Tree stump removal instructions that make a very difficult, if not impossible, job manageable.

I spent about 20 years remodeling houses. We used to landscape three houses a week and did all of this work in the evenings and on Saturdays because I worked full time. I have no idea how many houses I’ve redesigned over the years, but the number is well over 500. Each of those remodeling jobs had overgrown landscaping that needed to be removed before we could start the actual landscaping.

That meant dozens and dozens of tree stumps and large stumps of overgrown bushes had to be removed.

Of course, county wisdom says you just back up in Bubba’s truck, wrap a chain around the stump, and drive away as fast as you can. I admit it, I’ve done that. Works? Something like. But it’s also a great way to wreck a truck, completely destroy your lawn, and possibly damage your home.

So it’s not such a good idea. Especially when you’re working on someone’s house like I was.

So over the years we refined a technique to remove these stumps by hand. Removing tree stumps by hand with the wrong tools is an impossible task. Tree stump removal with the right tools is possible. I won’t say it’s an easy job because it isn’t. But if you use the right tools and the right techniques, you don’t have to strain your back and ruin your tools. It’s more of a methodical process of digging around the tree stump with a good nursery digging shovel and using a landscape rod, also known as a potato rod to cut the roots as you find them while digging.

The secret is to start away from the stump. If you start working too close to the stump, you will find large, heavy roots that will be too difficult to handle. So if you start a little farther and start digging a small trench around the stump with the shovel, then go around the trench you just dug with the bar to cut off any roots that the shovel won’t cut, then more shovel. work, then more landscape bar work, that tree stump will come out of the ground. Don’t pry or bend your tools. Use the tools to cut the roots. Praying will get you nowhere and your tools will be ruined.

I have been teaching this technique on the internet for several years and people write to me all the time and tell me how well it worked for them.

Happy digging! -Miguel