Hi All!! I am an avid backyard gardener and have had a container garden the last few years due to lack of space. Last summer we cut down 20 metres of HUGE cedar trees; they had grown roughly a story and a half tall! Now that spring is here, I'm looking at my container garden and then looking at all this newly exposed ground and just drooling to turn it over, add a bit of compost and explore the more traditional way of gardening! BUT (isn't there always one of those) where the cedars were there are extensive root systems and stumps, which seem like an overwhelming prospect to remove by hand! And I've been reading references to certain plants not doing well near cedars. The cedars are no longer there, but I suspect they grew for at least 20-30 years and have left their physical and chemical remains in the surrounding soil. So I'm wondering; 1) can I get a 'get out of gardening jail free' card and just leave the stumps? maybe pile new soil a metre or so above and leave them to rot into compost? 2) will the years of cedar branches have changed the acidity of the soil or otherwise compromised the soil for the growing of vegetables? Any advice, antecdotes, suggestions or encouragements is greatly appreciated! Newbie gardener in Ottawa
I think you can safely plant on top of these stumps and roots. They will gradually rot away, though the rate of decomposition will depend on the size of stumps. I've cut into large downed cedar here (Thuja plicata) that was still solid in the center after 30 - 50 years or so.
Hmmm, Gordo, how big were your stumps? I've got about 20 stumps, 5 inches tall and varying in width from 3 to 16 inches. They are all along the back of the space that is 48 feet long and 7 feet wide. The thing is, the longer I look at the space, the bigger it looks! I'm worried that piling new soil on top might be cost prohibitive! I'm a student and it's not my property, the body is willing, but the wallet is not! Once the weather warms up a bit more (it was -13 degrees last night and is a balmy 2 degrees celsius today) we thought about checking to see how pervasive the roots are near the surface of the new garden bed. I've been saving leaves the last couple of years and thought to turn them into the hardened soil to compost them more and maybe to add nutrients to some sad looking soil. That is, so long as the roots are not too invasive. I'm really not sure how cedar roots grow. Could the roots be small enough that a strong branch trimmer could snip them off? I also have a couple of small hand saws... I spend the last couple of days planting seeds and researching garden layouts but now I'm wondering if maybe I've bitten off more than I can chew/afford... Any el cheapo suggestions on how to salvage the land back from the cedars?? Thanks for the feedback!
Just think of all the money you are going to save by not buying a membership at the local gym! That's a large area for anyone to contemplate, never mind a student (I presume you have assignments, labs, homework etc). I suggest you pick an area of about 100 square feet (10 sq. meters) based on access, sun exposure, lack of thru traffic and so on. Buy a good shovel and a good axe and a file to keep both sharp, and have at it. Go around the bigger stumps just cutting the roots that are in your way and leave the rest. Get your plants in and enjoy them. Get bigger next year if you are still there and still inclined. Ralph
It's easier to spread topsoil and rake it out. Often doesn't have to be more than several inches deep. Landlord may not want a thick layer of soil dumped on the place anyway, apart from the hundreds of dollars a large load of soil delivered costs.
