Tree Mulching Equipment

Shovel

• If you want to mulch the entire tree, including the parts underground, you must have a shovel to reach the roots. To locate the tree roots with the shovel, begin digging at the base of the tree or the tree stump until you hit the roots and then dig your way out from the base of the tree or stump along the tops of the roots. Depending upon the size of the tree, you may need to dig dozens of feet out to find all the roots.

Stump Grinder

• A stump grinder can chop up a tree stump and tree roots right where they sit. Similar to a saw, the grinder has spinning blades that chop through a wood stump, leaving it as mulch. Once roots have been uncovered with a shovel, the stump grinder can also be used to chop up the roots in the ground. Once mulched, the stump and roots can either be left where they are in the ground to decompose, adding nutrients to the soil, or picked up out of the ground and transferred to another location that needs mulching.

Chainsaw

• If you already own a chainsaw, you can use a chain saw in several steps of the mulching process. A chainsaw can be used to chop remove the upper limbs and branches of a tree and then to cut a tree down by cutting the top few feet off of the tree at a time. The chainsaw can also be used to remove pieces of the tree that you want to mulch from the ground. Once the trunk base and roots of the tree have been uncovered with a shovel, use a chainsaw to cut the trunk and roots into manageable pieces that can be lifted from the ground by hand.

Wood Chipper

• Besides the stump grinder, a wood chipper may be the most effective piece of equipment for turning trees into mulch. The tree and the roots must be cut into manageable pieces, which is dependent upon the wood chipper and can be found in the manufacturer's instructions for the chipper. These pieces are fed into the wood chipper on one side, chopped by spinning blades and blown out the opposite side of the chipper as mulch.