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Post date: Aug 9, 2016 4:42:41 PM
I thought I was finished with planting my garden for the season, but that has changed. The plans called for Munstead Lavender, which grows well around here and seems to bloom all summer. The plans called for it to be planted on the north side of my house — not the sunniest of locations. Actually, with all the trees, I didn’t have a really sunny spot.
So I cut down three Siberian Elms (no loss) from the southeast corner of my lot. While I had a borrowed electric chainsaw, I thought I would also cut the many stumps down below ground level so I wasn’t repeatedly stumbling on them. (Most stuck up only 2-3”. Just enough to be a problem, and they sprout readily.)
The saw chain was very dull. I had borrowed it much earlier and gave up trying to sharpen it. When I realized that a new saw chain was cheap, I just replaced the chain. Cutting stumps below ground level was sure to dull the chain, so I bought two, and will replace the one I use before I return the saw.
I have about a dozen stumps, ranging from 2” to 10” diameter. I dig around each stump with a hand hoe, removing the rocks that I excavate. Then cut off the stump. If the stump had been sprouting, or the tree was live, I paint the stump with 2,4,D, which will kill the roots. The photo (left) shows a freshly cut stump surrounded by saw chips, my kneeling pad, and the bag of fertilizer.Then I drill holes in the stump and fill the holes with Ammonium Sulphate fertilizer. The nitrogen fertilizer encourages microbes that eat the wood. The photo to the right shows the freshly cut stump with 1/2" diameter holes, some filled with the pale blue fertilizer pellets.I have a cultivating tool with 4” tines that I use to remove rocks from the soil. Finally I will rake the soil smooth, removing rocks in the process, and seed the area with red clover and blue grama grass. I will need to extend my drip irrigation to the five Lavender plants to help them become established.
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