Stump Grinding Cleanup, Topsoil and Grass Seed in Murfreesboro

What's left after a stump is ground?

A mound of wood chips mixed with dirt, sitting in and around a shallow hole. A normal yard stump leaves more chips than most people expect. A big stump can leave a pile bigger than a wheelbarrow will hold several times over.

You have a few choices for what to do with it:

Why won't grass grow in stump grinding chips?

Grass needs soil, not wood. Fresh wood chips mixed into dirt pull nitrogen out of the soil as they break down. That leaves less for the grass. Chips also dry out fast and settle as they rot, so the spot ends up low and patchy.

That's why the best way to get grass back is to pull most of the chips out, fill with real topsoil, pack it down a little, and seed on top of that.

What does the cleanup service include?

You pick how far you want to go. Here's what we can do:

• Rake the chips into a neat pile or back into the hole
• Haul the chips off your property
• Pull chips out of the hole down to dirt
• Bring in topsoil and fill the hole a little above grade so it settles flat
• Spread grass seed that matches your lawn
• Cover the seed with straw to hold moisture and keep birds off

If you only want the chips gone, that's fine. If you want it done all the way, we'll leave you a seeded patch you just need to water.

When is the best time to seed after stump grinding in Middle Tennessee?

It depends on your grass. Most lawns in Middle Tennessee are tall fescue. The UT Extension agent for Rutherford County puts the fall planting window for tall fescue at mid-September to mid-October. That's the best time to seed fescue over a stump hole.

If your lawn is bermuda or zoysia, those are warm-season grasses. They grow when it's hot, so they fill in from late spring through summer.

If we grind your stump outside the best seeding time, we can still fill the hole with topsoil now. You can seed it later, or we can come back to seed when the time is right.

How much topsoil does a stump hole need?

It depends on the stump size and how deep we ground. A small stump might only need a few bags. A big stump or an uprooted root plate can need a pickup load or more. We fill a little above grade because new dirt settles, especially after the first few rains.

For more on settling, watering, and getting grass to take, read what to do after stump grinding.

Can you clean up roots too?

Yes. If we ground out surface roots with root grinding, those leave shallow trenches of chips across the yard. We clean those the same way: chips out, dirt in, and seed down.

For backyard jobs behind a fence, we haul chips and bring dirt through the gate. See backyard and narrow gate access. And if you still have the stump itself to deal with, start with stump removal.