Question
I lost forty white pines trees do to storms in northern ky.
I had the stumps grind down to a few inches below the surface. It would be a major task to remove the shavings. I know that its decay will rob the ground of nitrogen.  I just want to plant some grass seed.  I was hoping that I could horse manure{ I got plenty} to replace the nitrogen, but was told that would make matters worse.  What can I do? Thanks for any suggestions.

Answer
Hi Dave,  I'd sow annual ryegrass over the area first.  It's cheap, comes up in a few days and can be replanted as often as needed.  As the stumps decompose, they not only take the nitrogen, they lower the pH, so check your pH often and keep it around 6.5. Apply a very light amount of nitrate nitrogen around the stump area twice a month.  This will be immediately available to the grass and should offset your nitrogen loss. If the grass does fine, then plant your preferred grass at the correct time.  If the grass struggles, continue applying the nitrogen and sowing ryegrass until you see an improvement.
Horse manure that is fresh would indeed make your problem worse by stealing the available nitrogen.  If it's composted, it has very little nitrogen so it wouldn't help either.  Jim