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Crumbled tree stump
There was an old apple tree stump in the middle of the 'lawn' for many years.
I noticed today that it has crumbled to dust mostly helped by the red ant colony -which seems to have moved underground.
Up until now we haven't bothered each other and I'm happy to keep the peace unless they start it!
My questions are:
Is the 'dust' good for anything in particular or shall I just throw it on the compost heap?
I assume that there isn't much point in planting a specimen shrub or whatever there because of the ants' nest. Should I put grass seed on it or just see what seeds itself?
Ps. I have grass and flat weeds rather than a lawn.
Thanks
In London. Keen but lazy.
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Do you really want anything in the middle of the lawn? It makes mowing difficult and aesthetically it is not too good.
I'm not bothered really. It's not a lawn as such - it's grass and clover and violets and stuff and I'm not the one who mows it
It's sort of at the top end rather than the middle.
I don't want to kill the ants as they're well away from the house. It would feel a bit like genocide. However slugicide and snailicide and vineweevilicide doesn't bother me.
If it was me I'd cut a clump of the grass from the 'orchard' which has gone to seed and chuck it in a heap over the old stump site. It'll blow away eventually and get mown in to the rest of the 'lawn' (using the same definition as you) but some will germinate under the stalks in the meantime. It's a lot less trouble than doing it properly - all that rolling and raking and watering and fussing - and you couldn't play tennis on what results, But it does blend in with the rest of the 'lawn' (all of which was made the same way. Don't think I've ever bought a packet of grass seed
)
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”