Phisherman wrote:
On Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:07:51 -0400, blueman wrote:

I took down some saplings last year (about 2-3" diameter) that were on
a relatively steep hill in our front yard.

Is there any simple/cheap way to speed their decomposition?
It probably doesn't pay to rent a shredder plus it would be difficult
to manouvre it in the hilly area.
I had heard in the past of chemicals that are drilled into the trunk.
I'm looking for something readily available that is faster than
natural decomposition.


The procedure is to drill 1" diameter holes into the stump, 4 or 5
inches deep and keep the holes filled with 34-0-0 (potassium nitrate
or saltpeter). The downside is that some nitrogen will leak into
surrounding area, making turf turn a deep green color.

I found it much easier to cut the stumps as close to the ground as
possible so you can mow over them. For your size saplings, it can't
take too long to allow them to decay naturally.

Potassium nitrate is approx. 14-39-0 and sodium nitrate is 16-0-0.
Ammonium nitrate is 35-0-0 which is what you are referring to and may
leach faster. Saltpeter refers to potassium nitrate but Chilean
saltpeter is sodium nitrate. Myself, I just use whatever fertilizer is
on hand.