On Jun 29, 7:07�am, 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.

I used a mattock for 20-30 of this sized "volunteer" tree roots. For
the larger trees (6" diameter and up, a couple approaching 20"), I
used either a bow saw or a chain saw to cut, then used a mattock on
some after digging around the stump to reveal roots radiating out.
For the extremely large stumps (including the 35"-40" stump left by
the city after they cut down trees interfering with power lines), I
had a guy with a grinder come in. He used a large unit, not a bumber
mount, which was self-propelled.

If they aren't too big, digging/cutting/roots/digging/cutting roots
around the tree works pretty well to get the stump below ground level
at least a foot or so. Once you get the first couple roots cut with
the mattock, additional roots become easier to cut.