Plenty of stumps around Cortland County were left behind years ago: a maple cut decades ago in a city backyard, a row of ash cut after emerald ash borer moved through, or a hedgerow trimmed back on a Marathon farm. They sprout, rot, harbor ants and trip mowers.
Tubbs Tree Service grinds stumps as an add-on to any removal or as a job by itself. Jason Tubbs checks each stump during your $50 consultation, notes anything buried nearby like utility lines, irrigation or a septic field, and lists each stump as a separate line in your plan so you pick which ones go. The fee is credited when you accept.
How the grinding itself works
A grinder chews the stump and the main root flare into chips, below the level of the surrounding soil. It doesn’t pull the whole root system out of the ground. The remaining roots break down over time. In a Cortland lawn that is usually exactly what you want, because digging the roots out would destroy far more turf.
What sets the price of a stump job
- Diameter at ground level, which matters more than how tall the tree was.
- How hard it is to reach: a fenced Homer backyard versus an open field in Cincinnatus.
- Rocks in the soil, which slow the work down on hill-country parcels.
- Surface roots that spread wide and need grinding too.
- Whether you want the chips hauled off, spread, or backfilled with soil.
Underground lines come first
Grinding goes into the ground, so underground lines are part of the plan. Buried service lines often run right past old stumps in city and village yards. Jason will talk through marking and locating with you, and if a stump sits too close to something buried, he will say so up front instead of risking it.
Grinding after a big cleanup
When a row of dead ash or an old hedgerow comes out, you can end up with a dozen stumps or more. Grinding them all at once, while the equipment is already on site, is usually the most efficient way to finish. On a McGraw or Cincinnatus property you might grind the stumps near the house and the mowed areas, and let the ones at the woods edge rot on their own.
Stump Grinding Questions From Cortland County
Can I plant a new tree where the old stump was in my Cortland yard?
You can, but give it a little room. The chips and decaying roots tie up nitrogen in the soil for a while. Most people either plant a few feet off the old center or replace the chips with good topsoil first. Jason can suggest which approach makes sense for your spot and your new tree.
What do you do with the stump grindings?
That is your call. The chips can be raked back into the hole, spread as mulch around beds, or hauled off. On rural parcels in Marathon or Virgil, many owners keep them for paths or garden mulch. The choice is written into your plan so there are no surprises when the crew packs up.
Will an ash stump sprout back after it’s ground?
Ash killed by emerald ash borer rarely sprouts much, but other hardwoods like maple or locust can send up shoots from the roots. Grinding deep enough at the root flare cuts down on that. If you see a few suckers afterward, mowing them off for a season or two usually ends it.
Want the full picture? Read our stump grinding guide, or see everything we do in Cortland County.