I know digging it up is the answer, but after days of backbreaking labor and an old dry laid retaining stone wall that doesn't appreciate me trying to rip out kudzu and wild grape and oak saplings 2x thicker than my thumb growing from the cracks I am clearly going to loose this war of attrition- gotta bring in big guns, but not sure what those might be.
How do I kill these without salting the land? All hand held power tool ideas welcome.. chain saws, sawzalls, drills, .
They're just too big, to established for me to dig out. To be honest, for years I haven't had time to address it properly and would just go out with my clippers and cut them back, but that was a really bad strategy, as they just refuse to die, grow bushier, roots get deeper and stronger and fatter and now I'm really in a bind. I'm also cutting out some giant tuja Along the sidewalk and the roots are just knarly.
You used to be able to get stump remover - which I think was basically just phosphate, I think... and if you cut something down, drilled some holes in what was left and poured it in it would kill the plant and speed the rotting of the wood, but apparently it's a prime ingredient used in making meth or some other nefarious pursuit and no longer available at big box stores. Was stump remover actually just phosphate? I do have access to bulk chemicals through a good friend who works in alloy manufacturing, all above board.. but I'm not sure what I need.
I've also got Ortho poison ivy and tough vine killer.. it actually worked miracles with a patch of poison ivy that grew from a neighbors property through my bushes and branched out like crazy.. I sprayed it Uber careful, making sure to only hit the ivy leaves and it did die back without killing the bush under it.. but it was really like a poison ivy balaclava.. there was almost no bush showing to get hit with the poison, it took 2-3 treatments over the course of a growing season, and I'd like to be able to use this space this year for flowers and veg so I'm trying to avoid plain vanilla poison. Don't get me wrong, I want and need to poison them, but I'd rather use something that's only dangerous in high concentrations, applied smartly, that can be reversed/rebalanced.
I.ve also got muriatic acid in the garage that's kinda calling my name. I'm wondering if I drill out a hole in the stump and fill it with acid, will it kill the root? I'm okay with the chemistry, I can test the surrounding soil and neutralize it later with fireplace ash or lawn lime as needed. I have both the protective equipment needed, including the proper respirator, elbow length gloves, tyvec suit proper footwear and experience using it to etch concrete. If I drill out the stump, add 50-100 ml, think that will do it?
I do want to state the ideas I am suggesting (and asking for) do require extreme care, education and experience.. when I learned how to handle muriatic acid I did it under an engineers supervision and instructions.. that engineer was my father, who built bridges. He poured the Delaware memorial bridge span and was the superintendent on the 1980s Brooklyn bridge rehabilitation - so I'm sure he knew what he was doing and was paying attention to my health and safety during my extensive training.
What about a blow torch? Right now I only have a little hand held propane torch used for copper pipe sweating, but I'm okay with the idea of stripping ALL DRY VEGITATION and trying that, or purchasing a torch that can be connected to my bbq propane cylinder. AGAIN, anyone following this needs to plan properly for safety.. including protective gear, prepare the site appropriately, doing it at the right time of year, and have a RECENTLY tested fire extinguisher that they have actually used at hand.. not "on" hand, but IN hand.
