Inexperienced Gardener vs Tree Stump

If you follow me on Twitter, you’d know I’ve been trying to uproot a tree stump. Here are some pictures to show you what all the fuss was about.

First, an old one from 2008. I don’t have a picture of the tree itself, but I think it was 3 to 4 meters tall. We had a guy from Benry come round and cut it down, leaving just a harmless stump.

Since then, the garden had grown into a mini-jungle, with weeds 2ft high. Something had to be done about it, and with all the caterpillars and spiders in the surrounding hedge, I decided to dig up the whole lot and be done with nature.

Who would have thought such a little tree stump would require so much digging?

Tapping into the extensive experience of the real gardener in the family, I followed my dad’s advice and started cutting inwards rather than digging outwards, and with the help of a crowbar, I was able to pry off much of the rock-hard, clay-like mud that had cemented the stump in place.

A lot of pushing and pulling eventually broke the stump free…

… and left a crater in the garden.

An hour later and the job was done.

The next step will be to saw or hack the tree stump down to a size I can lift into my car to take to the incinerator.

Was it all worth it? I hope so. The goal is to cover everything with tiles or pebbles, and put out a garden table and some chairs so we can sit under a parasol and drink lemonade (or more likely, beer).

If you like, you can find me on Twitter at @nick_ramsay. I'd love to hear from you!

7 thoughts on “Inexperienced Gardener vs Tree Stump

  1. Well done, Nick. I never thought you would do it. I take my hat off to you. dad sends his congratulations too.

  2. Should have given me a ring mate as I would have come over and helped you out!
    Would have drilled a few holes in it, put a rope around it and towed it out with my car. Saying that, you did it mate and pulling trunks out of the ground is impressive!!

    1. Actually, I tried that with my car. It was a spectacular failure. 😛

      If you’re in Gifu, you’re welcome to swing by and help with the gardening. I still have a hedgerow to dig up. 😀

      1. Sorry mate. Will not be around til Summer is gone. But happy to come over then when the weather is cooler!

  3. I have had my battles with tree stumps in the past. They can be really hard to deal with. I think you dug it up as well as could be expected.

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