Knowledgebase
I live in Central Florida. I had a 6’ diameter laurel oak fall and the stump ground down completely to 3’ depth. The remaining hole is +- 7’ diameter by 3’ deep. The stump grinder thought he was doing me a favor and mixed the resulting saw dust completely with existing soil instead of removing it. As of now, the solution rests solely with me. I was hoping to plant another tree in that space and am at a complete loss as to best way to tackle this huge problem. Do I need to remove and replace all of the soil/sawdust mix to the entire 3’ depth in order to plant another tree in less than a years time? Or can I amend the entire hole in place with layers of manure, nitrogen, and other “green material” and wait for the saw dust to decompose? If so, how long more or less will that take? Or is my only option to leave it alone and not plant anything for 2 to 4 years or as long as soil tests dictate? I am open to and appreciate any suggestions you may have. Thank you #851472
Asked September 27, 2023, 11:10 PM EDT
I live in Central Florida. I had a 6’ diameter laurel oak fall and the stump and roots ground down completely to 3’ depth. The remaining hole is +- 7’ diameter by 3’ deep. The stump grinder thought he was doing me a favor and mixed the resulting saw dust completely with existing soil instead of removing it. As of now, the solution rests solely with me.
I was hoping to plant another tree in that space and am at a complete loss as to best way to tackle this huge problem.
- Do I need to remove and replace all of the soil/sawdust mix to the entire 3’ depth in order to plant another tree in less than a years time?
- Or can I amend the entire hole in place with layers of manure, nitrogen, and other “green material” and wait for the saw dust to decompose? If so, how long more or less will that take? Can I amend less than 3’?
- Or is my only option to leave it alone and not plant anything for 2 to 4 years or as long as soil tests dictate?
I am open to and appreciate any suggestions you may have. An email with your suggestions would be helpful
Thank you
Lake County Florida
Expert Response
You are correct in not planting directly into sawdust with such a high C:N ratio the plant would sink and die of lack of nutrition and/or staying to wet. Here are good links on planting adjacent
https://ask2.extension.org/kb/faq.php?id=559541
Thank you very muc
Thank you for taking the time to reply. I understand planting a tree in soil with such a high c:n ratio is impossible but i I would like to amend the existing mix so I will be able to use the site eventually. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Definitely mix in manure, or compost into the site to bring the ratio down. Maybe a 1:1 ratio if that makes sense of manure to sawdust mixture then after 6 months test the soil and see if you can add some slow release nitrogen fertilizer and/or need to adjust the pH. When you add the manure it should mound up over the existing land as the sawdust breaks down it will level off. Hope that helps
Thank you. That’s exactly what I had hoped but wasn’t sure. Ratio sounds good. Will post again as time goes by w updates
