way with digging in and supplementing it with burning with chemicals. Also, the stumps are undermined and, with the help of a distant tractor or truck that cannot enter the site, as well as ropes or chains, the stump is pulled out of the ground in parts. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the material about.

As you can see, our people can always figure out how to do this or that work in several ways, and if we talk about old stumps, then we gave them to you. It's up to you to decide which way to use for your own good and the good of the site, and we just have to wish you success and high-quality results !!!

It is not entirely correct to call cutting down a tree “removal”, because, in fact, cutting down a tree is only 50% of its removal, since the root system of trees is half of the tree hidden from our eyes. Nevertheless, it often happens that part of the root system must also be removed (the foundation will be laid in place of a tree, sewage, etc.) There are many ways how you can get rid of an interfering stump on your site, in this article we will discuss the main of them, their advantages and disadvantages on specific examples... In this article we will try to consider the main methods used in practice in order to get rid of the root system of an old tree in our area.

This view work can be done by yourself or ordered from an organization engaged in the removal of stumps professionally. You can call our specialist free of charge to evaluate the work and consult.

Methods for removing (uprooting) tree stumps:

Mechanical lifting of stumps

Removing the stump by hand is performed as follows: around the stump with a shovel and other auxiliary hand tool(scrap, pick) a certain amount of earth is taken out, sufficient to remove the stump. If a flower bed is planned to be broken down at the site of the stump, for example, then the depth of root removal may be insignificant,
If, on the site of the stump, the construction of a building will be carried out, and in this place the foundation will be located, or underground utilities will pass, then the depth of removal must be increased depending on the technical conditions of the future object. After the roots are freed from the ground to a sufficient depth, they are chopped off with axes, followed by removing the root system from the ground, or
Removing a tree stump with a manual or electric winch, in which after the procedures described above to free the root system from the ground, the winch cable is fixed to the remainder of the trunk and the stump is pulled out of the ground. Although this method of removing a stump requires special equipment, compared to purely manual, mechanical lifting is considered more acceptable, because the root is removed to a greater depth and you have to spend less time on the same amount of work
Grubbing a stump with an excavator. This type of uprooting can be beneficial to people in the case when there are many stumps on one site, and large-scale construction and (or) work on landscape design(arrangement of lawns with underground irrigation systems, construction artificial reservoirs, such as a pool or a pond, etc.) In such cases, of course, it is advisable and economically justified, perhaps, uprooting the stumps with the help of an excavator.
Our specialist can go to your facility for free and consult on determining the most economical way to remove the stump for you.
Uprooting a tree by crushing (milling) In this method, special equipment is used: a stump grinder. For many years, our colleagues have been removing tree stumps in this way abroad, both in private households of their clients, and in the communal sphere and in business. This professional equipment appeared on our market not so long ago. This method has its disadvantages and advantages. There is only one drawback - the price. Stump grinders are professional, powerful, imported equipment that costs more than one thousand dollars if you add the cost Supplies and maintenance, it comes out at today's prices a very impressive amount. But this method also has a number of serious advantages, which are especially obvious when working with large stumps with a diameter of more than 60 cm.
If a large stump is located in the immediate vicinity of buildings, underground utilities, and other plants, the root system of which cannot be damaged, then such methods of mechanical removal of stumps as lifting the stump with an excavator or using a winch are not at all suitable. This threatens to damage nearby objects. In such cases, a stump grinder is an excellent option. With this method of removal, structures and communications are not damaged, removal is done quickly.
Grubbing a stump by drilling. This method of uprooting is used mainly in industrial logging, large-scale clearing of forest areas for construction or agricultural work. This method requires powerful industrial equipment. As a rule, these are mechanical-hydraulic units connected to tractors and powered by hydraulic system tractor, from the power take-off shaft, or both power systems are used at once. For example, I will give a video from the Internet on the operation of such devices:

Chemical lifting of stumps

Grubbing stumps with urea (urea) or ammonium or potassium nitrate. This method of removing roots was already known to our grandfathers. Its principle is as follows: in the cut of the stump using a drill with a thick drill, multiple vertical holes are made to a depth of 15-20 cm. The second option is without the use of a drill. With the help of a chainsaw, vertical cuts are made, the saw bar plunges vertically into the depth of the stump, while you should be very careful and careful, since when the toe of the tire is immersed, a so-called rebound often occurs, in which the saw is thrown up, such rebounds sometimes become the cause of inexperienced chainsaw operators neck and head injuries. Therefore, you should be extremely careful when cutting vertically.

The essence of the process is the same as when drilling holes: create deep and capacious voids in the thickness of the stump. After that we need saltpeter. Usually in such cases it is used ammonium or potassium nitrate, which you can buy at your local gardening store for little money. But I'm proceeding from personal experience i recommend applying urea (urea), which, like saltpeter, is a mineral nitrogen fertilizer.If in ammonium nitrate the percentage of active substance (nitrogen) is 34.6%, then urea or, in other words, carbamide is the most concentrated ammonium fertilizer and contains 46% nitrogen, accordingly, it is almost a third more effective than ammonium nitrate for the purpose of chemical removal of stumps. As for the quantity: for a large stump with a diameter of 70-80cm. you need to take 1 kg of urea. Pour the urea into the holes prepared by us and gently pour water on top (100 ml per 1 kg of urea). Next important stage: sealing so that the rains do not wash the fertilizer into the ground, it is necessary to exclude the ingress of precipitation on the stump. In the old Soviet literature, it is recommended to plug the holes with chops. I never did that. It is much easier and more economical in every sense to take 1 square meter thick polyethylene, wrap the stump tightly and tie it with twine on top or sprinkle the edges of the film with earth. Rooting out the stump with nitrate is a rather lengthy process, for a large stump (about 1 meter in diameter) it will take at least 1 year, but at the same time you will get a guaranteed and what may be the decisive factor - a cheap result. So, a year has passed and we have come to the final stage of grubbing with saltpeter. We spread some firewood on the stump and light a fire. Over the past year, processes associated with the penetration of the urea solution into the roots of our stump took place in the thickness of the stump. The combustion of wood impregnated with nitrate or carbamide (urea) is quite violent, since the saltpeter itself gives off oxygen, then combustion goes deep into the earth to a great depth (up to two meters). After everything burns out, you will see an amazing picture: in place of the stump there will be a hole that completely repeats the contours of the root system, with tunnels diverging into different sides... The second option for the end of chemical uprooting does not provide for burning out. The structure of the wood under the influence of chemicals is broken, turns into dust, using a crowbar and a shovel, you can easily destroy the top part of the stump and go deeper to the required depth. After that, in place of the removed stump, you can, for example, break a flower bed, pouring on top fertile land... The remnants of the root system (soaked in nitrate) in this case will serve as an additional fertilizer for the plants in the flowerbed.
Grubbing stumps using herbicides "arboricide", "ruandap" and others There is such a way to remove trees, but I’ll say frankly, we have never used it in our practice. Since, firstly, if we talk about poisoning a whole tree, then it makes no sense to poison the soil, wood, yourself, in order to get dry wood which can be removed either entirely (if the site allows) or from an autotower (which happens much more often in urban developments), since a healthy arborist (tree climber) will absolutely not climb onto a dry trunk, life and health are more expensive than money. That's why easier tree remove without using chemicals. And if we talk about uprooting just the stump of a freshly sawn tree, then again the effectiveness of these herbicides in the process of accelerated destruction of wood has not been studied (in any case, such information is not available to us to this day) Therefore, we do not recommend the method of uprooting a stump with herbicides to anyone, just like and the last chemical method of uprooting:
Rooting up the stump with salt- this is another "folk" way, which is often used to poison innocent neighbour's trees growing on the border. Usually, the root circle is watered several times with a concentrated saline solution, after which the tree begins to ache, and subsequently dies due to metabolic disturbances caused by the overwhelming content of table salt in the soil. In this method, we, as well as in the previous one, see some disadvantages. This is soil poisoning, and mockery of a living tree, and again, in the end we get a dry emergency tree, which is always more difficult to work with. The effect of table salt on the decomposition rate of stump wood, as in the case of herbicides, has not been sufficiently studied; in the available specialized literature and on the Internet, there is no such information, as in the case of herbicides

Well, if the stump does not interfere at all, then on a large stump you can break a wonderful flower bed, which will delight your eye from spring to autumn.

Summarizing this article, let's say that the choice of the method for removing the stump is an individual matter and the choice should be approached responsibly, since in conditions of dense buildings and green spaces, the wrong choice of removing the stump can have negative consequences. If you need to carry out work on the removal of a stump in Kharkov, then we can help you in the right choice method, as well as evaluate this work and make it. Choose the best offer, order a free visit of our specialist, listen to the recommendations, the price, and then without losing anything, you can find out the prices and methods of removing stumps in other organizations and do the best choice... When choosing a tree care organization, be sure to take an interest in experience, ask to see finished works, compare prices.

It should be noted that every owner of a summer cottage at one time comes to clear his site of stumps. This task comes to light whenever you need to uproot trees. Besides, important point here is the choice of the correct method for such an important process as uprooting stumps, which makes it possible to solve the problem as early as possible and at the same time save a lot of time and money.

Grubbing stumps

The easiest way to get a beautiful front lawn
You've certainly seen perfect lawn in the cinema, in the alley, and possibly on the neighbor's lawn. Those who at least once tried to grow a green area on their site will no doubt say that this is a huge work. The lawn requires careful planting, care, fertilization, watering. However, only inexperienced gardeners think so, professionals have long known about an innovative tool - liquid lawn AquaGrazz.

When the need for uprooting arises, many summer residents try to find workers to dig up stumps with the root system of trees. This seems to be the correct way. If there is an unsolved problem, then it must be solved. What if you have personal plot a lot of stumps for uprooting? Taking into account your particular situation, you can choose the most suitable way this way you can save money. Since uprooting is not very cheap.

Mechanized ways to remove stumps

In order to solve this problem, you can use different special equipment or hand chainsaw... This method can be used, but you need to take into account that it is more expensive in comparison with other methods. Because you need to rent an excavator or a forestry cutter.

Consider several common mechanical methods for removing stumps:

Removing stumps with a chainsaw. This is the most easy way removal of stumps and therefore more economical. With the help of a chainsaw, you yourself can carry out this work... And during the removal of trees, the stumps can be cut by the sawers. Basically, they do the work for free. Although not everyone can use this removal method, in particular, if they want to arrange beds on the stump site.
Grubbing stumps with excavators and bulldozers. In addition, for these purposes, you can attract a vehicle that has a manipulator or a truck crane. If you want to use this method, then you need to adjust the technique to the place where the stump is located. In addition, it should be borne in mind that this self-propelled technique is very damaging upper layer soil. For example, a lawn near twisted stumps will be completely destroyed with this method.
Using a stump grinder. This is another effective mechanized stump removal option. It works by milling the stumps. In addition, the stump seems to need to be shaved off and turned into sawdust. It's pretty good method lifting, has a number of significant advantages: the damage from the use of such a shredder is minimal. That being said, you can keep the lawn near the stump.

Manual method of uprooting a stump

Grubbing the stump is also possible manually, using an ordinary shovel or ax for such work. Thus, you can remove the stump, but the process is long and painstaking. Although you don't have to pay extra money to rent equipment or pay workers.

Consider how to manually remove stumps in the country at no cost and on your own:

Rooting by eroding soil near stumps

It can be used on soils that are slightly loamy or sandy. Such soil can be easily washed away with a slight pressure of water. And the second point - if there is a local water supply with the required fluid pressure. About half a meter from the stump, you need to dig a hole, the volume of which is about half a cube. Then, using a stream of water, we wash out the soil near the stump. The water flows into the dug hole. Then, the roots of the stumps need to be freed from the soil, the thickest ones will need to be chopped or sawed with a hacksaw, and it can simply be removed from the soil.

Mechanical method of removing stumps

We start by exploring the area around the stump at a distance of about 48 centimeters. In addition, we determine the location of the thick skeletal process of the root system of the stump. This is done using a large probe, which is about 45 centimeters long, by piercing the soil around the writhing stump.

Manual removal of stumps

After finding the thickest roots, they need to be dug out with a shovel at the same distance, about 45 centimeters, and the depth should be about 18 centimeters. Then they need to be sawed with a hacksaw, because the ax is very inconvenient to use.

Then, we dig in the entire territory around the perimeter around the stump and pull it out of the ground using a winch. It should be noted here that during this process, there is a load on the cable with a mass of about several tons.

In order to chop off small stumps encountered during digging, it is better to use tools: thick reinforcement must be welded to the butt of the ax. With such an ax, it is much easier to work while lifting the stump.

Use of chemical reagents

Today, quite often they use chemically removing stumps. For this, special chemical reagents are used. But this method has both its own undeniable advantages and disadvantages. Among the advantages, it is worth noting the cheapness of the work carried out. Chemical uprooting of plants will not damage trees, buildings, decorative planting, lawns that are located nearby. This method is of better quality. Among the disadvantages of this method, it is necessary to note the long time for uprooting the stumps - about two years. In addition, the soil near the uprooting site begins to become infected with this chemical, and after some time the location of the removed stumps becomes unsuitable for planting.

Consider several ways to remove stumps using chemical reagents:

Rooting with saltpeter

This method is the most common. The method consists in adding more saltpeter to the stump, and after a year a fire is made on it. As everyone knows, this reagent is capable of releasing oxygen during heating. It is for this reason that the stump with the root system burns out.

Removing a tree stump with a chainsaw

Using chemicals to remove stumps

Another method that allows you to remove the stump and its root system is the use of substances that cause the rapid decomposition of the tree. Under the influence of these chemicals, the stump with the root system simply becomes dust throughout the year. As a result, you will be able to pull it out with a shovel.

This result can be achieved by using simple urea, which is a good nitrogen fertilizer. This substance is effectively decomposed in the wood impregnated with it. The method itself looks the same as when burning a stump: holes need to be drilled in it, ammonium nitrate is placed in the holes, poured over it with water, then the stump will need to be wrapped in cellophane for about a year. Or you can just fall asleep with garden soil and use this site for arranging flower beds or something else. In a few years, nothing will remain of the stump, and on the vacated territory there will be a flat area with grass and flowers.

In most cases, uprooting trees in your yard is a three-step process. First of all, trees are cut, after which they are cut down and stumps with root systems are removed. There are a lot of methods for destroying stumps (even explosives are used), but in this article we will only talk about those that are applicable for a small suburban area and which an ordinary person, like me or you, can handle.

All methods can be roughly divided into three categories:

manual;
mechanical;
chemical.

In other words, to eliminate stumps, you will have to either work with your hands (this is very laborious and requires considerable effort), or use special equipment, or use special chemicals.

First category. Manual methods

Let's take a look at a couple of the most effective methods.

Using the winch

The main feature of using a winch is that it removes high stumps most effectively. For this reason, if you plan to use this method, then the tree does not need to be cut down entirely - at least a meter-long trunk should be left. Of course, this is optional, but further work you thereby greatly simplify. The disadvantage of the method is that the winch does not always cope with large perennial trees.

To work, you need the following:

the winch itself with a minimum effort of 3 tons;
rope;
lever arm;
hacksaw;
axe;
shovel.

First, dig in the stump around about 1-1.5 meters and deepen until you have exposed the root system. Trim or chop off exposed roots, then attach a winch to the base of the tree stump and standing next to wood. Fasten the rope on the stump, do it on maximum height... Place a piece of wood underneath the winch. At the end, grab the winch - your "headache" should fall with the rhizome.

Video - Manually lifting a tree stump

Here you will see how to uproot an annoying tree stump using the method described above.

Scrap use

The most ineffective and time consuming method that can be applied to relatively small stumps. First, dig a trench around the stump, exposing the rhizome, chop off the roots. Smoothly tilt the stump with the crowbar until it is completely out of the ground. As you can see, everything is extremely simple.

Second category. Mechanized methods

The use of special equipment can greatly facilitate your work.

Use of earthmoving equipment

An excellent method (albeit somewhat costly), thanks to which you can uproot a stump of any size extremely quickly. Of course, at first it is necessary to free up enough space for the vehicle to approach the workplace, which, as we understand, is very difficult to do in a small area. We also note that such self-propelled mechanisms can significantly damage the soil. And if it turns out on their way, for example, then tune in to the fact that in the end it will be completely destroyed.

Remember! From the foregoing, we conclude that it is possible to use heavy equipment to uproot stumps only when the site was purchased empty, for building. Only in this case you will be calm about the safety of your plants, and the digging mechanism, in turn, will have enough room for maneuvers.

Using a stump grinder

This technology is based on the use of a shredder - a special manual adaptation, which is also called a stump cutter. The dimensions of the shredder are small compared to a bulldozer or earth-moving machine, so it can be used in almost any suburban area. In the specialized market today there are a lot of companies that specialize in the removal of stumps and have this useful technique... Therefore, there shouldn't be any problems with attracting professionals to work.

The stump cutter works on the principle of milling wood. Simply put, the tool will shave off the wood layer by layer, leaving behind only a pile of shavings. What is characteristic, the chopper shaves off the stumps even 25-30 centimeters deep, so immediately after the end of the procedure, you can break a vegetable garden or.

Video - Grubbing stumps with a chopper

In this video you can see the excellent RAYCO car in action.

Category three. Chemical substances

Let's make a reservation right away that the use chemical substances allow you to effectively destroy stumps of any size, but to get the full result, you will need to wait a long enough time - from one to three years.

Application of potassium / sodium nitrate

This method of removing a stump looks like this: with the onset of autumn, two or three holes are made in it, where saltpeter is stuffed. After that, water is poured into the holes, the stump itself is watered and wrapped plastic wrap... When spring comes, the stump must be opened and set on fire. As a result, the tree, saturated with nitrate, will burn very quickly (including the "dead" root system).

Urea application

As you know, urea has one unique "ability": wood, which has been impregnated with it, decomposes quickly. In this case, the technology is practically no different from the one described above - first, holes are made, then they are filled with urea and the stump itself is wrapped in a film. Although after that you do not need to burn anything - after about twelve months there will be no trace of the previous "headache".

Intelligence activities

If you nevertheless decide to resort to manual lifting, then you should start with reconnaissance. The fact is that each type of tree has its own unique rhizome structure. For example, in spruce it resembles a fan (just like branches), forming a kind of "disk". Actually, for this reason, during a strong hurricane, spruce trees fall first.

In contrast, pine has a very strong taproot that goes deep into the ground. Therefore, it is very difficult to uproot pine stumps, because it cannot be overcome at once, "in a hurry". One has only to look at the trunk of this tree - it is flat, high, going up. The root system has a similar shape.

Deciduous tree species can have both deep roots and powerful superficial ones. Basically, like the tree itself. The crown in this case has the shape of a ball, which means that the root system is the same.

Note! For research, you need a thin steel rod 0.5 meters long. Tie it to a stick, pour plenty of water around the tree stump, and locate the thickest roots. Such is the sapper skill.

What to do with the tree stump?

So, the stump is finally uprooted and something needs to be done with it. The easiest option is to throw it away, because nothing can be done with such wood. There are only roots in it, which pumped moisture out of the ground, so the tree there is not the same as in the trunk.

But if you put the stump upside down, you can get a very original decorative "tree". It can also be used as a main column for a table or a great clothes hanger. If the roots are washed and scraped off, they look very decorative. It is not for nothing that the most famous companies that produce pipes for smoking use the roots of certain varieties of trees as raw materials.

That's all, now you know how to uproot stumps. Good luck with your work!