h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Tree stump extraction - A4185812
Author: sprout - U192568

A simple article for a simple issue, building in personal experience.

Unfortunately it would seem there are no useful hootoo links on this subject, nor are there any good general non-commercial Internet links.

I'll keep looking.

sprout

I hope I'd never get to the last few steps, seems like you'd be pretty much dead by then...

Looks good though, although by the time you've tried all the other steps your stump might not be in a fit state for the last step!

There are two other chemical ways to get rid of a tree stump:
* Sodium chlorate weedkiller. It's a potent oxidiser, so drilling holes and packing this stuff into them, then leaving it for several weeks, will result in the stump being impregnated. You can then set light to the stump which will burn like a firework. Not to be attempted except in the middle of a large field away from dwelling places.

* 'Root-Out' (ammonium sulfamate): you can buy this at most garden cenres, and putting this in drilled holes will also impregnate the stump but it breaks the tissue down, allowing you to hack it to bits easier.

This seems to be a somewhat better version of A4078253 (How to use a shovel)

I don't mean to be rude, but is this genuine? I only ask as it seems to me that you could cause yourself a lot of damage following some of these guidelines and it's glossed over as being a bit 'jokey'.

I don't understand the reference at the beginning (possibly because I'm not from the States, or just not very well read ), and there is no indication of what size stump it's possible to handle without mechanical means.

I just don't think that the BBC will appreciate an entry telling people to use battery acid, or to use petrol to set fire to things, or to use explosives!

I think a lot more thought needs to go into whether or not you want to write a serious entry on this subject before people spend time commenting here.

It reads well, Sprout. I like the progression, and the way the frustration builds as yet another approach fails.

Might I recommend the use of chains at a certain point?...

And, perhaps, if you know someone with a 4X4, that could be applied before the excavator comes in. It promises good theatre, at any rate.

(And perhaps a para on safety, to mollify the viewers-with-alarm...)

Mina,...with respect...Stump removal is the Job From Hell for anyone working in the landscaping business. This entry is legit.

Xantief

<>

Mina, legend has it that when our future first president was a boy, he chopped down a cherry tree on his father's plantation. When his father asked if George had in fact chopped down the tree, George admitted that he had - thus becoming famous as that essentially extinct phenomenon: the president who 'could not tell a lie.'

Of course George Washington's father then beat 7 shades of crap out of him, and George Washington learnt another lesson.

Honesty is a tool to be used with discretion.

Like it I have the remains of a large fir tree about 1 metre from my front door - the chemicals I used didn't have much effect, but I can't remember what they were.

When we had the tree I very nearly got away with naming the house 'Fir Cove' (Its a fir tree - we live in Coventry, and its a joke because we live so far from the sea.) Unfortunately my father-in-law pointed out that the name could also be an imrecation to depart.

Thanks for explaining the legend.

"This entry is legit."

In that case, there's a lot of work to be done to change it from being essentially dangerous to something useful.

I don't think it's dangerousc at all. Indeed, Sprout mentions some of the injuries that can be sustained at each stage. (This is a problem we have in teaching Chemistry these days: because we are more aware of safety issues these days, many people, including some teachers! believe certain things are banned. Hence students never get to see or experience them. Then later on they become teachers... ).
The litiginous society certainly has a lot to answer for.

However, perhaps Sprout could mention in some detail, ways of avoiding/reducing chances of certain injuries e.g. back injuries.

Spelling: secaturs > secateurs

I intended to say, 'not unduly dangerous' i.e. just realistic for the task to be done.

Suggesting that readers use battery acid, and petrol fires might not seem dangerous to you, but I bet it does to the BBC. That's the point I'm trying to make.

Have a look at the inhaling helium entry - more than half of it is warning against such behaviour, yet we *still* had a complaint about it. The Eds would have to be extremely confident that they could justify such an entry against complaints before they would allow it into the Guide. And that means not suggesting that people throw petrol and battery acid around.

The entry does specifically mention that battery acid is dangerous and you should take care not to spill it, and each stage warns of possible injuries. The entry was actually inspired by Sprout's journal, so it's first hand knowledge stuff.

I agree with Mina, on the safety aspects. There are purpose designed chemical products to use with tree stump removal.

I have a tree stump in my front garden that I've not attempted to remove as yet, though bought some root out, or similar last year, it's in the house somewhere.

Though I have previously removed several younger stumps from my back garden, by using a fork to dig around the roots, then cut/saw them.

would've thought a fork would be more useful than a spade for digging round stump.

Wouldn't the stump removal also depend how old the tree was? A younger tree would have less developed roots.


Some of the steps seem to be different options rather than steps.

IMO the advice ought to depend on the age of the tree stump. A young tree stump would be quite easy to remove, where as an older tree stump would probably need to be removed using shop bought purpose chemicals.

My

Emmily

OK

1) Is this entry legit? 95% is serious. Only the dynamite step is a joke, as I don't believe people ever use dynamite on tree stumps. I put it in as it seemed a funny culmination to the gradual escalation. I thought the idea of a step by step approach made for an amusing entry, but at the end I'll put a section on approximate tree widths per technique, to be helpful. Of course, only in a worse case scenario would you try all eight. I needed four to get mine out, and was seriously contemplating step 5...

2) Safety aspects - like it or not, it is common in the building trade to use battery acid. My builder suggested I use it. Now, I could pretend people don't do this in this entry, but that wouldn't be true. I would prefer to explain that this is probably not the best way forward, but not to pretend that it doesn't exist. Similarly for setting fire to the stump - Kerr suggested this solution in my journal entry, and I'm perfectly willing to believe it would have worked fine had the stump been further from the house. Essentially, it is no more dangerous than a bonfire, and not much more dangerous than a barbecue. The difference between this and inhaling helium IMO, is that inhaling helium is an essentially useless activity with inherent risk. Removing tree stumps is something that many people will attempt, with inherent risks, this article takes the simplest solutions first.

3) I'll find a link for George Washington.

4) Emmily's points round use of a fork - you can use a fork, but a spade has the advantage of cutting through small roots. On the age of the tree, it is absolutely true - although not the only factor - type of soil, type of tree, exposed to wind or not, all play a role in root development.

5) Suggestion re use of chains and 4x4 - absolutely, I can see that working sometimes, I'll put it in.

Thanks for the comments, I'll try to make the changes above today or tomorrow.



sprout

Torching certainly worked on an old cherry tree stump in my parents' garden.

Saaaay...How would the Vogons handle stump extraction?

Grinders are available to hire in the UK.

Our experience of removing a stump involved a lot more cursing (you haven't mentioned swearing at the stump, it made me feel better) and at least one attempt to shame it into climbing out of the hole on its own. Not successful though. We got up to step 4 for a tree about 25 cm across. Many people suggested filling the hole with petrol and setting light to it but in a domestic garden setting we felt that this would have been recklees and dangerous...

We blunted our handsaw on the roots, got to the point where only ash was coming out of the cut as the friction of our sawing heated it, but no sawdust. If I had any dynamite, I'd have used it at this point.

I'll come back if I think of anything constructive, this has triggered lots of memories of serious muscle strains...

k

Once the majority of the root ball is excavated, and the resulting hole in the ground is filled with water, the soil should soften enough for the 4x4 chain drag to work. On reasonable-sized stumps. Just remember to have enough chain to reach beyond the muddy area, and to keep the vehicle's wheels on terra firma.

Dynamite has been used to good effect, but it has its disadvantages......well, you did want to remodel this side of the house, right?

Yet the BBC regularly show people using guns - in fictional situations - and in dramas - based on real life.

I feel the dangers are underlined throughout the entry, and if you've ever faced a tree stump you'll know how it escalates.