Best way to clear stumps?

ive dug around the stump so to cut roots & pull the stump=miserable job dirt & chainsaw dont mix so hose is handy
old way is to cut stump, drill hole so water drains into stump & freezes in winter, takes time

Renting a stump grinder is about the easiest/quickest way. Like Blimp mentioned, drilling and waiting is the least expensive.


A shovel and an axe works but is a lot of labor

The smaller sizes you describe might be worth renting a back hoe to dig them out/pull them...

Nate Finch said:

...I want a quick, safe, inexpensive solution...

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Don't we all, every time. :lol: I don't know of one that meets all of your criteria. Actually removing the root/root ball will be neither quick nor inexpensive (in terms of the effort involved, if nothing else). So long as you can live with spacing your new orchard trees which ever way you want, I'd say a stump grinder is the way to go. This is a job you want to contract out (IMO). Those are my thoughts. Rick

If they are small enough I usually dig around them with a compact backhoe and pop them out. The larger ones, I dig around the base and cut off the stump below ground level and then cover it over. Using a couple of old chains to do it as the dirt and rocks play havoc on chains.

DOZER, BIG DOZER AND DONE!!

If you have interest in raising pigs you could fence the area in and drill holes in the stumps and around the roots,buy a couple of bags of whole corn and dump it it the holes and around the roots. let the pigs loose and they will do all the work. Once the stumps are all out you can have a pig roast and also have lots bacon to enjoy all winter long.

I use a 12000lb min ex to stump a yard .
Your first step is to remove the trees . We chip any thing 4" or smaller as we cut them down .
The larger wood gets cut up and stacked .
Its better to cut in the winter the wood is lighter and there are no leaves to deal with .
As far as the stumps go I like to leave the stump 4' high so i can just push them over and pull on them .
I like to pull stumps with a 12" HD trenching bucket a 4 to 6" stump just pulls up and out , a 12" needs to be wiggled and dug around .
The rut ball on a 8" tree is about 3' around but you can clean some of the dirt off .
There is a tone of ruts left sticking out of the ground every where and we scrape it clean but try to leave the top soil we just clean all the vegetation off the area .
We take the stumps and chippings to a mulching plant Mulch dumps for free stumps cost 5 to 15 per yard + trucking , depending on where you live .
All the equipment can be rented and delivered to the site + dumpsters to haul stumps , vegetation, chips .
We clear 3000sf in 2 days easy . John

Rent a backhoe/small excavator for a day. Push over the ones you can using the weight of the tree to your advantage. The ones that you can't push over, dig on three sides and then push them over. Digging stumps sucks when you can get the dig for free by using the weight of the tree. If 12" is the max, you shouldn't need that big of a machine.

In the past when a project came along like that we'd rent an excavator/operator in the off season. A pro can rip those stumps out and bury 'em real quick like.

Just so you know most rentals won't rent if they know you're going to be digging out stumps. No it's not that hard but there's a trick to it, otherwise you can damage the cylinders. (besides working on a slope is already hairy)

ps the off season is when the steady rains come and make commercial phase1 excavating pretty much impossible.

When they cleared the property for my house, they simply used a skid steer (Bobcat) and pushed them over. Some of the trees were quite big, and it was impressive to see the Bobcat do this work. I came along with my chainsaw and cut the tree at that point, then they pushed the stump to an area where we could load them on a truck.

I don't have another way that would work for you, but in case someone finds this thread in a search i have a pretty good way for a SINGLE stump that I've used several times. I throw a pile of charcoal right on it and light it up. Just add more charcoal every once in a while until it's gone. may take a few big bags if the tree is big enough. I've also done other things that I don't know if they helped or not, drilled holes and let diesel fuel/oil/starter fluid/etc soak into the stump before adding the charcoal and lighting. YMMV.

Dozer or back hoe, but then you gotta do something with the stumps.
Here they can't be buried, good luck getting a permit to burn them for days on end and it's a bit pricey to haul them to the stump chipper (which is what they want ya to do).
If not too many, a stump grinder to make navigation through the lot easier.

billb3 said:

Here they can't be buried

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You have a local law that says you can't bury a stump?

SolarAndWood said:

billb3 said:

Here they can't be buried

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You have a local law that says you can't bury a stump?

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Yes.
Wetlands Protection Act and other Conservation Acts prohibit contamination of groundwaters.
Buried stumps supposedly release/leach toxins of some sort.
No more burying construction debris alongside a new home, either.

You'd most likely have to get a permit to cut all those trees down and plant apple trees too .
< commercial orchard / hobby orchard >
So someone would be watching to see what you do or don't do with the stumps ( actually the permitting process would require that statement in the plan)

billb3 said:

Buried stumps supposedly release/leach toxins of some sort.

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Thanks, didn't know that was an issue.

billb3 said:

...good luck getting a permit to burn them for days on end...

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BTW, this releases VERY little smoke, the stump never really catches on fire, it just sort of smolders. if anybody gives you grief, just throw a grate over it and put some chicken on there and tell them you are cooking. Can't imagine there is a permit needed to "smoke some chicken"

billb3 said:

SolarAndWood said:

You have a local law that says you can't bury a stump?

Click to expand...

Yes.
Wetlands Protection Act and other Conservation Acts prohibit contamination of groundwaters.
Buried stumps supposedly release/leach toxins of some sort.
...
You'd most likely have to get a permit to cut all those trees down and plant apple trees too .
< commercial orchard / hobby orchard >
So someone would be watching to see what you do or don't do with the stumps ( actually the permitting process would require that statement in the plan)

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This is what is wrong with our state. Regulations for planting a tree? :roll:

Nate, I planted an orchard two years ago. Dwarf and semi-dwarf apples, cherries, and peaches. I had to remove a bunch of trees too. Left the stumps long so I could pull them out with a come-along. Well, that didn't work except for the little ones (<4"). Got a price from a guy with a backhoe. Expensive AND it will tear up your lawn, plus $ for disposal of the stumps. Left them long for a year, looking like crap. Wife complained constantly. Eventually I ponied up and hired someone with a stump grinder to do the stumps. Took him like 12 hours to do ~2000sf. It is hard, boring work.

I rented a walk behind stump grinder a few years ago. I did 3 at my house and one for the neighbor. They were all about 12" stumps cut pretty much flush to the ground. Even with the machine it was hard, boring, and miserable work. Can you just cut them flush and wait for them to rot?

Dig around the downhill half of the tree and knock over the tree without cutting it. It'll take the stump with it, then you cut off the stump and burn it.

How you knock over the teees depends though. An excavator is a good method because its a big, powerful, heavy machine that is on the pushing side...you could also use a really heavy rope and a truck, but you need to bend the rope around another tree so you're not doing anything dumb like pulling a tree over on top of yourself.

Leave stumps a couple feet high and a dozer will knock them out PDQ. A short day's work- all around cheapest, quickest way to do it, IMO.

Adios Pantalones said:

Leave stumps a couple feet high and a dozer will knock them out PDQ. A short day's work- all around cheapest, quickest way to do it, IMO.

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Yes, but the ground gets trashed. The soil is either all compacted or all torn up. It all depends on whether the OP's orchard is going in his front yard (where looks matter), or way out in the back forty (where they don't)

SolarAndWood said:

billb3 said:

Here they can't be buried

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You have a local law that says you can't bury a stump?

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Around here, the law guys in the peoples republic of 'Joisey' claim the underground rotting process can also cause sinkholes that might give way........ under your great, great, great grandchildren

1. get a backho and pull them. I did this with a few acres of 50-60 foot pines (with shallow roots). It's the only way to clear the stumps and the mess.
2. we burned them after a year of rain and weather. It takes several times of burning to get rid of them.

I'm afraid there isn't an easy way that I know of.


Jon