I'm giving the old 580 Super L a workout today. Digging Stumps out of the field where I cut some oaks for firewood. Most are about 24" to 30" diameter a couple of feet off the ground where they were cut.
First I dig around it and break it loose. Since this is just in a farm field and getting the stump.and root ball out of the hole is a royal PITA, I'm just burying them in place. This also avoids the dirt deficit from removing the stump and I don't need to haul more dirt in to level the ground. Once it is loose, I scoot it to one side of the hole. Then I dig the other side of the hole a lot deeper, keeping this clean dirt without all the roots separate. Roll the stump off in the deep end where it will be 2 or 3 feet below the surface. Put the dirt with all the roots in first. Then the clean dirt on top. Also compact it as much as possible while filling.
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Nice job

The old days of dynamiting stumps were more fun. Nice job nonetheless!

I miss those days...

Mom: don't give those boys that...

Dad: they'll be fine...

We still have all our fingers...

Do you worry about future sinkholes developing as the stumps rots away?

I have a few that developed on my back acre from ten year old buried stumps. Ash trees not oaks though.

I just pushed them over and the stump came with it.

No matter what people say, size does matter.

There will be some settling for the first couple of years just because of the loose dirt, but it will take several years for the stumps to actually rot. As long as I disc and do-all the field once every year or two, it will never be noticed. If it were pasture, it would form a noticeable depression in a few years. Also burying them individually will decrease the amount of settling vs burying several together in the same hole.

No plans to pull a subsoiler through there I take it?

I haven't run a sub-soiler since the mid '90s. We used to pull up some interesting things with it. Stumps and logs that had been there for several decades since the land had been cleared. Chunks of concrete and brick where old houses or barns once stood. An old truck frame and axles. Even a few utility lines where the contractors had decided to cut the corner across the field instead of staying on the easement. Those were always the most fun.

If you dig one side a bit and push them over. You get the leverage to pop the stump and still get to cut the firewood

Yes, but I don't cut firewood when it's 95+ degrees and 110% humidity.

Don't folks pay for the stumps? ie; Burl's

If you put in the time and work to clean all the dirt off, cure it, and then quarter saw it, then occasionally you will come across one with unique grain someone will pay for.

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