The spot that I have chosen for my garden was not cleared by the bulldozer but the trees and brush were cleared with most of the stumps still left in the ground. I have to consider numerous options and the sage advise of locals and non-locals has been extremely helpful.

Now in some areas we were able to clear some small stumps with my old Suburban. Might this have had some bearing on the transmission dying shortly thereafter? So, after much searching, I came up with a variety of ideas that will not destroy the ground with chemicals.

In the Appalachian Mountains, according to my collection of Foxfire books, these pioneers planted around the stumps, giving them time to rot in the ground.

I recently heard of drilling ½ inch holes in the stumps and filling them with a broadleaf herbicide to kill the tree and prevent sprouting. In order to increase rotting of the stump, remove earth from around the base and cut down as deep as you can, then poor in 5 to 10 pounds of a nitrogen fertilizer.

Similar to above, The things that do the work (fungi, termites, wood borers, snails, etc.) need moisture, nitrogen and oxygen. Fast working fungi can be encouraged by inoculating the stump top with powdered milk as soon after felling as possible. Moisten the top before sprinkling on the powdered milk. Fungi will get some of their nitrogen needs from the wood but still need some to get started. Sprinkle a teaspoon of dry nitrogen containing fertilizer like 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 or add water soluble house plant food to the water used to moisten the stump for the powdered milk. Mushrooms are a sure sign that the fungi are doing their job. Caution, too much fertilizer (salt) will help preserve the stump. To keep the stump moist, cover with dirt or mulch and water occasionally. As the stump decays and settles, add more dirt and fertilizer (a teaspoon). Too much water will also slow decay by reducing oxygen.

Depending on their location to woods, building and structures, burning is a possibility depending on the type of tree. In the Amish dairy country, they back their manure wagons up to stumps in newly-cleared pastures, bury the stump underneath a pile of fresh cow/horse manure, and within a year or two, it will have rotted sufficiently that they can hitch to it with a team of horses, and out it comes. Guess if you wanted it to rot away completely, it'd take a bit longer, and maybe another application of manure.

One farmer stated he often has one or two dying trees each year. Once he cuts a tree down he places a 55 gallon drum with its bottom cut off over the stump. He then fills it with firewood and lights it. The hot embers from the firewood slowly work their way through the stump and follow the roots a foot or two into the ground. It takes a full day and he's also out in the middle of nowhere with no municipal restrictions. This is supposed to be fast and effective.

Drill holes in the stump, pour in the molasses and let ants do their work.

More sage advise came from a "old local". He said to drill holes in a stump and fill them with, milk. The bacteria that forms from the milk will aid in the decay of the stump.