I wasn't sure where to put this (or even if there was somewhere correct on this board to put it!). :) I recently bought a house whose backyard is surrounded with small trees. Most of the trees are growing along the perimeter of the yard. There is a large pecan tree in the yard though, that drops lots of limbs, etc. The house was vacant for a while when I bought it, so the yard was covered with leaves, limbs, etc. and therefore the grass wasn't doing too well. The yard does seem to get a decent amount of sunlight though (but is obviously shaded during some parts of the day), and the center areas of the yard have decent grass cover. Anyway, what is the best way for me to get grass growing in the areas that were covered with leaves and therefore have no grass now? I was thinking of something along the lines of picking up some sort of grass seed from Lowe's, but have no idea what to buy.
Hi Scott, Congratulations on your new home! Since the yard has been neglected you might want to core aerate, topdress with compost and then seed. It's usually best done in fall, but it's early enough in spring to do it now. This explains the process. http://www.savvygardener.com/Features/Lawns/turf_tips_september_2001.html http://www.homeandgardenmakeover.com/lawnaeration.html http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/knowhow/yardandgarden/article/0,16417,482229,00.html For large areas you might have to level off, this could be handy. http://turfgrass.com/planting/rake.html Compost calculator: http://www.cedar-grove.com/calculator.asp Select grass seed: http://www.turfgrasssod.org/lawninstitute/southern_lawns.htm http://www.turf.uiuc.edu/turfSpecies/tourseason/Tour.html Maintain organically: http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/compost/organic.htm http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-18-142,00.html http://www.members.tripod.com/~Gardeningguru/index-11.html You might also want to consider having your trees pruned to open up the canopy and let in more light. Newt
Likely, your easiest solution is to dig up a shovel depth of the soil under the shade of the trees to the width that is required ,discard it, fill in with decent soil and plant new grass seed. Go to a local garden center and ask what is the right seed for your area. The trees in your property are taking up the nutrients and sun so the natural grass has given in. New soil and seed will take over for a couple of years and then you can figure out what to do with the property. The removed soil is still good but,likely lacking in nutrients. Pile it in a heap and add all of your grass clippings and make compost, next year you can add it back to the old area, with an attitude!
Just wanted to stop back in and say thanks for the help, I indeed have some little grass sprouts coming up now!
