Put new soil in old tree pit?
 

We just had to remove an old silver maple in our backyard--sorry to see it go but tree was dying. Just had the stump removed; what's left in the pit is soil mixed with wood and root chips. We are told that this kind of soil does not promote growth well--we plan to have plants here. Should I dig out the root pit and put new topsoil in there?

Thanks.

New topsoil would be much better for growth. Soil is not "re-usable" as far as growing plants goes. You can certainly throw the soil in the compost pile and "re-cycle" it though! I would truck in new topsoil if you are planning on some vegetation.