No good roots

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Originally Posted by Tankstand

Thumbs up for the mattock in our house as well!

Grub a bit of dirt, flip it and chop through the roots, easy!

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I always call a Mattock an owner/operator tool...I don't own one.

Cheers

Definitely a mattock - if your back is up to it. If the ground is dry, give it a good soak the day before. Much easier to work in moist (not muddy) soil.

Dig a trench around the shrub, chop through as many roots as you can see, and lever the whole thing up with a crowbar. Another pair of hands (preferably not yours) is definitely a bonus, cutting through roots underneath the root ball as you are levering.

I have a custom hand made tool courtesy of a good friend - a length of steel pipe, the business end vertically split about 10cm or so, and then the end opened out flat and sharpened. Some tape wound around the other end makes for a comfortable handle. The tool is used as one would use a crowbar for tamping, cutting through the roots as you work around the shrub. It can chop its way through quite thick roots.

The advantage of this ingenious tool is that it is light enough to be easy to handle and one can use it standing up so no more back aches.

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Originally Posted by echnidna

If you use a chainsaw you could stuff up the bar real quick when dirt gets in the slot.

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If you have used a chainsaw as long as I have and have one as old as mine you will have plenty of old chains as well as an old bar that you can use and not use your good one.

In fact I'm on my third chainsaw I've already worn two of them out and now I've had my heart repaired I might live long enough to wear out a couple more.