What kind of trees did you cut down?

I'm guessing Walnut.

Hi Token,
We have an assortment of trees back here in the woods, wild cherry,hickory,several oaks,cotton wood,ash,the ones that are sprouting up suckers(a lot)are all oak.
cAROL

My guess would be that the soil is too acidic based on the trees that are coming back. You might want to add some lime to your soil if you build raised planters. What I would do, build a raised bed using a compost in place method over the suckers if possible. You need a lot of nitrogen to rot those stumps out and kill off the remaining roots. It can be done, just takes time. Meanwhile, continue removing the suckers as they pop up. Eventually the roots will starve to death.

Looks like you have some good advice. I also had a similar problem in my previous yard. It was awful! I did eventually get the suckers and did add lots of soil on top and compost. I can't tell you an amount but it was a lot.

I mostly planted a few bulbs in the area but it did work out.

I plan to remove some grass with the method of layering cardboard then compost dirt and some mulch. Not sure of the depth yet but I hope I get it done before the snow hits here! (problem is I am broke right now)

Karen

Rather than putting in raised beds, I'd probably bite the bullet, and dig out any roots in the top 18-24" of soil. I've been doing that to Maple roots in my garden, and I feel it's worth the effort.

A good tool for this work is a grape hoe. Keep it good and sharp, and it will do quite a job on tree roots. I use it on everything up to 4" in diameter. Beyond that, I clear the root and saw it off.

You don't have to clear all the roots. Just dig planting holes, twice the size you need to install the plants. The remaining roots will be dead and will decompose in time. Amend the soil you use to backfill based on your soil needs.

My tool of choice is a maddock. This one was a gift from a friend who didn't need it. I'm glad she gave it to me. I use it a lot. The ground here is full of stone. I also use it to chop roots. Just a file keeps a nice edge on it and it slices right through with one swing, which is really more me dropping it than swinging it.

{{gwi:438600}}

I too would try to dig up the remaining roots. You might not get all of them at first but even removing some of the superficial ones will greatly reduce the suckers that pop up. Been there, done that.

As for loss of your new plants, a soil test would be a good place to start to look for answers. My first guess would be lack of nitrogen due to composting any remaining wood chips. Lacking a soil analysis, I'd at least add a healthy dose of nitrogen like blood meal a couple of times a year for a few years. And coffee grounds are a nice addition too, free at many coffee shops, gas stations, and convenience stores.

Karen

I agree on the nitrogen comment if there were any woodchips mixed in there it would sap the soil and not support your little plants.
It seems the consensus is get rid of the roots, on a side note for a raised bed I'd give it at least six inches depth of soil. My new annual beds were closer to five and mostly had room for horizontal root growth. Some of my tall tithonias have been knocked about by wind, I'll add two or three more inches of soil next year.

I didn' think about the lack of nitrogen. Good advice. I bet those little plants starved to death.

Thank you all, I knew i could count on you for some good advice.
Where would i take my soil for a soil test?

I think i will go with a raised bed,we have all these landscape timbers now,so i might as well use them.
The reason i would put down the landscape paper, is to keep the oak suckers for growing,then maybe add 2 feet of soil on top of that.

When you keep adding leaves,mulch,paper,and cardboard, how do you know if you are getting the right balance for good growth?
I have a neighbor,that just keeps adding stuff,and never checks the balance of the soil,and thing do not grow.They just think, oh, this will be good, i will add some nitrogin,and some lime,then tons of leaves,shouldn't there be a balance of nutrition?Won't one thing cancel out the other,unless you know the balance?
Maybe i am not wording this right??????
Jusy how do you know?
Iam thinking of buying garden soil,should something be added to it?
cAROL

Carol: Before applying landscape fabric you might want to try searching the soil forum on that. Some of those folks have horror stories about stuff growing up through it, it rots, impossible to remove except by shreds. I have no experience with it myself though.

As for burying the intact tree roots, that might not work either. Some of my suckers grew from roots that were under a foot or more of soil. My neighbors hedges roots, right on the other side of the fence from my compost, grow up through the ground and survive buried under 3 feet of compost for months at a time.
{{gwi:265829}}

If you can get ANY of those roots out of the ground, you'll really be doing yourself a favor.

Karen

Carol, contact your local agricultural extension agency. Here in NC, soil tests are completed free of charge and they give you a kit to have it done. You scoop a little dirt and mail it away. They send back an analysis that tells you what you need to add. It's very simple. Your state should offer the same, but might charge for the test/kit.

When composting, you need to have about 80% carbon, 20% nitrogen. Too much nitrogen can kill, or it can cause a lot of rapid growth but stunt blooms and fruit. Carbon is anything dead and brown. Nitrogen can come from tea bags, coffee grinds, fresh grass clippings, green leaves from pruning, etc. Just layer it back and forth.

But still, if those roots are alive, they'll probably enjoy the compost. So removing them is the best idea. Or at least killing them with chemicals.