To improve the aesthetic of your backyard when there’s a tree stump, you may contact stump removal professional services. Whether you chose to remove a tree for it isn’t pleasing in your yard or is already dead, deciding what the next step is can be difficult.
To repair your yard after a tree stump removal, you want to clean and clear the area from any debris. If needed, fill the hole with soil and prepare the space for seeding or spreading grass seeds. After you’ve spread the grass seeds and covered the seed with soil, you’ll have to water and take care of it until the grass is in full growth.
Don’t worry about wood chips or wood shavings, as there are many ways to use them. For instance, you can use them as mulch for your flowerbed and plants, offer them to your neighbors, or use them for outdoor purposes or an informal path.
In this article, we will discuss how to repair a yard after a tree stump removal and different ways to use wood chips in your yard.
How to Repair a Yard After Tree Removal
If you want to improve the appearance of your backyard, removing a tree stump might be the ideal solution after you’ve cut it down.
In this case, completely remove the tree stump in your yard using a stump grinder. After the tree stump removal process, you’re left with a hole with a pile of wood chips.
To even out your lawn, you should fill the hole with soil. Here are a few things you should take after the tree stump removal to get rid of the stump scar.
- Clean Up the Aftermath
After the tree stump removal, you’ll need to remove the wood shavings, twigs, and chunks of dirt, like clay and rocks where the stump was.
Gather the materials and be resourceful. If you have a fireplace, you can use the twigs and barks to light a fire. Don’t fill the hole with this organic debris and other materials as those may slow your lawn’s growth. It would also make it hard for new sod to take root.
- Clear the Debris
Clear the debris away from the stump’s hole if you want your lawn to look like it used to. With wood chips, grass and weeds won’t grow effectively, so use a rake to clear any debris. To cut the exposed roots, use clippers or a saw.
Equip yourself before you start filling in the hole after the tree stump removal. For that, you’ll need these handy things:
- Topsoil for planting new seeds
- Clippers or a saw for the removal of roots
- Grass seeds for growing new grass
- A rake to clear and move out debris
- Fill In the Hole
Cover up the hole with soil, ensuring that it is roughly the same height as your yard. Invest in soil or fill dirt to fill the hole and make sure to choose the right type of soil for your yard. We recommend getting good-quality, nutrient-dense topsoil if you’re planning to grow new grass.
Fill the hole with topsoil. Depending on the stump size, you might need several bags to fill the hole. To loosen compacted soil, use a rake. Even out the soil and leave a few inches to allow the soil to settle once you start watering it.
- Seed the Area or Spread Your Grass Seeds
If you choose to grow and plant a new tree, pick one that grows easily in your area. You can seek advice from a professional tree service if you’re unsure which one will work best in your yard. They will help you determine which species of tree grows well in your area and which one does not.
If planting trees isn’t an option, grass is an ideal alternative. You can spread grass seeds by hand if you’re covering a small area. Make sure to choose a type of grass that matches the kind of turf you have in your yard.
Spread the seeds on the topsoil and cover the entire patch. Since you’re applying the grass seed by hand, you‘ll need to strive for good coverage. Criss-cross the direction when you disperse the seeds and use a healthy amount per square inch.
Gently rake the seeds into the soil and don’t use too much force so the seeds won’t settle too deep in the hole. Add another layer of topsoil to cover the seeds. Doing so will prevent seeds from being blown away by strong winds and washed away by the rain. Most homeowners use peat moss as an alternative.
- Water the Soil
Water the soil thoroughly. Although topsoil is already moist when removed from the bag, it isn’t enough to give the seeds a chance to sprout. Watering helps the seeds settle into the hole and fill the spaces around the hole entirely.
Don’t overwater the seeds for it will wash them away. Give the hole a good soaking using a garden hose or water sprinkler. Keep the area moist but not soaked. The soil should never start floating up. Do this until the grass has fully grown two inches or higher.
Once your topsoil is saturated, let it sit for a few days. Monitor the dampness from time to time, and add moisture when needed. If it rained in your area, you don’t need to water your yard.
- Care for Your New Grass
Once the grass takes roots, you can take care of it like the rest of your lawn. Mow the grass if it grows taller, and be mindful of the grass growth throughout the year. You can spread more seed if the spot looks patchy.
How to Use Wood Chips in Your Yard
Wood chips are the result of trees being removed, pruned, or stump out. Workers use chippers to cut down large trees and branches. Once done, you’ll see piles of shredded or chipped wood.
A stump grinder helps grind trees into smaller pieces. Homeowners usually use a rake to gather the stump grinding in the hole where the stump is. Once done, homeowners prefer to fill it with soil.
The chipping of trees is way more inexpensive and convenient than the total cost of removal, pruning, or stump grinding. Although, after the process, you’ll be left with all the wood chips and will have to figure out what to do with them.
Here are recommendations of ways to use wood chips for your advantage and the benefit they will bring to your plants.
Use Wood Chips as Mulch
Ideally, you can use wood chips as organic mulch for your plants.
With proper application, mulch prevents weed growth, retains water in your soil, and regulates soil temperature. If you have mulch on your soils that’s thinning, replenish it. Applying three inches of mulch for the thin coating won’t keep weeds down and insulate your soil.
As for what many believe, mulching with wood chips doesn’t tie up nitrogen. It doesn’t attract termites nor carpenter ants, doesn’t make your soil acidic, and doesn’t carry and pass on diseases to your plants, resulting in their deaths.
Offer It to Your Neighbors
If you have an extra pile of wood chips, you can offer it to your neighbors. They might use it as mulch or for other purposes. Also, offer to transfer it using a wheelbarrow or buckets.
Outdoor Use
You can use the wood chip mulch as a cushion to a hard ground play area for it prevents soil compaction around the play structures. Ensure that the wood chips are free from sharp twigs and branches to avoid injuring your children.
You can use wood chips if you have downspouts that empty the water into the garden bed. Wood chips stop the water that is slowed down by a splash block or misses. It also keeps the water’s force from eroding your backyard soil.
You can use wood chips to layer with your summer vegetable garden, which isn’t used in the winter. Layer it over newspaper or cardboard on top of your garden beds. This will prepare your soil and ready it for spring planting.
The newspaper and cardboard underneath prevent the wood chips from drifting into the soil, and when spring and vegetable time come, turn it over. A layer of compost over the vegetable garden will break down faster as it is protected by cardboard and wood chips.
Informal Paths
You can use wood chips to build informal paths in your backyard or garden as mulch to prevent soil compaction and erosion.
To enhance the appearance of the median strip between the street and sidewalk in your area, you can use wood chips as mulch. Wood chips can restore and unify the look of your front garden and you can maintain your well-cared median strip.
Wood Chips for Your Compost Pile
If you still have more wood chips after giving them to your neighbors or using them as mulch, you can add some to the compost pile if you have one in your yard. Wood chips help break down faster and add nutrients to your compost pile.
Unused Area
If you have a large space in your backyard or garden and don’t know what to do with it, you can layer it with wood-chip mulch in the meantime. Make sure to put a thick layer of wood-chip mulch on it. Aside from the fact that it prevents weed growth, it will keep your soil moist until you know what to do with the open area.
If you plan on planting a tree and shrubs on that spot, the wood-chip mulch can stay on it to prevent soil compaction and add nutrients to the trees and shrubs.
Sheet Mulching
As mentioned earlier, adding wood-chips mulch prevents weed growth. You can also use it if you plan on converting your lawn area into a planting bed. In your lawn, lay down the cardboard and cover it with a thick layer of wood chips, then let it settle and compost.
If you know what you want to plant, move it away using a rake, cut an opening in the cardboard, and dig a hole for planting. This process preserves the nutrients in your topsoil and grass and helps enrich your soil. It is also a less intensive procedure than sod removal.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article has given you some ideas on how to use the wood chips in your yard rather than having them hauled away and having to repair your yard after tree removal.
Getting a tree stump removed in your yard doesn’t transform your backyard landscaping in a bad way. Instead, use this opportunity to beautify your yard the way you want to. Seek professional advice from experts if you’re unsure of what you desire.
