Question on leaving roots from bushes for a Hudelkultur bed

I just bought a new house and it has the thick evergreen bushes all the way across in front of my house. They are huge. I am going to cut them all out. In the past I would have hired a backhoe and had them dug out. This time I am thinking of leaving the roots in the ground and placing topsoil over the top to plant vegetables into and increase diversity. I have built huglebeds at my current home the conventional way but never used roots. Will the roots work as a hugelkultur bed? I am planning on choping up the bushes and using it for wood for a hugel bed in a different part of the yard. Some of the trunks are 10 inches thick. I'm just looking for confirmation to leaving the roots in the ground. Any advice?

I deal with lots of shrubs, thorns, perennial weeds etc. and I always find that if they grow through a raised bed or hugelbed that has been mulched and planted it's pretty obvious. It's like on sesame street; "one of these things is not like the other things..."

Once a large perennial plant pops though, I wait until it's put some energy into the new shoots and then I go at it with a pair of garden shears.

Also, I'm not being condescending with the sesame street stuff, this is just how my mind works.

Thanks for the reply Bryan. I wonder if I should try to bust up the roots? I wonder if that would help them rot quicker so they can start absorbing moisture sooner? I don't think these type of bushes will coppice once I cut off the top but not positive about that.

I've heard of people using sharpened shovels for this sort of thing. You could also try using nitrogen to help the roots break down faster, inoculating the hugelbed with leafmold from nearby woods, or just burying the roots very deep in the soil - those things might help it breakdown faster too.

Adam,

if you used a sharp shovel or a grubbing ax to get rid of trunk that would really decrease the risk of it sending suckers. Also, time to experiment, leave some trunks in and take some out and see what happens, posting results would be a must.

Adam,

if you used a sharp shovel or a grubbing ax to get rid of trunk that would really decrease the risk of it sending suckers. Also, time to experiment, leave some trunks in and take some out and see what happens, posting results would be a must.

Thats a good idea Jeff about mixing up what I do for an experiment to see what works.