Question
QUESTION: Hi,

I've owned my house a short while and have been having a heck of a time getting grass to grow and stay.  The soil is full of tree roots (there's a ~50' maple tree in my front yard), and has turned mostly to hard dirt everywhere.  I've tried adding soil, but it seems to just wash away.

Anyway, autumn is now here and our lawn is mostly covered in maple leaves.  I'm wondering if there's anything I can do now before it gets really cold and everything freezes to help give the lawn a better chance come next spring?

ANSWER: Step 1:  Your new house came with Soil.  Get your Soil tested.  See what's Evil lurks underground -- or maybe you have no Evil, only Goodness, find out what's down there too.  Submit your Zipcode in a followup and I'll tell you where to get that done cheap, fast, and pain free.

Now, I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking, Soil test?  You must be joking!

No, my friend, I am dead serious.

Think about it.  If you know you have PLENTY of N, P and K in your Soil, YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO BUY ANY MORE.  How much money will THAT save you next month?

So get your Soil tested.  Especially since you are growing a new Lawn.  And believe me, with your description, you want all the help you can get.

Now, let's talk about your Maple leaves.  You have no idea how wonderful this is, to have Maple leaves covering your property.  Because composted Maple leaves have a chemical that retards growth of WEEDS.  Oddly, the chemical has no effect on GRASS.

Skeptical?  I'd be skeptical, too, if I hadn't read the Michigan Turfgrass Association's 'Organic Control of Broadleaf Weeds' essay by Dr Suzanne Lang, .Dr Lang wanted to find out how good a mulch made out of fallen Maple leaves would be at controlling Weeds.  In 2004 and 2005 scientists studied red, silver and sugar maples and red oak as leaf mulch.  They found that Autumn mulching of Lawns with dried up or composted Maple leaves succeeded in an 81 percent control of Dandelion.

But Tree roots are never a good feature when it comes to Grass.  What's the Sun situation?

rsvp

L.I.G.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I live in Southwestern Ontario (Cambridge, ON to be exact).  The lawn is in front of the house which faces west, so it gets a fair bit of direct sunlight from about midday until early/mid evening.

Answer
Sounds like you've got one of those Trees that generates surface roots all over the place.  These are guaranteed to compete with Turfgrass for nutrients and water.  Usually Sun becomes a limiting factor, too, but it sounds like you may have less of a problem thanks to the exposure.

But your description of the Soil confirms that this site is just plain tired of competing with the Trees for nutrients, moisture and water.  Try a Grass that gets high marks for growing in DRY SHADE: Red or Chewings Fescue.  

Although it's out of your area, peruse as well the University of California at Davis's pamphlet, 'Managing Lawns in the Shade.'  Some people thin branches to raise the Tree canopy.

Over-management can also lead to Dry Shade and/or hardpan that won't grow anything better than a Weed.  Hold off on fertilizers and Weedkillers until you are sure that your Soil can support higher animals: Bacteria, Nematodes, Insects, etc.  These will work together to make your Soil as Grass-ready as it's going to be.  Then you have to manage it properly.  We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Hope that's clear.  Any questions?

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER
THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER