grass envy (trees, weeds, spring, leaves)

[endersshadow]

So, I'm not afraid to admit it. I have grass envy. I bought a house that, at the time, had leaves covering most of the lawn. When I raked it all up, nothing was there but dirt/soil. When Spring time came, weeds of all kind sprouted everywhere. There's some grass and lots of trees. I can't spray the earth with chemicals or dig up the ground too much because of the roots from the trees. How do I treat this???

[luv4horses]

It depends on what your goal is. You can still use Round-up to get rid of all the weeds. It will not affect the trees unless you spray the tree leaves, and maybe not even then. Do this about once a month all summer, then in September, after two weeks without herbicide, plant some shade tolerant grasses--if you want grass.

It is important to get the grass up before the leaves fall and smother everything. Then be gentle in raking up the leaves. Fertilize in the spring as recommended for your area.

Or, instead of grass plant some sort of ground cover like vinca (not ivy) or pachysandra, if that grows in your area.