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| I had a tree removed last fall. They ground the stump and I removed as much wood chips as I could. This spring I added some compost and planted seed. The grass finally came up, but it just sits there and doesn't grow. Is there anything I can do, or is this a lost cause until more of the wood chips decay? |
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| There is a period after new grass comes up when it seems like it's not growing, usually lasts a week or two. I think this is due to the grass shifting more of its growth energy to the roots and the blades shift into photosynthesis mode. Also soil temps are generally cooler in the spring, so growth won't be as fast as it is in the late summer. Did you add any soil to where the stump was, or just compost? Over time the compost will decay and a depression will form if you didn't add any topsoil. Tall fescue and perennial rye is usually ready for it's first mowing in about a month, KBG generally takes a bit longer. |
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- Posted by flowergirl70ks 5/6KS (My Page) on Wed, May 16, 12 at 16:41
| I didn't add any soil, because there was already a hump there.It will settle gradually. I'm wondering if it needs a little nitrogen to help decay the wood chips I couldn't rake out. Or maybe some fish fertilizer to help the grass some? |
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- Posted by dchall_san_antonio 8 San Antonio (My Page) on Wed, May 16, 12 at 21:55
| I can be encouraging in one sense but it might not be that encouraging. Wood can be coerced to decay quickly. All we have to do now is define 'quickly.' When we bought our house in 1992 there was a tree pushing the roof off the garage. I had the tree removed. That stump was still a hard stump in 2002, so I buried it in compost. I made that area my compost pile. In 2010 I decided to move the compost pile and that stump was still as solid as the day it was buried under the compost. For whatever reasoning, I decided to try keeping the stump moist and getting it to rot. That worked for the siding on my house so why not a stump. It also seemed to work on stumps in the woods where we like to hike. I used an old misting nozzle thing (for lack of a better word). Plugged in the hose and let it run for several days. When the stump was completely saturated, I turned it off. That was about October of 2010 (end of a rainy year and start of a drought). When the stump seemed to dry out, I repeated the misting. I kept that up all through 2011. Today that stump is still visible to me but only me because I knew where it was. When you step there there is nothing but a very soft spot as the spongy wood just smashes together. Armed with that information, I would advise that if your grass does not come in real green and remain dark green, then you have wood in the soil issues. You can likely get rid of the wood in 18 months or less by keeping it barely moist all the time. |
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