how to kill Eucalyptus tree stumps organicaly without using chemicals?

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by Nickolas, Jul 14, 2015.

  1. Nickolas

    Nickolas Junior Member

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    hi everyone, I have been having some problems with some gum trees. I live on a 30 acres bush property with 80% covered with Eucalyptus regrowth of different sizes. I'm trying to clear some to in large the current veggie garden and for the future orchard. I tried getting a mate in with his tractor and pushing a few over but they just reshoot. everyone keeps telling me to use roundup but I hate the stuff (and for good reason) someone suggested to me to cut them down 30cm above the ground. make up a render with wood ash and concrete and cover the entire stump with it. then when its dead just burn or pull the stump out. has anyone heard of this working? also Epsom salts, drill a hole in the tree stump and fill it with Epsom salts. anyone tried this? or if you know of another method please tell me.
    I love my Eucalyptus trees but I need some space. and a side note, for every tree I get rid of I will be planting 20 more at least.Regards NICK
     
  2. S.O.P

    S.O.P Moderator

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    Seems like the render method is just removing photosynthesising material without the hassle of cutting it yourself. It will still live for a while after that. And then I suppose you need to wait for the roots to rot and then pop the stump? Or you burn it flat with a few fires and a fair amount of fuel. Don't know about Epsom salts, have you googled it?

    Seems like the easiest way would be ringbarking them and felling them when they are dead/near dead but that takes a little while.

    Excavator/backhoe will get it done in less than a day, living or not. A good-sized one.
     
  3. dreuky

    dreuky Junior Member

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    If you can cut them off level with the ground they will reshoot but just keep pulling off the new shoots. Easy to do when the shoots are very young. By pulling them off you pull out that bud. Depending on how bring the tree is it will die because it runs out of buds. It does not shoot all of it's buds at once so this isn't fast but if you don't want to use poison it is a sure fire way of doing it.
    Other than that can you get a stump muncher to the site? They just turn the stump into mulch very quickly and nothing survives that
     
  4. Nickolas

    Nickolas Junior Member

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    that's a grate idea with the buds. never thought of that. yea I was starting to think I have some kind of mutant zombie version of Eucalyptus. they just don't wanna die. I tried ringbarking some but you cant get low enough, they always reshoot below where you ringbark. the mate who I had come in with his tractor was actually a bulldozer (sorry should have made that clear) we will be buying it soon. the ones he cleared with it got cut off at ground level but they all reshoot from what ever was left underground. I thought of trying a stump muncher. I bet they would work but we have a lot of rocking in our are we grow clay, rocks and gums lol. I will definitely try reducing the buds as they come up.

    thanks, regards
    Nickolas.
     
  5. S.O.P

    S.O.P Moderator

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    Hence the covering it with mortar, does all the work for you. It's all about the reduction in photosynthesising material.

    Enjoy your time with it, you will get to know the stumps quite fondly.
     

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