Removing trees on your property leaves behind stumps that you must contend with. Grinding them entails a certain amount of risk to your lawn. Use these practical tips to minimize or eliminate tree stump grinding damage to it.

Water the Lawn Beforehand

Water your lawn before stump grinding. Watering it softens the soil, making it less likely to suffer damage from heavy equipment. This precaution also reduces dust, minimizes disruption to the soil, and makes it easy for the equipment to remove the stump before grinding it.

Clear Debris

Before tree stump grinding gets underway, remove debris like rocks, sticks, and other objects from your yard. They could interfere with the grinding process and fly out of the grinder, hitting objects such as your flowers and shrubs.

Use Protective Barriers

Along with removing objects like rocks and sticks, lay a protective barrier such as plywood or tarps to protect your lawn. These barriers shield the grass from damage and also protect your lawn from flying debris.

Mark Underground Utilities

Scores of lines for gas, water, and other utilities could run under your property. Any kind of heavy-duty yard work, such as stump grinding, can disrupt and damage them. Before the stump grinding process begins, find out where these lines are and mark them for our crew’s and your yard’s safety.

Avoid Soggy Conditions

While watering the lawn before grinding stumps helps minimize damage, you should avoid starting this project during soggy conditions. After a heavy rain or excessive watering, wait for the lawn to dry. The equipment used to grind the stumps could become mired down in the mud, leaving behind deep and unsightly tracks in your yard.

Make the Stumps Into Mulch

Unsightly stumps can become valuable mulch for your yard. Rather than opt to dispose of the ground-up stumps, use it to mulch your yard. It’s full of nutrients that will help your lawn, flowers, trees, and shrubs grow. It also saves you money on having to buy mulch from your local big box or gardening store.

Fill in Holes

After our tree service grinds up the stumps in your yard, fill in the holes where the stumps were. Use topsoil and grass seed to fill them in. By the end of the growing season, most or all of the holes should be fully covered, making it difficult to tell where the stumps were.

Cover Fragile Vegetation

If you’ve just planted a new flower bed or shrubs, cover them with hay or lawn fabric to protect them from damage. Flying debris like shards of the tree stump and dirt could damage or kill them.

Stump grinding isn’t without its share of potential risks to your lawn. However, following these precautions will help protect it. Find out more about stump grinding by contacting Gray’s Tree Service in Birmingham, AL today.