What to do: Stump grinding leftovers

[Bamaram]

I had 28 stumps grinded in my yard this weekend and now I have enough leftover material to fill two dump trucks! :shocked: My question is should I leave the material in the holes and maybe pack it down and let it rot or should I remove it maybe use it as mulch in some large flower beds and bring in fill dirt? The stumps were all over in my back yard that I hope to plow up and plant Bermuda grass seeds in soon. The grindings I'm sure won't facilitate growth very well so I was leaning toward removing them but boy what a load of work! If I packed them down very well and the put top soil over the top would that be adaquate for the job? I've been told to beaware of possible soft spots or sinking over the years in those holes. The stumps were large pine with a average diameter of over 18 inches. Any help would be great!

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Leaving the material in the holes would lead to soft spots and sinking over the years. I have had many stumps ground the last couple of years. I use may boxblade to scrap the grindings up. I may need to rake a little out of the hole but most of the time the boxblade does most of the work. Now I do not have much of a lawn where I do this and if I did have a nice lawn where the stump was located I would use a tarp to rake it into and drag it away.

I have a friend who grinds stumps on the side he has also bought a vac that he uses for people who want the grindings removed. It works the same as the large vac trucks towns use to collect leaves. He has a F350 with a dump bed and it sucks the chips up and blowes them in the bed of the truck. Check to see if your stump grinder has one of these.

The chips from most stump grinders I have seen are very fine. They would make an excellent mulch, paths for walkways, and a good addative for compost. I have used mine for all three of these. If you use it for mulch and it is green I would let it cure first so not to generate much heat on the plants.

28 stumps is a lot, if you can't boxblade/FEL due to the lawn I would check first to see if someone had a vac; if not teenagers and a tarp:thumbsup:.

 

[timswi]

Leaving the material in the holes would lead to soft spots and sinking over the years. I have had many stumps ground the last couple of years. I use may boxblade to scrap the grindings up. I may need to rake a little out of the hole but most of the time the boxblade does most of the work. Now I do not have much of a lawn where I do this and if I did have a nice lawn where the stump was located I would use a tarp to rake it into and drag it away.

I have a friend who grinds stumps on the side he has also bought a vac that he uses for people who want the grindings removed. It works the same as the large vac trucks towns use to collect leaves. He has a F350 with a dump bed and it sucks the chips up and blowes them in the bed of the truck. Check to see if your stump grinder has one of these.

The chips from most stump grinders I have seen are very fine. They would make an excellent mulch, paths for walkways, and a good addative for compost. I have used mine for all three of these. If you use it for mulch and it is green I would let it cure first so not to generate much heat on the plants.

28 stumps is a lot, if you can't boxblade/FEL due to the lawn I would check first to see if someone had a vac; if not teenagers and a tarp:thumbsup:.

+2 on that...Don't leave them unless you want potholes later...You'll have them eventually as the stumps rot but if you leave the shavings, you'll have them in months...Cleaning up ain't fun, I did it at my place...Nice mulch though.

 

[Bdavis]

I guess it is possible to remove all the shavings and not create potholes but I never have been able to do it. I have never used a vacum truck so I would think that might be the only way possible.

It really comes down for me to how big a pothole you want to have develop, the more shavings you remove the smaller the pot hole.

I have a large dirt pile.
So I took some dirt and mixed it with the shavings I scooped up by scrapping the top with my FEL and rachet rake.

The plan is to let the mix sit about a year and I should have some pretty good mulch\soil. (only been about 2 months - so don't know how it is going to turn out yet)

Good luck

 

[big e]

Use the opportunity to plant something.
I put 300 daffodils (deer will leave them alone) in the stump holes I created. Fill with good soil, top with the mulch.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have been told that pine chipping is not good for mixing with soil for compost due to the pitch content in the pine. Most plants wont grow in it. Hardwood is ok to use, but you do need to mix it with soil.
For your pine shavings, I would remove as much as you can and fill the hole with good topsoil. Use your shavings for mulching where you dont want grass or plants to grow.
You will have some sinking in as the roots rot and the soil compacts so be prepared to add soil to the top. You should be able to add an inch or so at a time without killing your grass, just sprinkle loosely and let it settle in as the grass grows back up thru it.. Just start adding soil at the first sign of subsidence and continue for the next 20 years or so.

 

[Den1952]

would it work if you donated it to a local city park system or nature center? they could use it for trail making . they could pick it up and haul it away for the price of it. maybe they would have loaders and trucks. just a thought.

 

[zing]

Try to rake it into piles as best you can and then put the word out to your family, neighbours, co-workers, parents of your kid's friends, etc. Many people buy that stuff every year and you may find a bunch who are interested in showing up with a pickup or utility trailer and take it away to mulch their gardens and shrubs. Let the neighbours solve your problem for you.

You could put an ad on Craigslist for free mulch, but only if you are willing to have miscellaneous unknown persons showing up at your door looking for the stuff. Might work well to get it taken away free, but depends on your comfort with strangers coming to your home. You will probably also get a lot of people who will call and say they are coming, but then never show up.

 

[Carl_NH]

As others said - remove the chips rake them up and spread some basic fertilizer 10-10-10 on the ground stump as chips leach nitrogen from the soil. Backfill with topsoil and plant grass.

I had 18 or so large stumps ground - I know what you are faced with for chip cleanup it just takes time and work - do you have a FEL on your Ford 4000? If so scoop up and put the chips in a pile to compost for a year to break down.

Good luck with your cleanup.

Carl

 

[Bamaram]

Thanks for all the responses fellas! I used my boxblade yesterday to remove all the grindings I could and then raked the rest out. My back is feeling good after that! I also found a lot of big roots the grinders missed so they are coming back to finish it up. I found a guy who will deliever topsoil for $150 per 10 yards. I feel like that is a pretty good price. What do ya'll think? I will pile the shavings up and use them as mulch later down the road. The wife has some big flower bed plans. Oh well more seat time! Do I need to "Tamp" the top soil into the left over holes or just plow over all of it and mix it in? I'm guessing tamping it in or just running it over with the cultipacker.