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Getting rid of shrubs and bushes

ledinaledina Posts: 17
edited August 2020 in Problem solving
Hi all,

Sorry for the long post. I'm a novice gardener and I am growing a lot of vegetables (for the second time). My garden is small so I decided I wanted to take out the shrubs and bushes at the back (see photo) so I could claim the space back and grow my vegetables there (or some nice plants in the future) and free the rest of the garden. We hired a company and they got rid of the shrubs fine, and then brought a stump grinder to get rid of the stumps. Unfortunately the grinder broke down (long story) with big clouds of smoke. In my head I imagined I will have just soil mixed with ground stump by the end but the reality is very different (maybe because they didn't manage to finish it or maybe my expectations were not quite right, or a bit of both). Been out there trying to fill the holes left behind but it's in a bit of a state (see photos). There are a couple of stumps still left but also loads of stems and ivy roots. I really don't know where to go from here and starting to think I made a mistake as now I still can't move my veg up there and have a bit of a mess rather than greenery to look at :'(

Can anyone advise me on what to do next? Is there any machine I can hire that would get rid of all that? The company told me to get a rotavator but looking online it seems to just churn the soil and I need to still deal with the leftover roots/stems/stumps by hand. My veg are growing in grow bags so I don't mind applying stump killer but I would like to get rid of them as quick as possibly and not sure that is a quick approach. Or is this a mission impossible and I need to just accept I won't be getting my veg up there any time soon? Please help, I'm in way over my head!

Many thanks in advance,
Ledina




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Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    If your deal with the contractors was to remove shrubs and clear roots then that's what they should do so I would expect them to come back and finish the job with a new or repaired machine.

    Have you contacted them?  I hope you haven't paid in full yet!
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • ledinaledina Posts: 17
    Hi Obelixx, thank you for your reply. The contract said they would grind stumps and fill the holes with the generated mixture, and they definitely didn't fill the holes (don't mind that part too much). I have sent them an email. The problem I have is the definition of stumps. I don't know if the bush stems sticking out would classify as stumps, so not sure of they will count. Also another problem is they are planning on repairing the machine themselves so I suspect it will be out of action for a while, and I am hoping to sort this sooner rather than later or my pumpkins will be too big too move :(
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    A stump is a branch or trunk or root still stuck in the ground.

    i'd have thought it was far too late to be moving pumpkins as by now they should be producing fruit that's growing apace and ripening too.  Maybe for this year you need to be thinking of just giving them bigger pots and plenty of feed and water.   Just filling holes with chipped shrub wood and roots would not be a suitable planting medium for them.

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • ledinaledina Posts: 17
    They are growing in grow bags (you might just be able to see them in the first photo) and I had hoped on keeping them in the bags but just move them up there once it is all nice and flat. We only have one acorn squash at the moment (hundredweight and butternut still not managed to get pollinated despite me even doing the rounds with the brush!). The veg garden arrived a bit later than usual this year. Or maybe the growbags are not big enough for them? They were still just about OK to move last week when we moved them to free the space so the company could do the shrubs. But are now left in middle of garden as it was meant to be just for one day (that was beginning of last week!)
  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    If your contractors don't come back and they have a Facebook page or similar do post a truthful review.
    You would really struggle to use a rotavator on that area so I would get hold of a mattock which is brilliant for grubbing out stems as they aren't that big. Then you can sort out the soil.






  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited August 2020
    Pumpkins do very well grown on big compost heaps so I think it's a bit optimistic to expect a good crop from a grow bag which only has nutrients for 90 days.  Make sure you use liquid tomato feed when you water them and that will help, as will sunshine.

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • ledinaledina Posts: 17
    Yes I have been feeding them as well as all the other vegetables. Thanks again Obelixx
  • ledinaledina Posts: 17
    K67 thank you. Yes I did think it might end up being something I will have to do by hand and take time over. Was just being hopeful there was some magical machine out there that could help me
  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    ledina said:
    K67 thank you. Yes I did think it might end up being something I will have to do by hand and take time over. Was just being hopeful there was some magical machine out there that could help me

    But think of the health and fitness benefits!
  • ledinaledina Posts: 17
    K67 said:
    ledina said:
    K67 thank you. Yes I did think it might end up being something I will have to do by hand and take time over. Was just being hopeful there was some magical machine out there that could help me

    But think of the health and fitness benefits!
    Haha. Indeed!! Unfortunately, time I can spent out in the garden is very limited at the moment due to work (and the vegetables come first!). So more than the physical side, is the time commitment I worry about. I maybe just need to move the vegetables back where they were and take my time over sorting out the back, if the company refuses to do any more on it. It's really been stressing me out :(
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