# Tree Stump Killing Grass?



## DIY4EVER (Apr 10, 2007)

malsup---

I don't think that the old stump would be killing the grass. What could be happening though is that the root system of the old tree, if it was a very large tree the root system would be huge (the root system of a tree is up to 50% bigger in diameter than the canopy of the tree!), could have grown near the surface of the soil which would limit the amount of soil and nutrients at or near the surface of the soil in the area of the stump to the point where grass would not be able to grow well due to poor soil depth and nutirnet composition.

If it were me, I would grind the old stump up. You can rent stump grinders or hire someone to do it depending on the size of the job. The advatage is two fold, 1) you can get the old stump and large roots out of the soil and start working amendments back in to help the soil, and 2) you can save the wood chips from grinding the old stump and use it as mulch:thumbsup: .

Good luck!!


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## timber (Nov 30, 2007)

Agreed, it's also possible that there is a lot of saw dust left in the turf from when the tree was removed, which can damage the grass. Once you have the stump removed, make sure you remove as much of the stump grindings as possible, otherwise the spot were the tree was will constantly keep settling from decay. Once cleaned out fill the hole and damaged turf areas with a good brown topsoil. Refrain from using to much black dirt because it does'nt hold the seed very well. Good luck!


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## malsup (Dec 14, 2007)

*Thanks*

Thanks for answering my question. The tree was not huge, so it should be fairly easy to get out most of the roots.


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